c/art-supply-swap

Pro tip: stop washing your brushes in the sink like I did for 2 years

I finally figured out why my acrylic brushes kept getting stiff and bristles were falling out. Turns out you're not supposed to let water run up into the ferrule, the metal part where the bristles meet the handle. A guy at the art store pointed it out when I complained about my $30 brush set. Now I just wipe them on a rag and use brush cleaner, been 3 months and they still feel new. Anybody else make this dumb mistake?

Tried to clean my brushes with dish soap and ended up with a foamy disaster

I figured dawn would be fine for my oil brushes since it cuts grease, but after 20 minutes of rinsing I still had suds bubbling out of the ferrule. Anyone else have a weird brush cleaning fail that made a mess?

Almost traded my half-used gouache set for watercolors, glad I didn't

I was about to swap my Winsor & Newton gouache set for someone's watercolor pans last week cause I thought gouache was too finicky. Then I watched a YouTube video where a guy used it like thick acrylics on wood scraps and it clicked for me. I took home some scrap wood from the warehouse and tried it myself, came out way better than paper. Has anyone else had a medium click after they almost gave it away?

I finally figured out why no one wants my half-dried paint tubes

I kept trying to trade these old acrylic tubes that were all crusted at the tip, and people just ignored me at the last swap. Then this one lady told me to just cut the tube open and scoop the good paint into a little jar, so I did that with 3 tubes last night and they actually got claimed today. Anyone else have better luck giving away paint if you repackage it first?

Got a half-dried tube of ultramarine at the Austin art swap and it saved my painting

Mixed it with some gel medium at the library workshop last Thursday and it spread better than any fresh tube I've used in 2 years, anyone else had luck reviving old paint like that?

Just saw what happens when you store paint tubes squeezed from the middle vs the end

I traded my half-used ultramarine to someone last month and they gave me back this tube that looked fine on the outside. When I opened it, the paint was all crusty and separated because they'd been squeezing it from the middle every time. The before was a tube that still had maybe 15% left but after 4 weeks of being stored that way, the pigment was basically ruined and I couldn't mix it smooth no matter how long I kneaded it. Has anyone else had a tube turn bad from bad squeezing habits?

Shoutout to the lady who traded me her half-used gouache set for my old watercolors

I got this Kuretake gouache set that was like 60% full and it's SO much better than my cheap watercolors for flat illustration work. The pigment is way more opaque and you can layer it without it turning muddy. Has anyone else made the switch from watercolor to gouache and noticed a big difference?

PSA: Stop swapping half-dried paint tubes without checking the seal first

I grabbed a tube of cadmium red from a swap last week and it was completely crusted over inside because someone didn't screw the cap back tight. It looked fine on the outside but when I squeezed it, nothing came out but dry chunks. Check the threads and give a little test squeeze before you trade, it'll save you the disappointment. Has anyone else gotten a dud from a swap that looked good but was wasted?

Got talked into a $40 calligraphy set and it's been sitting in my drawer for 6 months

I saw this kit at a craft store near my apartment and the guy working there really sold me on it. Said it would be perfect for making fancy cards and stuff, and I was feeling creative that day. Took it home, tried it once, made a huge mess, and now it's just collecting dust. Has anyone else bought something like this and actually stuck with it long enough to get good?

Found out one tube of cadmium red costs more per ounce than a good steak dinner where I live.

I was looking at my half-used paint stash and price-checked a fresh tube of Winsor & Newton cadmium red online and realized I've been casually squeezing out something worth $4.50 per ounce while my fettuccine alfredo at Luigi's last Friday was $3.80 per ounce, so how do you all justify using expensive pigments for practice sketches?

A paint swap club member told me I was "hoarding" and it made me rethink my whole stash

Just wasted $40 on a set of dried-out acrylics

Found a bundle of 12 acrylic paint tubes at a garage sale for $40, thought I scored big. But half of them were crusty and unusable inside, and one just spit out water. Anyone else get burned on pre-owned paint before?

Talked to a mural artist who swaps paint like trading cards

Honestly, I was at a community art center in Austin last week and this mural artist told me she never buys full tubes anymore. She said she just posts what she's got extra on forums like this and trades for colors she needs, saved her like $60 last month alone. Has anyone here tried doing trades with artists outside your usual circle?

Found a half-dried tube of Prussian blue in a park bench donation box

I was cleaning out the art supply donation box at the community center downtown after my shift last Tuesday and found this nearly full Winsor & Newton tube of Prussian blue wedged between a busted sketchbook and some dried-out markers. Some kid must have dropped it in because it still had a bit of paint that squeezed out perfectly for a sky wash I needed. Anyone else ever rescue paint from weird spots like thrift stores or sidewalk sales?

Had a lightbulb moment at the local thrift store last Tuesday

I was digging through a bin of old photo frames and found a set of unused chalk pastels wedged behind a broken lamp for $2. Now I always check the home goods aisle at Goodwill for hidden art supplies because people donate stuff in the weirdest spots. Anybody else scored art stuff from an unexpected place?

TIL my favorite brush cleaner ruined my sable brushes after 8 years

I grabbed my trusty Windsor & Newton series 7 brush last week and the bristles just crumbled off. Turns out the cheap brush cleaner I'd been using since 2016 had some ingredient that slowly ate the glue over time. Anyone know a good alternative that won't wreck your brushes after a few years?

Can we talk about how thrift stores are goldmines for art supplies?

I stopped by a Goodwill in Portland last Saturday and found a ton of half-used tubes of Windsor blue and burnt sienna for like $1 each. Also grabbed a set of unused brushes still in the package for $3. It's not just paint either, I saw sketchbooks with only 10 pages used and a bunch of canvas panels. Has anyone else scored good art stuff at thrift stores or is it just my local one?

That half-dried tube of ultramarine taught me a lesson

I always squeezed paint from the middle of the tube, and then wondered why half of it dried up crusty. Last week I grabbed a tube of ultramarine from our swap bin here, and a note inside said "roll from the bottom, fold the end." So I tried it, and now I get every last bit of paint with no waste. Has anyone else had a basic habit like that totally flipped by a random note?