I thought I’d start a thread about working in many media.
Just a lighthearted chat thread, I don’t have a question to ask or anything like that.
For about the past 8 years or so I’ve been painting in oils. But around March, at the beginning of lockdown, I stopped painting. I lost the motivation entirely. We are in New York so it was pretty scary for a while.
But now I have found motivation again, but I’ve been playing around with other media.
To start, I really got into linocut printing, probably because I was cutting simple shapes and I found the simplicity strangely freeing and theraputic, with no pressure. I could cut a few shapes while watching TV in the evening.
Then I started playing around with watercolors… Then acrylics.
I’m full of ideas and motivation again and I might even start painting in oils again… but the range of media is taking over the house.
AND I’ve been teaching my two daughters to sew.
Seriously guys, I have paint tubes, canvasses, gesso, lino, fabric, cutting knives, brushes everywhere. You name it, I think I could open my own art store.
It’s nice problem to have and I feel fortunate to have it.
I love trying out new things! I have been sewing lately, well not new to me but I haven’t in awhile. I like making sketchbooks where you cut the pages and sew them together and make a cover. I learned how to do a gouache and ink resist technique, that is lots of fun, I like things where you don’t know how they are going to come out at the end. Like batik, I want to get into that again, did that years ago. I want to try it with paper instead of cloth. Then I recently did some collagraphs. They didn’t come out that great, I don’t have a press but I can go over them with paint or pastels. I am mainly an oil painter. The house is a disaster, art supplies all over.
The gouache and ink resist technique: I think I know what you’re talking about. I did something like that years ago at college.
If I’m remembering right, you paint in black ink the negative spaces, then gouche over the top. Then let it dry, then rise the whole thing off with water… is that right? I could very well be remembering the process wrong.
Sort of, you draw black lines with ink, then gouache over that, then paint black ink over that and then rinse off. You let each step dry before the next. Then you can paint it if you want afterwards.
You can also just make a drawing with pencil, gouache up to the pencil lines and then cover with ink.
Oh yes, this is me. Mainly I work in oils. I transitioned to paint from stitch both hand and machine. All my stitch stuff is in 3 different cupboards apart from the machines which are in 3 different rooms (I have 8, more if you include the pleater and the felter ).
I have a drawer full of graphite and charcoal supplies, a small crate of acrylics and gouache.
Then I decided to try 3D.
So, there is a big crate of clay stuff, including a pasta machine for conditioning the clay.
I also have a crate of felting supplies (needle felting - I nearly flayed my hand with that so it wasn’t a great success).
I have a separate crate full of papier-mâché supplies. I made a half size basset hound using this technique. He stands on top of the crate. I’ll try and attach a photo of him.
But mainly I work in oils
Oh Karen, thank you. Your post really made me smile.
You sound like me.
I actually had a small pottery business for a few short years. I still have some of the equipment that I really should sell as I never use it now.
I think I maybe got burn out from painting in oils. I’ve realised that having a mess around with other media can be really helpful creatively. It’s a bit like being back at art school. One thing sparks something else.
Yes and if you work in lots of different media there is always SHOPPING when nothing is quite working out.
I have noticed some travelling palettes of Inktense pans that have caught my eye (by Derwent. Like the Intense pencils but in pans. Unlike watercolour the colour doesn’t lift…). I am resisting the temptation but have put it on my Santa list.
I forgot to mention easels.
So hard to find the right easel. Or pochade. We won’t do a count. Most of them collapse or fold in some way, fortunately. Easier to hide.
I’ve actually pulled out all of my sketching/drawing materials and gone back to that. I usually paint in oils like you buy felt the need to have more control and drawing seems to help. Maybe it’s getting back to the basics but I’ve sort of lost inspiration as well and want to explore other things
I have an art store in my studio too. Lol. I like to try new things but quickly move on to something else. “Squirrel”? Ha.
I mostly work in pastels and acrylics. I do make blank note cards and journals to sell. Enjoy the process in those things.
I too struggled with finishing oil projects. I started working with some markers I had on hand and the progressed to 25 covid mask portraits in pointillism.
Something I can do while watching tv or keeping my dog company.
I too am in NY and lost my mojo in March with lockdown just when I’d have thought it would be most conducive to productivity. And yes, I’ve had a few starts with experimentation with new materials which sparked some joy and a few new ideas! First, I worked on a collaborative art project to benefit the USPS with an artist friend. Aquaboard with a transfer process I hadn’t used since college combined with my usual acrylics was fun. And I finally tried out alcohol inks on some Yupo paper that has me excited about less figurative and more ‘accidental’ play during this time when my mind is going to darker places.
This is a fun topic! Thanks for bringing it up, and thanks for the ink resist technique info. I might have to try that! Never heard of it. About the various mediums, yes! I could start an art supply store. My husband has resorted to calling the rooms in our house studio 1, 2, and 3. I used to do watercolor only, with some pencil and charcoal drawings on the side. Six years ago I started in oils. I took a drawing class, and there I was introduced to soft pastels. Just had to try oil pastels too. I have watercolor pencils, watercolor markers, and ink pens, love those too. I have tried so many types of papers and surfaces for oil and watercolor, still have piles of different surfaces. I got a linocut set for Christmas, that was fun to try. And a wood burning set, also fun. The figure drawing group I attend does the figure drawing outside a few times in the summer, and then there is an option for using clay (there has been no figure drawing this year). I tried the sculpting with clay, loved it. I ecoprint silk scarfs on the side, love that. And last year took a workshop with my cousin on glass fusion, and I was hooked. I have to limit my expenses; one year I added it all up and was shocked. So I really reeled myself in. I will keep the glass making a small part. It would be fun to do larger pieces, but then you need a large kiln. I can’t really justify that. I will focus on drawing and painting. So many things to paint though! So I try to focus on nature inspired work. It’s easy to jump into something new, and that is fun, but I feel like you can easily get lost. To my credit, I have also given supplies away that I really don’t use.
So yes! It is fun to try something new, and I think it stimulates the mind into more creativity!
Thanks much Laura, that would be another thing I would have to learn, I have no idea how to break into book illustrating. It could be fun, I might explore it a bit.
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