Three Things I Can't Paint Without

1. Tape. I use this for masking off templates, for protecting surfaces I don't want painted, for created painted shapes. I use several different types, depending on the surface. I use cheap masking tape for taping the edges of canvas before painting. I also use this for taping the bottoms of resin boxes so I can prevent drips along the edges. I use blue "delicate" tape in various sizes for taping on paper, both for masking off the edges and masking painted surfaces. I use a white "artist tape" for surfaces that are a little tougher and where I need a really clean edge. Then I use the other blue tape, the one with the slightly textured surface for miscellaneous taping, where a clean edge isn't that important.

2. Razor Blades. This is an all around tool for me. It's a "fixer". I use it to trim tape on an edge. I cut paper to size, make templates, cut collage paper, cut cut cut. More importantly, I use them to scrape paint off where it doesn't belong. When paint gets smeared, spilled or spattered on the paper border around an image, I scrape it with a razor blade, then use an eraser.

3. Hairdryer. I use this to dry paint, like most acrylic painters. I also use it to dry paper, or to uncurl painted paper. Sometimes I use it as a blower to clean off my worksurface. I use it in certain painting techniques, like crackling. I also use it to warm up tape so it will release easily from whatever surface it's stuck to. This is most important in the winter. I've also used it to pry apart acrylic paintings which have stuck together. That's usually a summer problem.

I've used these three things extensively over the weekend while I have worked on twelve photo paintings. They get taped three different times to paint or print each specific area.