Since there are some paint supply issues I have been thinking about ways to save and preserve paint. I don’t know if these will work for you but just in case it helps.
Acrylic (air dry)
-If it’s a tube or a soft bottle, squeeze the air out before you seal the cap, it will keep paint soft.
-Make sure the lid and hole are clean and sealed, air will kill paint fast.
-you can freeze your pallet. Acrylic paint freezes (Like Walt Disney’s head) and you can bring it back to life by letting it sit for a minute, I would cover it with plastic wrap before you pop it in the frig.
-Don’t break the seal on a new container until you have used up the old one.
-if you are down to the last bit it will dry out quick, you can add a little retarder to the bottle to keep it moist.
-Dont double dip and contaminate paint, use a pallet (an old saucer or bowl, acrylic will peel right off)
GHSP (heat set)
-If you tend to use some of the same colors for washes over and over and have favorites, make a bigger batch and keep it in a small jar, lid on tight.
-Don’t open a new container until the old one is done.
-use a little thinning medium or thinner to revive the bottom of an almost empty container.
-use left over paint to create new colors by mixing them together and storing in a small container. I like to use left over pinks, red, yellow to make a jar of salmon wash. You can use blues and greens to make a blue mottle, blue and yellow to make a swamp green…
-If you mix on a small pallet you can slide it into a ziplock bag, and seal it up for the next day, if it gets a little dry bring it back to life with a little thinner, make sure you mix it well and break down any pigment bits, you don’t want a dirty baby.
-have designated brushes for each color, keep them separated in a small jar or cup. I found that I was doing a deep clean in-between painting days and losing all that pigment. Instead I clean after my baby is done (still keeping them separate) The pigment does revive next day, you can test the color on a paper towel or cloth.
-keep your mottling sponges. They last forever. they also hold pigment. Don’t over satire them, better to reload lightly frequently, the pigment and thinner get pulled into the sponge where you can’t use it anymore and causes the sponge to swell.
-hair painting, you need less paint than you think, start off with thin paint and build up. Use your brush to move the paint around.
-I keep a jar of thinner to clean my brushes, I reseal it when I am done, I use it over and over. The pigment will sink to the bottom and the top will get clear again, just swish your dirty brush around in the clear and wipe paint off with a cloth. Thinner is expensive!
Add any tips if you have them.
Have a super day.
Oh and if anyone has a way to squeeze a couple hours of paint time in with kids homeschooling I would love to know. I miss painting for a good two hour stretch!