Painting With Finger Paint

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The above picture was painted with finger paint mixed from standard finger paint colors. I painted it, so I’m not trying to insult it. I actually quite like it, though I’m not very good at painting. I’m not going to say it is a great painting, but would one expect it to come from standard finger paint with the standard brick red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange?

The entire point of this is that I saw a post a while back that said to make good colors one must use cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, instead of the standard set of colors. Now I won’t say that the finger paint colors are the brightest, or most vibrant in the world, but I would just like to say that with a little bit of general color knowledge, one can make very nice, natural, and realistic (non-brown) colors, even with simple, rudimentary colors available to everyone.

Specifically, people wouldn’t usually think about finger paint being used across a stretched canvas. This was just a fun little thing that took a few hours. I didn’t paint it with my fingers, though: I used a brush. And I would encourage everyone out there to try this out, learn a little bit about colors. Get some simple colors, and then just paint a little bit. It doesn’t have to be great: mine isn’t. But I know that experimentation will lead to superior art, or at least artistic and inventive ideas swimming around in one’s brain.

Don’t be snobby about the material. One can make great art with a simple ballpoint pen if one decides to master it. No one will ever understand the best if they do not understand the worst way to do things.

Review – Uni Paint Pen

So you want to paint, but you’re better at drawing. Or you want to mark on some surface unsuitable for Sharpie or other permanent markers. Well, the Uni Paint PX-21 by Sanford may be for you.

This pen is oil-based and needs to be shaken up like a spray can before use. It has a “fine” point, which means a medium or even broad point if you compare it to anything that is a not a paint pen. The line it writes is solid and about as thick as a large Crayola marker. This particular version is the black version which is especially solid, though it is fairly shiny, somewhere between a Sharpie and a matte black spray in terms of marking on plastic. It does mark on literally anything, though some shiner plastics and polished metals have it wear off easily.

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The body of the pen is metal and feels solid in the hand. A shiny label has all the necessary information printed on it, including warnings and such. This label makes the pen slightly slippery in the hand so tight gripping is necessary.

The cap matches the color of the paint. It has ridges that are sharp and cut into the skin. It also fits very snugly onto the end, meaning it is quite difficult to remove, which is both a hindrance and a benefit.

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Also be warned that since it is an oil-based pen it stinks mightily and will give you a headache after a few minutes of constant exposure. The label even tells you to put the cap on immediately after use, though this is most likely also to not let the paint dry out.

Overall this is a great little painting device. It is especially handy for touchups on plastic and metal painting. Or, if you’re like my relatives and have a shop were regular markers and price tags have a hard time sticking to the stock. It’s not really a home item, or one that will be useful to canvas painters, but it certainly will have its place with sculptors and model builders.

Review – Imagine Plus 110-pound Card Stock

By: Austin Smith

After paper the new thing that one would most likely move on to is card stock, in this case Imagine Plus 110-pound 8.5″x11″ card stock. This stuff is a little more “advanced” and one could actually create “finished” projects on it. “Finished” being a subjective term.

110-pound card stock is obviously much thicker and heavier then paper. It takes pencil and ink well; heavy inking and even light painting also work well. The stock does buckle under water quite easily, though, so over-inking and water-based paints aren’t recommended. And painting on anything lighter than Water-color type paper could lead to buckling.

The stock itself is smooth, with enough friction to not go sliding around. Pencil is taken and erased well. Ink is quickly absorbed. The grain is noticeable at times but rarely affects the work that is on it. Heavy ink shows through, but the likelihood of someone seeing the back is negligible.

The size of the paper being 8.5″x11″ makes it a rarely seen art surface. The size, like that of copy paper, is simply unconventional. It is a good material for people just “graduating” into “finished” artwork.

While the stock is nice and useful, most will quickly pass it up for superior art surfaces.