Learning to Paint with Alison C. Board

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Ask Ali: Alternative Tools

Hey everyone, thanks for finding your way to this blog post, great to have you here.

I’m guessing that you are here as you are looking for ways that you might be able to create interesting marks in your paintings using unusual pieces of equipment? It’s a method of painting that I really love and am forever on the lookout for something that will produce a texture that means I don’t interfere with my painting too much and let things happen by chance. I agree that sometimes it’s not for the faint-hearted as often it is unpredictable and requires letting go of order but it can reap rewards and bring a subject to life that might otherwise be a little sedentary.

If you have ever painted with children, or like me, haven’t grown up yourself, then you will be no stranger to blowing paint with a straw. Kids are fascinated by straws anyway, they seem to upgrade any drink you give them but to blow paint around on a piece of paper… that’s just the most exciting thing. That is what sprang to mind when I had decided to paint this spiny seahorse, a native of the Dorset shores, how could I achieve those spines without them looking forced or overpainted?

This Ask Ali blog comes with a bonus this week as not only do I have the painting here for you to see, but it was a Technique Tuesday broadcast at the beginning of the year, so you can watch me create the piece from start to finish:

I hope that encourages you to reach for an alternative tool in your kitchen, have you ever used anything else that might seem odd in comparison to traditional painting tools? Do leave me a message in the comments below, I’d love to get some new ideas, Ali