Storing Acrylics and OIls

Several years ago I painted with Callaway Painter Barbara Robinson and she shared with me how she uses the 7 day pill boxes that you can pick up at most pharmacies and discount stores to store her left over oil paint. She didn't like the names of the days written on the top so she took sandpaper and scrubbed that off replacing those labels with labels of her own. To store the oil paint for use next time she simply puts the box in a zip-lock bag and pops the package into the freezer.

I tucked this idea in the back of my mind but never took time to try it out. Then another artist friend of mine who paints in acrylics told me that she also uses the 7 day pill boxes. I didn't think this would work because acrylic paint dries so fast, but read on. This is what she does, and says it works like a charm: "affix some sticky-back felt (from a craft supply place) inside the lids and spray that to keep it moist. No freezing of the boxes (a major no-no with acrylics!) but slip them inside a zip-lock bag with a moist paper towel and they'll be rarin' to go when you next approach the easel!" (Elin Pendleton)

In memory of our Callaway Painter Angel Jan Heberger whose memorial service was yesterday at 2:00.
Watercolor by Jan Heberger, "Rocking"


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