Being creative with the tools you use

Have you ever had your eyeglasses come apart and all you needed was one of those tiny little Philips head screwdrivers to put it back together?

So many times I’ve ordered toys for my grandchildren and before I give it to them I put the thing together and darn…I don’t have that tiny screwdriver to open the battery compartment.

It’s the same one that you need to tighten your eyeglasses. I never seem to have that so I went out and bought several of them so now I am prepared.

The same thing can happen to you when you’re painting. You need to have the typical tools artists use, like brushes, palettes, paints, etc. But there are so many other tools that every artist uses, and they are all unique and different from each other.

We each have a unique group of things we couldn’t live without to create paintings, sculpture, or drawings. For instance, I use a variety of things you may never even consider using, but they are my go-to materials in my abstract art.

For instance, restaurant trays. I couldn’t live without my stack of black trays to organize all the collage papers I have. Each tray has a different color theme, so I can take a stack of them out, lay them around my working table and just look at which color or unique piece I want to use in my work. Plus…they don’t take up much room because they stack up so nicely.

Another tool I use ALL the time is plastic wrap. I can pull out a large piece, press it on top of my palette filled with color, then lift it up and press it on top of my painting. It’s like a print. I would never be able to get the look of that pressed saran wrap filled with color with a paint brush.

Another indispensable tool is my set of Bondo spreaders. I get these in the auto section of the hardware store. They come in a set of three and I use them to either spread paint on the canvas, or put the paint directly on the Bondo spreader and pull the paint across the canvas. Again, a totally different look than I would get if I used a brush.

If you’re interested in knowing my 12 favorite painting tools and watch me show you how I use them, then you’ll want to watch a YouTube I have showing you exactly that.

Click HERE to watch.

I would love to hear what unique things you use in your painting process. Please leave a comment on my video and let me know what unusual and unexpected tools you use.

Sending a world of love,

Adele

* Click HERE to learn about the Art with Adele Academy.

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