Fear of wasting paint in today’s economy

On Reddit the other day someone said they can’t motivate themselves to paint because of the high cost of art supplies. It sounded like they already own the supplies, but they’re feeling it’s too precious to use. Oy! 

I remember feeling the same way years ago. I was paranoid about wasting even a drop of paint because of the cost. I would put the tiniest dab of paint on my brush, and try to cover the largest area possible with it. Trust me, this is not the right way to go about painting. 

I’ve realized over time that using paint is NEVER a waste of money (or time) – no matter how the painting turns out. I don’t think about how much paint I use these days. It takes what it takes to get the job done.  

Not many of us come out of the womb with a paintbrush in hand, already knowing how to paint a masterpiece, so we need to learn as we go along.

If you’re an artist, you’ll most likely create 100s of paintings that make you cringe over the years, and you’ll use a lot of paint making those paintings. 

If you’re feeling the same way about not wanting to waste paint, especially in today’s economy when the prices for art supplies are going through the roof, I totally get it.

I paint nearly every day for hours. If I kept track of how much paint I use, it’s most likely gallons every year. It’s expensive to have to keep buying it. However, the only time I think I’m wasting money these days is when the paint dries up on my palette before I get to use it. 

That’s why I highly recommend getting some gouache and/or watercolor paints because you can leave them on your palette forever..go back in and reactivate the paint with water. There’s little to no waste with these paints.

You can also reactivate your brushes if you forget to clean them. <–something I do all the time when I’m painting with acrylics, and I’ve ruined dozens of brushes. 

If you can’t clean the hardened acrylic off your brush, you can always do what I do..keep the brush around to make marks with it in your work. Works great to scratch into oil pastels, also. 

I hope you have a lovely creative day. 

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I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy – shipping isn’t free on these sites because of the high cost of fees & ads.  

You can message me here. 

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