An Artist Must Suffer for their Art. That’s Why it’s Called ‘Pain’-ting (ugh)

How to take the Pain out of Painting

So, I am working on a post about building a little sumpin’-sumpin’ for the garden/girls that isn’t quite finished (stay tuned for that).  But as I was going about my building business I was up to my least favourite part of any build, the painting portion, and I thought to pass on a few tips I’ve found helpful.

Tip #1: Use an old running sock (one that has lost its mate) to do the painting.
I swear, this is such a great tip.  Put an old rubber glove on, then put the inside-out sock on over the top.  Use the sock as your brush to dip and swipe along the wood.  It makes it soooo easy to get in the all the fiddly corners and it makes it go so fast!  I love love love this idea.  Of course, don’t do this if the final finish is super important but for an application like mine (a garden objet d’art) it was perfect.  I swear, I don’t think I’ll ever use a paintbrush again if I can help it.

Using an old mate-less sock for the painting.

Tip #2: Upcycle a milk jug to use as a paint holder.
Guys, I’m telling you, this tip made all the difference to whether this was going to be a super-drag-chore or just a regular-type chore.  Since my rather large project was in two locations, being able to pick up my paint holder by the handle and move around the wooden frame while holding the paint (not having to go back and forth to a stationary can) and then just moving organically to the next frame made things go much more quickly and smoothly.  Brilliant!

All I did was take an old milk jug and draw a line with a sharpie to cut off the spout and make a neck wide enough to get my hand in and out while maintaining the handle.  Then I used a stanley knife to cut it out.  Easy!

So, dear readers, go forth and create!  My hopes are that with these tips there will be less ‘pain’ in your painting (ba-dum bum).

You’re welcome 🙂