Art Supply Organization – Paint

Art Supply Organization – Paint

Addressing the challenge of having lots and lots and lots of paint tubes

How many times did I try to figure out how to store my paint? How many pinterest pins and google searches did I explore trying to solve my problems? SO MANY! No doubt you have been in the same position. Art supply organization is hard. Really hard! Everything I found either involves buying racks, using pegboard that takes up a ton of space, or having filing drawers with custom inserts… I’ve seen it all.

For years I used a toolbox. It was portable, but nothing was easy to find. Everything was on top of everything else, and there was no way to sort by color or soft/heavy/etc.

I don’t believe you should have to spend a lot of money to solve this problem. I am firm in my believe that the solution should be elegant. Let me introduce to you my ultra minimalist art supply organization storage system for my paint.

paint organization for wall
How I store my acrylic paint in my studio

Neat, right? It’s up on the wall, visible, I can sort by color (If I wanted to) and I never have to dig through a bin or drawer to find what color I need. It’s ultra low cost, as I had this wood hanging around in my garage as scrap. I believe this should probably cost no more than $5 in materials, especially if you already have a drill, nails, screws, and wood.

Here’s how to make your own

What you need

  • 1″ Nails
  • Screws (for attaching to wall)
  • Wood – I used 1×3″ boards
  • Paint (optional)

Instructions

So, I measured the space I had – there were already two posters on the wall and I wanted to use the space below. That came out to approximately 26″ wide. I cut two pieces of wood to this length and then measured for the paint tubes. Placing them side by side and approximating really helped, especially if you are using a different brand or have different sizes of tubes. My nails are spaced approximately 2″ apart. Your results may vary, but I wouldn’t go any closer than that. Besides, measuring every 2″ is *very* easy.

paint organization
Here’s what the board looks like without any paint hanging on it

Because I want the paint to hang nicely and place the boards closer together on the wall I decided to put the nails in 1/4 of the width down from the top of the board. You can see from the pictures that they aren’t nailed in along the center line. After this I drilled a screw on each end of the board so that I could fasten it directly to the wall. Your paint tubes will likely cover the screw. I drilled a countersink so the screw would be flush with the wood, but that was an aesthetic choice. It’s completely up to you!

Finally, every painter’s favorite part, color! You could leave the boards au natural, stain, or paint them. I chose to paint them. I watered down some acrylic paint and applied it directly to the wood without priming it. It gave the wood a lot of character while still showing off the grain.

There it is! If you have any other interest in DIY painting related projects please check out my other post on making a Still Life Shadow Box.

I hope you’ve found this helpful – if you do please let me know in the comments and show me your version! How have you solved organizing your art supplies?

Last painting of 2016

Last painting of 2016

My last painting of 2016 was completed on December 31.

What do I circle back to? A blender, of course. Acrylic on Ampersand Gessobord- one of the most responsive materials that I have ever used. Rosemary Brushes and Gessobord are a match made in heaven!

This year I’m going to try to sell more art. Last year I sold three pieces without putting too much effort in, so this year I’m going to hustle.

I’ve reopened my Etsy, just waiting on a name change to finalize.

In my personal life I’ve got a few updates – my husband and I just moved from San Jose to Redwood City to shorten our commutes by 45 minutes each way. I can bike to work, and we just built a portfolio carrier for my bicycle based on this Instructable which should work really well! I’ll be taking a figure drawing class through Stanford Continuing Studies this next quarter.

When we moved we ditched the TV and it’s been a month. I haven’t missed it yet.

 

Working hard, Hardly working

 

Two weekends ago I celebrated my one year wedding anniversary with my husband in Tahoe. Of course, I bought my easel and spent an hour painting. Here’s what came of that.

 

 

It’s difficult to work a full time job, paint, have side gigs, and work out. I want to blog more, but it’s easier to post to Instagram.

 

I was promoted at work, so if you’re looking at my blog because you’re interested in admissions for Stanford Civil & Environmental Engineering I am no longer in that role. However, please stay and enjoy the paintings! With the new role my responsibilities have greatly increased, and in transitioning to my new role I have been extra busy wrapping up old projects.

Selling Art – Thoughts

Selling Art – Thoughts

After thinking about it for a while I’ve decided to split my Instagram account. My goal with my account is to share my paintings. Not everyone wants to see pictures of me flexing or AT&T Park, but I’m sure that some people do. My Instagram @kathendrixart will now only have art. Having the two separated will give me more opportunities to post for each. Deadlifts and squats on one, paintings on the other.

I’ve amassed quite a number of paintings and it’s about time that they get a new home. I’m exploring how I can best sell them – etsy? ebay?

I’m not sure if dailypaintworks is a good place to sell. I want to know the metrics, see what sells, for how much, etc. I’m not sure how much my art is worth to others. Would others agree with what I think my art should be priced? I suppose I won’t find out until I try.

Burnt Orange Blender

Burnt Orange Blender

I added the switch to the previously posted blender, but that will have to be the next post. Why? Because here’s an orange blender! Complete with faux wood panel, what a cadillac. The glass was especially fun near the base. The heavenly glow around it adds to the magnificence of this machine.

I am lucky enough to work somewhere that offers a set amount each year to spend on professional development. Most people spend them on public speaking courses, computer skills, etc. I take advantage of the Continuing Education courses offered by Stanford. Last year I took an Introduction to Acrylic course. I was very naive in thinking that I was a beginner. They meant absolute beginner. I learned a lot from the course and I tried things I would not have otherwise tried. It was fantastic to paint with others and have an instructor, though.

This year they will be offering a course on Painting from Observation, taught by Katie Hawkinson, Lecturer, College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley. It is looking to be like the course I will take next.

Vintage Blender: Aqua

At it again with the blenders- this is my third. I love the way the glass turned out on this, and the chrome has a vague resemblance to chrome.

Someone asked me how I would describe my art – what style. I’m not sure. I look on Instagram and I don’t see analogous painting styles. Perhaps I am embracing the messiness more than some. I’m not sure.

Vintage Blender

Vintage Blender

This morning’s effort – a vintage Osterizer blender. The glass was especially fun to paint. A quick sketch, pretty loose.

I’m drawn to blenders. They create and destroy to create. Before my orthognathic surgery I was given a blender from my husband’s parents for Christmas, knowing that I would have to use it to eat. For the year that I had it before the surgery I blended protein powder and power greens with blueberries every morning before work. After the surgery I blended pie for pi day, an In-and-Out hamburger with fries just to see if it was good (and it was, considering that my other sustenance was primarily Ensure). Now that I’ve healed and can eat normally again I’m back to protein powder and power greens to power my lifts at the gym. I should have my braces off by my birthday – less than two months to go!

Looking at this I see some errors – perhaps I will give it another try but be more serious about it. It’s kind of lopsided, but it feels good to just paint and accept errors. It’s ok to not be perfect.