Why it's Important to Rethink "Wasting Paint"

Artist Sandi Hester (Ep.93) doesn't worry about wasting paint because she knows there's no way she CAN waste paint.

When Hester gets new supplies, she takes the time (and materials) necessary to swatch them all out. This isn't wasting paint. She likens it to a musician learning the keys of their piano. And as a visual artist, these are her keys.

Then she uses her sketchbooks (in non sellable work) to explore how these new tools interact. And even if she doesn't like anything she creates, it doesn't matter. She's not wasting paint. She's learning how that paint works in combination with her other materials. She’s organizing her thinking and her opinions about these new additions.

Then she uses these materials as part of sellable work, but maybe she doesn’t finish that particular canvas. She doesn’t count that as wasting paint because she’s continuing to explore ideas and learn new ways to approach her art.

Then she uses these materials to create a painting that does sell.

She doesn't rank this use of materials as more valid than the rest. This isn’t the one place where she’s not wasting paint. Because she knows that none of this work would be possible if she hadn't color swatched her pigments or explored shapes and marks in her sketchbooks. These ideas wouldn’t have been possible if she hadn’t taken some large and realized they needed to be different.

Hester knows that using paint in any way can't be counted as wasting. Because it's all part of knowing your materials, being excited by your materials, and creating work for many many different reasons.

Put it to Practice:

If you find yourself worrying about "wasting paint," try and name the bigger reason for what you're doing. If you're using your paint to color swatch, that's helping you better understand your colors. That's not wasting paint. That's you building color knowledge.

If you do a study or a painting and don’t like it, you might start to feel like that was a waste of paint. Try to reframe it as rough drafts. An author would never say that the first draft of a book was a waste of paper. It's how you finish a book.

Try and change the language you use. Instead of “wasting your paint,” rephrase it to “using paint.”

You’re using paint to build skills through color swatches. You’re using your paint to audition ideas in a sketchbook and yep, some of those auditions are duds. You’re using your paint to build paintings and yep, some work and some don’t. You’re using paint to create a painting you absolutely love. It feels so good! And the only way you got there is because of all that use of paint.

Because using paint in many different ways is the only path to actually learning HOW to use your paint. It’s the only way to get better. And the quicker you can make that mental shift, the easier you’ll make it for yourself.