It's All About the Toys

Choose a hobby, a profession, a vocation or an avocation...name one and I promise you it will have gidgets and gadgets loved and collected only by those who partake.  I have watched fishermen go into rapture discussing reels and golfers get an envious look in their eye fondling a putter.  It is no different with artists.  And believe me, language is no barrier to the careful examination we give to one another's equipment, rigs and carrying devises.

While painting in Rome and Venice I had the opportunity to closely examine several "rigs" and take notes on the latest equipment.

 

 

For plein air painters mobility and efficiency are issues that must be addressed.  One may have to travel on foot quite a bit to get to the set up so you need to be lightweight and compact.

Here's my backpack and Kelly's easel.  She usually throws her stuff into a bag on her bike and puts the easel on her back to travel.  I chose to have everything secured in my back pack.

Here's another "city" option, Kelly's rolling cart.  This was seen all over Venice where every thing, food, luggage, shopping, errands etc, had to be hand carried anyway.

Some of us like to stand up and work.  This is my tripod holding my palette and a panel vise.

Others prefer to sit while working so must include some type of folding stool in their equipment.

 



Media makes a difference.  If you are a watercolorist you need a bottle of watercolor and a fairly flat surface. Helen Beacham's rig in use above.  Anne Peterson looks on.

Oil painters like Marco need an upright canvas in the shade and some terpenoid for cleaning brushes.  We all want paper towels and a trash bag!  A hat, sunscreen, umbrella, lunch, bug spray...just a few more items!

I so loved Anne Petersons palette she made with cup holders that I asked her make me a template for it so I could cut one at home! (see it in use above with the stool)

 

One more thing about equipment...it doesn't make the painter!  Much as my brand new tennis racket doesn't hit guaranteed aces on the serve, buying a new painting gadget doesn't guarantee painting a masterpiece.  But is sure is part of the fun!!

Ready to go!

ARTfully yours,

Cindy

Diagnosed with GAS!?

I always had a suspicion but it was confirmed yesterday as I was reading

about a fellow artist's problem in battling gas.

I knew immediately that was what I, too, have been suffering from and, as

of yet, unable to find a cure for.  GAS, or Gear Acquisition Syndrome, afflicts many

artists including musicians, wood workers and even cooks.

Symptoms include piles of catalogues, the hoarding of $-off coupons, and

the willingness to forgoe decent shoes in the name of more gear.

Soooo,

while I have boxes of unopened pencils and several used-once backpacks, I find myself turning

time and again to the same old brushes.  My workhorses just get better

with age and I owe them some appreciation.

They may not be new and shiny but they continue to get 'er done.

They deserve a medal and an ode but in lieu of either

I just thought a few moments in the limelight might make them

feel as special as they are.

Presenting the backbone of my gear, tried and true, in all their humble glory:

Ta-da!  Take a bow.