Story Sticks and other tips

My paintings have been ..
uggh.

I wiped the last one because it would have made my wall of shame look like great art. Rather than scare anyone, I will post some quick tips and ideas instead.

On my regular visits to Wetcanvas, I have been awaiting a post by lotusguy about a story stick.

Well HERE it is. This could be so handy when doing master copies. You could also use this for sketches and any kind of reproductive work.

Here are some other tips.

  • Crystal Light comes in these wonderful little plastic cups that are the perfect size to put over oil paint on a palette. I just rub some oil around the rim and create a fairly decent seal. Each container has 6 of them. If you like Crystal light, its a double bonus.
  • I keep my palette knife that I mix paint with on a string and either hang it on the knob of my easel or tuck the end of it in the pocket in my pants. It makes it easy to find and the string is great for sight size measuring.
  • I always have a few bamboo skewers handy in my painting and drawing supplies. They are great for lots of uses. Using a single at arms length, I use them to measure and compare distances. Using two at arms length, I find angles. If you put a small covering of kneaded eraser over the tip, you can get into some pretty tight spots. They are great for making straight lines with paint or pencil. Now that I have the story stick idea, I may even use them for that on the smaller paintings.
  • Viva Paper towels feel like cotton cloth. The family gets generic. My art gets Viva. Its great for smearing charcoal and paint. It really absorbs well and can take a pretty good beating.
  • I use a foam floor mat in front of my easel to stand on when I paint. It is easy to wipe off and most of all, it really cushions my feet.
I am going to try painting sitting down today. I recently hurt my knee and I think I need to let it rest a bit before I demand that it support me for hours in front of an easel. I hate sitting. It just feels wrong unless I am on an art horse. Chris bought me a knee brace to wear. He also added some dark chocolate in the bag. If the brace doesn't work, I am positive the chocolate will!

2 Comments

Jo Castillo said…
Hi Anna, I am going to have to read the story stick thread again, I don't quite understand it, may be too near midnight. :)

Great tips and I'm sorry about the knee. I am in the same boat. I didn't get chocolate, but was dropped off at the door of the restaurant and picked up at the side with fewer stairs. Hope you recuperate quickly, I like to stand to paint as well.

Jo
Anna Sellers said…
Basically, what he has done is measured from the left side to the outside of the wheel at its widest point. Then again for the inside. He marks on the stick both of those points. Then he does the same for the highest point of the wheel.

If it were me, I would do all of the sides of the wheel. Now that he has all of those points, he can place a drawing on his canvas and more importantly, use it again to refine his edges that he might have lost in the painting process.

He puts horizontal measurements on one side and vertical measurements on the other.

When I was in the atelier, we used to use a scrap piece of paper to measure like this on the bargue drawings. I never thought of doing it on a stick for a painting.