should i set up a separate art blog, or post art on my regular blog?
I'd say keep it all in one place. I just came to that same decision, where I was going to set up an entirely separate blog for my writing when I realized, as a brand association, it was smarter to just keep it all on marselliot.com.
In other news, I'm almost certain I'll be able to go back to school!
The problem:
There was a foul up in my financial aid, in so much as, it didn't come through and so I had a 2k+ balance on my account I couldn't afford. After trying to work through it with the school's admin, who wanted to part in actually helping, I was resigned to take the semester--and possibly my degree--off.
But it would appear I was awarded financial aid for the semester I took off, and even got a refund check sent to my old address. So as it stands now, from what I can tell, financial aid was awarded and applied to my balance and I may even be able to claim the refund too.
My school has great academics but the admin is a terrible case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.
I have another question - do any of you paint in your apartments? i have a work area all set up, but I"m worried about discolouring my bathroom sink. Are there any ad hoc solutions to this?
I went to school with a guy that just flushed everything down the toilet. I'm not sure this is the best approach, I just know that as a struggling student living in SF, it worked for him.
I have another question - do any of you paint in your apartments? i have a work area all set up, but I"m worried about discolouring my bathroom sink. Are there any ad hoc solutions to this?
I assume we're talking about oils.
Brushes that have already been mostly cleaned in solvent (in something like but not necessarily a silicoil jar) can be somewhat safely cleaned with soap and rinsed in a sink.
Ideally you shouldn't be throwing out dirty solvent, and especially not in the sink or toilet.
Finally fired our chef today. After constantly flailing about his utensils, the inability to understand most of what he says, and destroying our expensive microwave, he is outta here.
This is the last time we hire someone from The Muppet Show.
I'm using either Golden Open acrylics or winsor-newton water mixable oils.
Buy thyself this little gem:
Best brush cleaner ever. I usually get to my brushes early enough to not need it with acrylics (I just wash it out with water)...but it works fantastically well with brushes that have been used with oil paints.
Your sink should be fine, as long as you don't leave paint smudges on it for extended periods...or paint-water sitting around the rim at the bottom.
Continuing from what Scos was saying, I've got this thing, which is fantastic, and lets you use the same solvent over and over and over again to clean your brush, without having to throw away the solvent each time you paint (which you should never have to do anyway). The paint particles just settle to the bottom, and leave the rest almost entirely clear. You should clean your brushes with the solvent first, damp off the excess, and then use brush cleaner and water. You can leave a small amount of brush cleaner in your brush to help shape the brush tip, and to prevent the tip from getting smushed or bent or ruined in another fashion...just be sure to rinse it out before using the brush again.
Huh! Cool. You guys are amazingly helpful. I actually bought that brush cleaner on a whim since I couldn't find pumice soap in a brand I recognized. Shit is awesome.
Very well, but remember not to confuse excrements with brush cleaners... It.. Can get messy
Anyways I also think I'll need some of that providing I can find some
Speaking of painting in apartments, does anyone have any insight on what is specifically meant by painting in an area with "good ventilation" when it comes to using oil paints with solvents? Obviously there's a point where you can tell ventilation is inadequate because you are getting headaches/physically passing out because you've been sucking in fumes for hours, but it would be nice to know what it takes to be sure that I'm not doing myself a lot of long-term damage even if I don't feel any short-term effects. (I use Gamsol, which is supposed to be quite a bit safer than other solvents, but it's still not exactly good to breathe in.)
Presumably the danger isn't so high that the only way to paint with oils safely is to do it outside wearing a surgical mask or inside in an industrial strength ventilation booth, but I've never seen a specific, 'here's how you tell if your space has adequate enough ventilation or not' advice on the matter.
(I'm curious about this because Justin Gerard recently made a post trying to see if he could get water-mixable oils to do what he did with traditional oils in order to avoid the traditional fume-inhaling pitfalls, but apparently he thought they were somewhat inadequate to what he wanted: http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2011/04/water-mixable-oils.html )
basically you want as much ventilation as you can manage. my old art school was a repurposed foundry, so we had these giant picture windows that opened inward to let a veritable wind in. you probably don't need that, but i wouldn't sleep in the same area as your painting, and i'd get some fans.
we were never told explicitly what the dangers were, though - try the artist's handbook or maybe the safety guide, if you can find a copy. i'm just some asshole.
