My favorite supplies encompass a wide variety of store-bought, handmade and found materials.
I often experiment to discover unique ways to use everyday items in my artwork. I don’t think you have to spend a fortune on supplies in order to make your own mark.
Handmade and found tools can be inexpensive and fun. It’s the hunt for the objects that is part of the fun. Look at objects with different eyes; what can you use to make marks? Take a trip to the dollar store, hardware store or thrift shop, or look around your home. You’ll be amazed by the simple tools you’ll find and things that have alternative uses for stamping and printing. Train your eyes to see patterns and find textures in household items and found objects.
I use a collection of found papers for my paintings and collages. I recycle brown grocery bags, construction paper, storybook newsprint, ledger and graph paper, manila folders, watercolor paper, and cardboard. I also use heavy drawing paper, copy paper, newsprint, maps, mailing envelopes, black paper and Asian newspapers for my journal pages. I bind most of these papers inside my art journals and stain and paint them with color. Even before I start doodling on the page, something is there—a mark, a color, a line—that inspires my doodles. I also use a lot of repurposed black-and-white photocopies of my original artwork.
I make most of my stamps by either hand-carving them from rubber or cutting them from craft foam and inscribing them with a hot tool or a bamboo skewer. I also collect interesting items that I can use to make patterns, such as lasercut cardstock, paper diecuts, silk flowers and leaves, needlepoint canvas, textured wallpaper, sequin waste and drafting templates. I love letters and typography, so I collect letter stencils and incorporate them into my painted pages. A recurring theme in my mark-making is circles, so I often use empty thread spools, circular needlepoint canvas, binder rings, buttons, bobbins, coasters, the tops and bottoms
of paint bottles, jar caps and plastic water bottles as stamps.
Throughout my travels I’m on the hunt for cultural patterns I can use for stencils, like the shadow puppet I discovered in Bali or the straw flower shapes I found at a craft store in Mexico. Adhesive
My adhesive of choice is Collage Pauge. As for other adhesive tools, I use colored masking tape, washi tape, permanent roller adhesive and staples. I also create handmade stickers by printing my artwork on labels.
My paints of choice are acrylics and watercolors. My paintbrushes are simple. I mostly use 1 (2.5cm) foam brushes for background painting and to apply paint to stamps. For more detailed brush work, I use size 00 or 000 round paintbrushes, bamboo sumi brushes or inexpensive craft brushes. I also collect anything that can be dipped into ink to make marks with, such as bamboo skewers and coffee stirrers. I can’t live without a soft rubber brayer; it’s great for making prints, smoothing out collage elements and laying down large areas of color.
I can’t talk about doodling without mentioning markers and pens! I collect mark-making tools in all forms: from permanent paint pens and illustration markers to gel pens, colored pencils, oil pastels, soft pastels, calligraphy nibs and fabric markers. In my opinion, nothing is off limits when it comes to drawing!
Besides paintbrushes, I use a variety of items to draw lines and make marks when I paint. I transform everyday objects, such as skewers, toothpicks, feathers and chopsticks. into painting tools. These are great to use with India ink, acrylic ink or watercolors. I also collect wooden items like toothpicks, coffee stir sticks, popsicle sticks and utensils and bind them together with rubber bands. Popsicle sticks can also be altered by cutting and shaping the tips with a file to different angles. I save all of my hotel room keys, as these make great tools for scraping through paint. Palette knives, calligraphy nibs, plastic pipettes, syringes and stamp moistener applicator pens are other great unusual tools that will make your marks unique.
Dollar stores contain a myriad of interesting tools. I scour the aisles for multiple items that I can use to manipulate paint, such as hair combs, tooth brushes and crocheted doilies. I love rubberbands because they come in various shapes and are great for making organic, circular shapes. Another one of my favorite finds is foam hair rollers. The foam rollers print fun circles and the plastic closures create great backgrounds when paint is sprayed through them. Take a trip down each aisle to find more interesting tools like bubble wands and plastic spatulas.
Spending an afternoon hunting for finds in a thrift store or flea market is sure to be a fun-filled day of discovering items that can double as painting tools. Seek out vintage plastic jewelry, woodtype letters, alphabet stickers and sewing tools. All of these things can be used as stamps or stencils.
The hardware store is a treasure trove of goodies for painting and art making. From paintbrushes to PVC pipe to washers and rings, I find a plethora of items to inspire my mark-making. Hardware stores carry large canvas dropcloths that can be used to cover your work surface. Rosin paper is a great surface to paint on and can be found in the painting aisle. Painting rags are great for cleaning brushes or making fabric books.
Create doodle printing plates by burning designs into craft foam with a hot tool that has various interchangeable nibs. Work in a well-venilated area or wear a mask when creating the plates.
To use the plates, roll paint onto a piece of Plexiglass with a soft rubber brayer. Roll the paint onto the printing plate. Turn the plate over onto your chosen paper and press it to take an impression. This makes a great background paper to use for collage.
GO TO WWW.CREATEMIXEDMEDIA.COM/DOODLES-PLATES TO WATCH A VIDEO TUTORIAL ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DOODLE PRINTING PLATES.
