Recently I’ve been tightening up my canvases for my upcoming show – I was very concerned about using traditional stretcher keys because I was afraid of knocking a corner out of square (and ruining the artwork – since the grid is such a component of my work) after doing a bit of research someone suggested using a expanding bolt on all four corners and tightening them (or loosening) as necessary. I thought that is one heck of a good idea. So I went off the Home Depot to find what in industry parlance is called a “Turnbuckle”. Now the only thing I know about turnbuckles is that George “The Animal” Steele used to eat the turnbuckle in professional wrestling – this I reasoned was not the best knowledge to have when it came to painting – I knew I needed a TB with 45 degree ends to sit in the corner of a painting frame. You might be surprised to know that Home Depot does not carry these.
However Utrecht Art Supplies does. They are called “Best Keys” produced by the Jack Richeson & Co. of Kimberly Wisconsin. They cost 15 dollars for a set of four, and are a life saver.
The cheapest palette in the world
A lot of people paint with acrylic paint (I don’t so I cant use this – however when I was in school I did, and did) and if you are pinching pennies in your studio practice (who isn’t) this is a great thing. Milk cartons cut vertically make a great low cost palette – they can handle really soupy paint, or a lot of paint for a large surface. The best part is that they are probably in your house right now. I always used the paper style cartons however the plastic ones work too. So finish up whatever might be in the carton (or jug) and don’t throw it away – re-use it.
For oil paints, I prefer to use something made of glass. With all the construction around these days, I would love to score a 6 x 6 double hung window – it would be like having 12 palettes! second best is “glass” trays found in microwave ovens – these are usually some kind of pyrex, hold up well, and scrape clean really well. Butcher trays (don’t buy these new) are good as well – these are always around during yard sale season – cheap.
Cheap Gesso
This also probably falls into the acrylic painting vein – but will work with oil paint as well (not as recommended). Household latex paint – about $11 a gallon versus $20 a gallon at the art store. Always use two coats.
Get wet paintings off the floor
An old teacher of mine, Steve Kruvant, used to use coffee cans to keep wet paintings off the floor. If you smoke, you could fill them with sand and turn them into ashtrays as well (2 for 1 – very crafty!). I’ve seen people use discarded pieces of 1″ x 2″ to do the same thing – I use hockey pucks – because I’ve got a ton of them floating around the house from numerous teams and leagues. I do realize that is not standard for most people. Door stops work really well too. Please Note: I’m assuming that you understand that you will need more that one of these to really work – two is ideal.
For watercolors and inks, the pre-mixed Kool-Aid containers are great for work on the go. The bottom washes out most of the paint, the top then can be used for clean water.