Sometimes the muse doesn’t stick with you all day long. You might have an amazing idea that just can’t be done in one day, or your painting might be too large to conceivably finish by the time the sun sets. Either way, you’re left with a problem, and that is your paint sitting there in your creativity corner, drying out. How can you keep your paint from drying out overnight? Easy, by trying out one or two of these little tricks.
Pace Your Palette
Enjoy a palette better than just using little pots of paint? Grab your favorite dinner plate. The better the plate, the easier it will be to clean at the end of your project. Don’t worry if you’re using your best porcelain, because a bit of soap never hurt your dish, and you’ll finally be getting to use it. However, a little bit of paint spread out over a large area means that it’ll dry out much faster. The best way for this to be halted is to use a wet tissue. A tissue torn in half, wet and wrung out, can help keep acrylics damp during your painting session, and when placed on the side of the paints and covered with another plate, the tissue can keep your paint workable for up to three days.
If you’re not a fan of using two whole plates, then grab a giant Ziploc bag! Slipping it into the bag at the end of the day will keep the moisture locked in until you’re ready to use it again. There’s the problem of the bag accidentally touching the paint, smearing it and making a mess, but if you’re careful, and lock in extra air with it, then it shouldn’t be a problem.
During the day, if you feel the need to, simply spray water on your paints to moisturize them again from the long day’s use, and never have to worry about it drying out again!
Perfect Your Pots
If you prefer to use little separate containers with separate colors, then there are many easy ways for you to keep your favorite pots giving color day after day.
For the budget-conscious artist, you can reuse your favorite takeout soup containers to store your paints, since they tend to shut really tightly and keep most of the moisture inside. With these containers, you can keep your paints moist for days on end, and they might even smell like Chinese food!
Funnily enough, artists are continuing that thrifty creativity in other areas. Many different artists recommend reusing things like yogurt containers, whipped topping containers, and even ice cube trays! Others buy food storage containers from dollar stores for the express purpose of keeping their paints fresh and moist, and nearly all of them work. It’s whatever suits the person and the artist’s budget. Don’t forget your spray bottle to top up the moisture, if you notice that your paints are starting to struggle. Sometimes, that’s all you really need to keep your paints nice and moist overnight!
Image credit: istockphoto.com