Andrea's Art Corner

There's so much a person can do or make. A desk crammed full of even just a few supplies can keep a person entertained forever. All you need is the imagination to be able to use them!

Lists of Materials

Here are some of my favorites!

• Watercolor paints
• Acrylic paints
• Oil paints
• Paintbrushes for each paint type, in numerous sizes
• Pastel sticks
• Good quality painting paper that won't warp with water
• Micron pen set
• White jelly pen set
• Pencils with good quality erasers
• Polymer clay to make small craft items
• Raw soapstone for carving
• Carving and sanding tools for the clay and stone
• Painter's tape for helping keep clean lines
• Masking fluid for isolating areas you want to keep clean while painting.
• Backlight tracing board

Get more incredible materials from sites like dickblick.com!

How to Set Up Shop

Set yourself up for a great day of creative making!

1. Clear your space and ready it for use. Declutter, and wipe away any dirt and dust so it won't contaminate your materials.
2. If possible, have something like a mat or a cover ready to go to save your work surface from damage from water or staining materials.
3. Set up good lighting. Indirect bright daylight is great, and a neutral-white lamp will show the true colors of your materials.
4. Lay out your materials so that they are in easy reach of where you're sitting, and organized so that you know what you have. Now is a good time to take stock of anything you're low on, missing, or anything that's run out or damaged so you can replace them soon.
5. Have water and paper towels or napkins ready to go for thinning and mixing your paints, as well as cleaning your brushes.
6. Have oil ready to go to adjust the consistency of your polymer clay, in case it has dried out or you want it to have more pliability. This can be a dedicated oil, mineral oil, or even unscented baby oil.
7. Set up some drinks (keep those away from your paint water!), snacks and music to work to!
8. Settle in on a comfy chair and have fun!