Tips for Making Art on a Budget

Buying art materials can start to add up, however, creating art on a budget is achievable with a bit of planning and some smart choices. Here are some tips that might help you save money while still getting great results.

Paint

Limit your colour palette. You don’t need to buy all the colours there are on offer. Instead, try choosing just the primaries (red, yellow and blue) plus white. You can mix thousands of colours with just a selection of primary colours. You can even make black with primaries, but I do buy a black as I use it sometimes to help get those darkest darks by mixing it with other colours. If you purchase paint sets, there will probably be some colours you won’t use, so just stick to your favourite individual tubes, and the more you paint, the more you’ll recognise which ones you’re drawn to. You could always buy your primaries and every time you restock, purchase one other colour that you are drawn towards and gradually build up your stock that way, then you know that you will use all the colours that you have and not waste any unwanted tubes.

Acrylic - My go to favourites are Ultramarine Blue, Coeruleum Blue, Crimson, Magenta, Cadmium Yellow and Titanium White. These are Daler Rowney System 3. These aren’t too expensive, and I love the vibrancy and texture of the paint. There are premium ranges such as Golden, so if you do want to buy these, you know you only need about 6 tubes, which is a lot more cost effective. I would avoid the cheapest brands as often the pigment isn’t as strong and might affect the overall quality of your work. You could use these lesser quality brands for underpainting.

Watercolours - I mainly use just the primary colours as mentioned above, but I also love Mauve, Turquoise and Paynes Grey in Windsor & Newton Cotman Range. I do have a small selection of expensive Daniel Smith watercolours which I purchase on special occasions as a treat!

Using just primary colours gives you great practice in colour mixing too! Save paint by producing small rather than big artworks. It always amazes me how much paint I can get through when painting large format.

Palette - Your choice of palette can make the paint last longer. By using a stay-wet* palette for acrylic, you can seal it with a lid and the paints don’t dry as fast, therefore less wastage. Watercolours can be reactivated once fully dry so you can use the same palette next time.

Use up left over paint. I sometimes use left over acrylics as a base layer on some boards or canvas ready for painting on later. Or, by messing about with the paint and mark-making on top of old artworks. Working quickly and spontaneously with not a care as I am using unplanned paint colours that would otherwise go in the bin and, more often than not, achieving some exciting, unexpected results and surprise colour combinations!

A palette can be something as simple as a white dinner plate. I use enamel camping plates as well as plastic containers and ceramic dishes for holding more fluid paint. I’ve seen people use glass chopping boards for oil and acrylic - anything goes!

*a stay-wet palette is a sealed container with a lid, usually plastic. The bottom layer is kitchen roll/paper towel dampened with water with a sheet of baking parchment on top for your acrylic paints to go on. You can buy these palettes or make your own using any shallow plastic container with a lid. A Ferrero Rocher shallow tray packaging is ideal!

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Brushes

By experimenting with different brush types, you’ll soon find your favourites. Then you know to only replace those styles that you enjoy using instead of purchasing any unnecessary types. I have so many brushes and most of them I don’t use. Here are my tips on which brush styles work for me.

I don’t buy expensive brands as I don’t want to hold back and be too precious with them. My brushes work hard! You can save money by purchasing cheaper brushes, and if you care for them by washing them out thoroughly, they can last for years. My most expensive types are for watercolours where I find I need more control and detail in my fluid paint marks. My favourites are all synthetic, a decent set of flat brushes in various widths, a rigger brush size 0 for painting branches and grasses, plus a selection of rounds with a decent point. I mainly use large size brushes and rarely use my small rounds, but you’ll find out your favourites the more you paint and experiment.

I don’t tend to stick to separate watercolour, acrylic or oil brushes. For me, I use whatever produces the right mark in whatever medium. Well-used, brushes can sometimes create different marks compared to when they were new, so I rarely throw any away!

Try using other household brushes or implements to apply paint with. Mostly when painting large, I use wide decorator’s brushes from a hardware shop. You could try sponges, scrubbing brushes, old toothbrushes, scourers, silicone spatulas, plastic cards. The only limit is your imagination, and these are all inexpensive items.

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Surfaces

When using watercolour, a decent quality paper is important to stand up to the amount of water that will be applied. I use at least 300gsm textured or cold pressed watercolour paper. Bockingford is the main brand that I buy. It is important to have a good quality paper and, if you are keeping to a budget, save money on the quality of watercolour paints instead. A good quality paper is priority. You can paint on the reverse of old paintings or even wash off paint under a tap to reuse the paper again. There may be some staining, but often I see this as an interesting starting point to a new piece!

If using acrylics or oil paints, anything goes regarding surfaces! Use old pieces of card similar the back of a writing pad (this is sold as ‘grey board’ online), I use mount board scraps, the inside of old book covers. I mainly paint on MDF panels cut to size by my local timber supplier as this is an extremely affordable painting surface. I also paint on stretched canvases, wooden panels and watercolour paper. If you prime the surface with gesso to stop it becoming as porous, you can pretty much use anything!

No waste tip - I have never thrown away a painting! Instead, I cut up old paintings and use sections as a starting point for another smaller piece. I do this a lot and often use them for handmade cards. Unwanted artworks on paper can be used for collage as a starting point for another painting to add pattern and texture on a new piece. Paint over old canvases or gesso the surface if you want a clean new white surface. I would lightly sand first if painting over a varnished surface. Canvases can also be taken off stretcher bars, cut up and painted over.

As well as following my tips above, waiting until art materials are on offer is a great way of saving money. Don’t buy cheap but spend money where it matters. Above all, embrace the process of creating art and use what you have. It’s not necessary to be extravagant with purchasing materials. You’ll be surprised how little you need to have fun creating.