@Orik: That's still not particularly specific- what kind of fans? Standard oscillating fans? Box fans? High powered floor fans? Professionally installed duct fans? How many? Where do I place them? Do they need to directly blow air out through a window (even during the cold, long days of winter) or is blowing towards a kitchen stove vent fan adequate? Should I be drying my paintings under a vent fan overnight or is letting it just sit fine?
It's just odd that everyone seems to know that oil painting can be pretty hazardous to your health without the proper precautions, and everyone likes to go freaking out about it, but nobody seems to have any definitive, clear-cut information on what exactly the proper precautions are, beyond "don't eat the paint and drink the solvent."
Maybe I'll check out that book, though I kind of would rather not spent $18 on it when- if it's written properly- I probably only need maybe 3-5 pages of it to get the answers I'm looking for.
solvents are volatile organic compounds, you don't want to be breathing that, basically. Also, buildup of these compounds in the air can be flammable-- think like hairspray-flamethrower flammable.
"adequate ventilation" for indoor solvent use is typically some kind of cross-ventilation-- a fan and an open window for example, or open windows on opposite ends of the room, etc. I hesitate to give specific examples over the internet, but basically physical discomfort is only one sign of inadequate ventilation, and it's a biggie.
I built myself a spraybooth in my studio space for using shit like Testor's and other enamels with solvents, and it's basically just a corner of the room laminated in plastic with full access to the window and a giant fan. It's probably not ideal but it allows me to work indoors when the weather is shitty, and I'm assuming a similar setup would allow you to work with other solvents indoors. I also wear a mask with organic vapor/acid gas cartridges and it really does help; I usually can't smell or feel anything I'm working with until I take it off. I also think the mask makes me look and feel kinda badass; your mileage may vary.
For most oil paint solvents, I think if you're using them indoors with a fan you should be fine. It is mostly related to concentration where these things start to be toxic.
edit: AoB, I usually just use a small Vornado type fan at floor level while I am working so it doesn't mess up any paint and when I am done for the day I drag out the big fan. For what you want to do a box fan and an open window ought to suffice.
Hrmm, well on close investigation, my kitchen vent fan apparently doesn't go to the outside the way my old one does, but rather blows air from my stove around the back of my microwave and straight back into your face (what the hell is the point of that?), and I only have windows on one side of my apartment, so the only way to do this is to open a window and blow it out that way as you've suggested, or go out on my balcony...which is pretty inconvenient considering this is Boston and as a result it's pretty damn cold a whole lot of the time.
Oil painting may not be something I'm going to be able to practice in the short term, if my options remain either freezing to death, or getting cancer to death. :?
I was hoping 7 years of not being able to afford health care would have taken care of my stupid-health-risks-for-the-sake-of-an-artistic-career quota.
Which reminds me, now that I'm in the rare situation where I actually do have health insurance, I should probably try to take advantage of it while it lasts.
water-mixable oils with medium work decently, even if they're not as workable as trad oils according to that blog. i don't know if i'd recommend these Golden Open acrylics though. they've been really frustrating to use in the short term.
We're actually going there tomorrow. We walked around the city today but almost everything was closed because it's Sunday. It's a pretty amazing place and we're eating some awesome food here. We're heading to Barcelona for a couple of days this week too.
I have been given another medication ontop of my old one and I think it's just making me feel worse. Time goes by unbearably slow and my throat and stomach hurt from increased feeling of anxiety and stress.
Posts
All you have to do is paint everything perfect with no mistakes.
Great advice, I think I'm going to sit down and do that just now!
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/04/18/20-best-things-about-skyrim/
My Portfolio Site
Sometimes I still post stuff on deviantart, but the green got old for me.
I'd say keep it all in one place. I just came to that same decision, where I was going to set up an entirely separate blog for my writing when I realized, as a brand association, it was smarter to just keep it all on marselliot.com.
In other news, I'm almost certain I'll be able to go back to school!
The problem:
But it would appear I was awarded financial aid for the semester I took off, and even got a refund check sent to my old address. So as it stands now, from what I can tell, financial aid was awarded and applied to my balance and I may even be able to claim the refund too.
My school has great academics but the admin is a terrible case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.
I have another question - do any of you paint in your apartments? i have a work area all set up, but I"m worried about discolouring my bathroom sink. Are there any ad hoc solutions to this?
Also, to make my life feel shittier I have a bald spot on my head. And thinning in the front a bit.
I DO NOT NEED THIS SHIT
I assume we're talking about oils.
