My exhortationFor watercolorists to use lots of paint and water touched a sore spot with some artists
who are on the “Felix” side of the great continuum between slob and neatnik. The messiest part of being
a watercolor artist is the wet palette, and those who are neat and clean by nature don’t enjoy me pushing them to make it worse. We laugh at Neil Simon’s classic characters of Felix and Oscar from The Odd Couple because we recognize ourselves in them. It’s not so funny being criticized for our own habits.
I admit to being towards the slob end of the curve. I have no trouble sleeping with dirty dishes in the sink. Weeks go by when I cannot see the surface of certain tables, so deep are they in clutter. Why? Who knows? I find the cleanup tasks repetitive and time consuming. There are always things that seem more important and more fun to do.
Paint is a problem for us natural slobs. After receiving my first set of oil paints, I watched in fascination as the thalo blue spread from my palette to stain most of the house. It was like that pink stuff in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. It never diminished, but seemed to increase as it spread from paintbrush to chair to my father’s white shirt. Tragically, there was no “Voom” to be had. I still suffer with this syndrome. Recently the palate I keep in my car slopped red paint, cadmium I think, onto the floor and my grocery bags. I took the bags into the market, brushing hair out from eyes and scratching my nose as I did so. Then, I wondered why people recoiled from me in horror, until I saw my hands looking bloody as if I’d been punching out windows. Concerned for my personal dignity, I washed up with those little, white sanitizing towels they have in by the meat cooler.
Wet palettes are messy, but they are worth the hassle. I have a few suggestions to minimize the damage. If possible, stash a palette each place you regularly paint to reduce the possibility of travel accidents: at your friend’s house who hosts your painting group, in your classroom and at the art center where you do figure studies. When you do move a wet palette, take care of it first thing as you begin to clean up. Soak up water and thin paint from each well with the corner of a paper towel, then use it to wipe out your mixing areas. Set the palette to dry in the warmest, sunniest spot you can find as you take care of the rest of you painting gear. If you are traveling by car, make a separate trip if need be, so that you can carry the palette flat with no risk of dropping it. In you car, place it flat on the floor. It helps to find a box or tray you can set you palette(s) in so that they will slide around less. If you have to stash you palette in your bag, wrap it in the plastic sack you always carry in you painting kit. Place it as flat as possible in the bottom of your bag and hope for the best. Painting can be a messy business.
I have wonderful, talented students who are extremely neat. Learning often involves leaving our comfort zone. For some this may mean throwing the paint around and getting dirty. For some, it means learning careful craftsmanship and not leaping into your work unprepared.
This painting is a watercolor, 9"x6", titled Fair Afternoon. Artists have the summer art fair season on their minds as they make applications. My classes have been working on figure drawing and fairs are a favorite place to sketch people watch.The panting is for sale at a recession friendly price of $100.00. Please contact Mary Gregg Byrne for purchase and further information.
Remember, watercolor washes out a lot better than oil paint does.
