| Brush Care and Maintenance |
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Brushes are an investment. If used and cared for properly, your brush will last a long time and perform better. A few basic suggestions: • Do not immerse the brush in paint up to the ferrule. Wet paint is hard to remove from this area and, if it dries, even more difficult. • Remove all excess paint with a rag or paper towel. • Never leave a brush soaking in water or mineral spirits for an extended period of time. • Never let your brush rest on its head. There are many accessories available that will suspend your brush. • Watercolor and acrylic paint should be cleaned with mild soap and water. Oil paint should be first cleaned with mineral spirits or turpentine and then with soap and water. • After cleaning, remove excess water, reshape the hairs into place with you fingers, and stand the brush upright on the handle to dry. |
| Canvas Printing |
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Printing on canvas is incredibly versatile and a great way to create a ready-to-hang image or artwork. Every canvas that we print is protected with a UV coated acrylic finish to guard the print from dust, moisture and fading. Do you want your canvas stretched on bars or non-stretched? Framed or unframed? Customize the work to make it truly your own. |
| Art Prints – How are they made? |
 Photography by Laurie Barone-Shafer Here are a few tips, tricks and techniques on how to make art print poster ready photographs and print ready digital files. Don’t get overwhelmed, there is a lot of information here, but a lot of it is just intuitive. Well, a bit of patience will always help. First thing – Photo Size |
| Learning to Paint Watercolors |
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Watercolor is an easy, fun medium for creating art. Color theory, composition and design can be explored freely with watercolor paint, paper, and brushes. Several techniques may be used with watercolors for varying effects including painting wet on wet, wet on dry, layering washes, and more. Watercolor paper comes in cold press, hot press, and rough. Rough paper has the most texture, and its hills and valleys can result in interesting effects when paint is added. Hot press is the smoothest and has the finest texture. Cold press has a moderate amount of texture and is the paper most commonly chosen by watercolor artists. Watercolor paper comes in several weights ranging from 90 lb. to 300 lb. based on the pounds per ream of paper. Most artists prefer to use at least 140 lb. paper. Papers vary somewhat between manufacturers, so sampling different papers is advisable. Paper can be purchased in pads, in blocks or in large sheets. The large sheets are usually the most economical and can be torn into whatever size is desired. |