Brushes that have already been mostly cleaned in solvent (in something like but not necessarily a silicoil jar) can be somewhat safely cleaned with soap and rinsed in a sink.
Ideally you shouldn't be throwing out dirty solvent, and especially not in the sink or toilet.
*vanish*
artistjeffc.tumblr.com http://www.etsy.com/shop/artistjeffc
This is the last time we hire someone from The Muppet Show.
Buy thyself this little gem:
Best brush cleaner ever. I usually get to my brushes early enough to not need it with acrylics (I just wash it out with water)...but it works fantastically well with brushes that have been used with oil paints.
Your sink should be fine, as long as you don't leave paint smudges on it for extended periods...or paint-water sitting around the rim at the bottom.
Continuing from what Scos was saying, I've got this thing, which is fantastic, and lets you use the same solvent over and over and over again to clean your brush, without having to throw away the solvent each time you paint (which you should never have to do anyway). The paint particles just settle to the bottom, and leave the rest almost entirely clear. You should clean your brushes with the solvent first, damp off the excess, and then use brush cleaner and water. You can leave a small amount of brush cleaner in your brush to help shape the brush tip, and to prevent the tip from getting smushed or bent or ruined in another fashion...just be sure to rinse it out before using the brush again.
Anyways I also think I'll need some of that providing I can find some
Thanks, Prox!
Im lliving mineeeeeee!
How ya doing?
Presumably the danger isn't so high that the only way to paint with oils safely is to do it outside wearing a surgical mask or inside in an industrial strength ventilation booth, but I've never seen a specific, 'here's how you tell if your space has adequate enough ventilation or not' advice on the matter.
(I'm curious about this because Justin Gerard recently made a post trying to see if he could get water-mixable oils to do what he did with traditional oils in order to avoid the traditional fume-inhaling pitfalls, but apparently he thought they were somewhat inadequate to what he wanted:
http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2011/04/water-mixable-oils.html )
Twitter
^5!
Welcome to the awesome club
we were never told explicitly what the dangers were, though - try the artist's handbook or maybe the safety guide, if you can find a copy. i'm just some asshole.
http://vimeo.com/21362582
It's just odd that everyone seems to know that oil painting can be pretty hazardous to your health without the proper precautions, and everyone likes to go freaking out about it, but nobody seems to have any definitive, clear-cut information on what exactly the proper precautions are, beyond "don't eat the paint and drink the solvent."
Maybe I'll check out that book, though I kind of would rather not spent $18 on it when- if it's written properly- I probably only need maybe 3-5 pages of it to get the answers I'm looking for.
Twitter
"adequate ventilation" for indoor solvent use is typically some kind of cross-ventilation-- a fan and an open window for example, or open windows on opposite ends of the room, etc. I hesitate to give specific examples over the internet, but basically physical discomfort is only one sign of inadequate ventilation, and it's a biggie.
I built myself a spraybooth in my studio space for using shit like Testor's and other enamels with solvents, and it's basically just a corner of the room laminated in plastic with full access to the window and a giant fan. It's probably not ideal but it allows me to work indoors when the weather is shitty, and I'm assuming a similar setup would allow you to work with other solvents indoors. I also wear a mask with organic vapor/acid gas cartridges and it really does help; I usually can't smell or feel anything I'm working with until I take it off. I also think the mask makes me look and feel kinda badass; your mileage may vary.
For most oil paint solvents, I think if you're using them indoors with a fan you should be fine. It is mostly related to concentration where these things start to be toxic.
edit: AoB, I usually just use a small Vornado type fan at floor level while I am working so it doesn't mess up any paint and when I am done for the day I drag out the big fan. For what you want to do a box fan and an open window ought to suffice.
/resin technician
Uncanny Magazine!
The Mad Writers Union
Oil painting may not be something I'm going to be able to practice in the short term, if my options remain either freezing to death, or getting cancer to death. :?
Twitter
Huff that shit like it's going out of style.
I was hoping 7 years of not being able to afford health care would have taken care of my stupid-health-risks-for-the-sake-of-an-artistic-career quota.
Which reminds me, now that I'm in the rare situation where I actually do have health insurance, I should probably try to take advantage of it while it lasts.
Twitter
How the fuck do i get rid of it wihtout my antivirus having to run an update (which will take eons)
Jesus Christ.
i just went to valencia. it's bloody awesome over there!
be sure to check out the science museum!!
I have an incredible resistance to drugs though