My Painting Must-haves

I’ve been painting professionally for a little over four years now. And throughout those four years I have gotten a pretty good grasp of what kind of materials I prefer and work best with. That isn’t to say that I won’t continue to learn and evolve in my methods but more so that I have a pretty good foundation and knowledge of what works best for my particular style and practice.

For those of you who are curious about what I use to create my paintings, here is a list of my must haves.

Heavy Duty Gallery Wrapped Canvases

It took my a while to figure out the kind of canvas to use since there are so many. But for the past two years or so i’ve been using the heavy duty canvases from Art District. They come hand primed and stretched on a super solid 1.5 inch wood frame. It has a SUPER smooth finish to it which is perfect for blending and getting small details into your work. I find canvases with a rougher tooth to them so much more harder to work with. It becomes frustrating having to fight against the texture of a rough canvas.

Golden Paints

You can find these in most major art stores or online (obvs). These are the heavy body paints Golden offers which basically means they have a creamy, buttery texture. They are super pigmented so a little goes a long way when applying them to canvas. They come in either tubes or tubs in various sizes. A tub usually lasts me almost a year.
Since you can make almost any color with the primaries, I only use these few colors listed below to mix my colors which is more than enough.

Colors

-Alizarin Crimson Hue
-C.P. Cadmium Red Medium
-Hansa Yellow Medium
-Raw Sienna
-Chromium Oxide Green
-Burnt Umber
-Teal
-Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)
-Titanium White
-Mars Black

Wide Flat Brushes

These are essential to paint your backgrounds!

Filbert Brushes

These are probably my favorite type of brushes. They come in different sizes with rounded flat ends.

Flat Brushes

These make painting straight and linear lines so much more easier.

Round Brushes

These apply paint really nicely especially if you need to make a pointed tip.

Small Brushes

These are life savers when you need to make fine details to your paintings. The sad thing is they fray after a while of using them so stock up!

Brush Cleaner Tank

This is basically a glass jar with a mesh wire at the bottom. You fill it about halfway with water (or paint thinner if using oil paints) and use it rinse and scape off any paint off your brushes. What a marvelous invention!

Plastic Palette

Palettes come in many different materials but I find plastic palettes SO MUCH more functional. With the one I use theres no need to scrape, rinse, or wipe to clean off any unwanted paint. Just peel!

Brush Cleaner and Preserver

This is perfect to clean off any dried on paint from your paint brushes. It makes it so your brushes look and paint like new. Using it regularly will definitely help you brushes last longer.

What Are Exhibitions For?

VIVA Latino/a Art Exhibition 2016

This past summer I exhibited my work at Seattle's Armory Gallery for the second time along with other amazingly talented Latinx artists. This year I had much more work to show and I feel like I finally found the direction and perspective I want my work to have and I was thrilled to show this to my friends, family, and Seattle.

There is this inexplicable joy and sense of gratitude that came over me every time I saw a friend or family member enter the gallery. It sort of was like- "Oh my God, You came! You really took the time to and effort to come see these things I created." It was moving to see so many people from my community come out and show support of my work. Hearing their takes on the paintings and how they interpreted them was so great. It was much needed. I do like feedback (to a certain extent). 

VIVA Latino/a Art Exhibition 2016

To me exhibitions serve two purposes. 

The obvious purpose- to show off your work in hopes of making a sale (which isn't always the case).

The not so obvious purpose I realized this year- for a community to come together in order to show solidarity and support. Maybe they can't buy a painting or maybe they just don't want to (which it totally fine) but they do want you to succeed and they want to outwardly show that support by coming to your show or one that you're participating in. That kind of support is vital to an artist. It's almost like a confirmation that says what you're doing is right and more importantly that your work is pulling people in. It shows that people care! When people care about about something they'll share it with others either verbally or through social media. That could increase you're chances of reaching a potential client.  

As much as I do love having someone show support through a purchase, I do also love having a community that comes together, shows up, and shares my work because they want me to succeed, because they all care.

The Personable Artist

I feel as though in this age of new technology and digital access to the world, there is a need for some sense of exclusivity and eliteness for many artists when it comes to social media. For me when I see it - it comes off as bravado in order to self validate an artist's worth or talent. That's not to say that that those with a lot of confidence are doing just that but I think there is a fine line between the two. Though bravado can be pretty hindering to an artist's career especially when starting out. 

As an artist it’s important to connect to your audience, have conversations with them, and reply to their comments. It’s an amazing feeling when you feel like you’re connecting with an audience member. I personally see it as some sort of validation that my work is stirring up some sort of reaction or conversation-which is what my main goals is. (So yes, keep the comments coming! I love ‘em). The personable artist is what I hope to come off as at the end of the day. 

 When someone buys a painting, drawing or some kind of artwork, they aren’t just buying a piece of art because they like it- they are buying it because they like the artists and believe in them. It does no help to create a barrier where a potential client feels intimidated or invisible when looking at your social media accounts or website. It’s not impressive, really (that’s just my opinion). We should try to make everyone feel as though they can all be included in the world of art- be it artists, patrons, or art lovers. 

Thank You

Thank you for your support. I'm grateful for those who have not only shown interest in my work, but those who chose to buy and share/post it from day one. Although my path as an artist still continues to expand, those early gestures of support have meant the world to me. Thank you and here's to a long and fulfilling career.