Free materials for artists & students

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Frugal can be beautiful.
I love oil painting, especially experimenting with textures. Most recently I have employed the aid of layering tissue paper on the canvas. I also layer in feathers and sparkles for texture, and I love using palate knives, coarse hair brushes and other non-traditional methods of slathering paint onto the canvas.

So recently, I was intrigued when my Mom told me about a website called Artist Terms that provides ideas on how to create paintings around texture, using items such as bubble wrap, elastics, even sesame seeds.  After I took a look, I couldn’t stop noticing all the crafty materials I had in my own apartment that would be perfect for painting.  I thought I would take a few pics to share my ideas with you, (as shown in the slideshow above) and the results turned out to be somewhat artistic in their own right; the materials became beautiful before they even made it to the canvas! (If you want to know what each item is, just click on the picture to see the title.)

Right now, there is quite a mess in our soon-to-be office.  The cardboard, packing paper, styrofoam and styrofoam paper strewn about looks like a disaster as a whole, but close up, each becomes a work of art.  The other items you see are from my craft cupboard, such as the sea shells I purchased from the dollar store, and the tiny bag they came in.  

There are two lessons in my photographic discoveries.  First, if you are an artist, a student, or someone who just feels like being creative, you need not frequent an expensive arts & crafts store for your supplies.  Just look in your kitchen.  I discovered netting that held oranges, avocados, clementines, and garlic.  Peek in your tool box or garage for old brushes, sponges or other materials you can recycle. Secondly, take the time to appreciate the beauty in the world around you – something as ugly as cardboard can provide pleasure to the eyes when given the right attention.