10 Weird Things Starving Artists Do To Save Money

A starving artist's desk

​I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that being a ‘starving artist’ is no longer a thing ~ unfortunately, it is, still for me LOL. And that’s something that’s been brought home to me this year more vividly than it ever has been in my long and uneventful life.

Honestly, if it hadn’t been for God, my dad, and my brother, I wouldn’t be writing this jillablog post now (or even have a website to post it on) at my desk in the lavish (for me) comfort of the jillahouse.

God willing, things will work out somehow, steadily, and soon ~ until I get all four feet back under me again.

But for now, I couldn’t help taking a quick and humorous look at what being a penniless painter has led me to do ~ even during the times I could actually afford to throw insane (for me) amounts of moolers away on paint and things. I guess I don’t have an Ilocano dad for nothing.

To be clear, I am grateful for having such a father because his prudence not only made it possible for me and my six siblings (and then some) to go to good schools, go on holidays overseas, take up music and martial arts and basically never have to work a day in our lives until we graduated.

It also gave us (or well most of us, anyway) the insane work ethic that made it possible for me to do what I’m doing now ~ which is basically work my hindquarters off so I can continue to create.

Anyway so you’ll understand (I hope) why I end up doing these weird things because where I come from, pesos (and paint) don’t grow on trees. (Doesn’t make these any less weird, though ^^)
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1. Recycle cups and things.

Might’ve been all those WWF books I used to do back in the day, but really I can’t help but feel guilty throwing plastic cups and things away. So I end up hoarding them (I know, I know) thinking I can maybe use them for art or something.

There had been a time when that was literally true, but now I really only need like, one? Maybe a few ~ but not the freaking stockroom of some McDonald’s or something.

What I have in my cupboards instead of, uh, food ​(ha!)

​2. ‘Save’ paint.

One of the things I use the cups and things I save for is to ‘save’ paint ~ do I actually even use the paint I save? Honestly? Nine out of 10 times, I don’t ~ and nine out of 10 times the paint’s already dead if and when I get around to *remembering* I had it.

But I can’t help doing it anyway. I’ve long since realised that there’s this unavoidable *waste* that takes place when you make things ~ but you know me, I like to try and minimise this waste as much as possible. Because again, it’s not like linseed grows back here (which means paint’s pretty pricey).

I’ll give you this, though ~ the cups do help make it last a few days, at least. Especially if there’s a lot of paint (there have been times I’ve had to mix pretty big batches) and if the cups are opaque.

Also, I know at one point I wasn’t alone in this weirdness ~ I had a friend once whose brother used to use Glad wrap to save paint. Said it had to be air tight. Yeah well, Little Miss Scrooge wasn’t about to spend on Glad wrap (although obviously I did spend on the cup noodles and take away).
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3. Cut tubes open.

I know I’m not alone in this particular weirdness, either ~ I heard this story once about one of my teachers back at art school, whose wife (who was also one of my teachers) had to take him to the emergency room one day.

His hand had slipped whilst he was slicing open one of his paint tubes (so he could scrape the inside) and he ended up slicing into his arm. I heard the staff at the ER looked at his wife funny (you know ~ artists and sliced arms) ~ naturally, she didn’t think it was funny at all.

‘Ayan! Sa kakatipid mo!’ (‘See what comes of all your saving!’ ~ loose translation, jill. ^^)

For my part, I’ll squeeze the daylights out of a tube (I don’t have long-nose pliers on my desk for decoration) first and / or prise the rolled up end open with a palette knife (handy things, those ^^). Sometimes, I’ll even use the pliers to roll that sucker back up (or tape the other end).

Long nose pliers ~ and a couple more cups, canvas label palette, and ex-blender pitcher brush holder

What tubes look like after getting long-nosed ^^

​4. Save tape.

This is embarrassing, but true. I am so cheap I’ll even recycle tape. Like if a painting comes home from a gallery and I unwrap it I’ll save the tape from it. Hey, tape doesn’t grow on trees, either.

I also have bits of tape stuck on the inside of a cabinet door, but these are larger bits on plywood I use for stretching paper (these do come in handy sometimes by the way)

5. Save bubble wrap. ​

Stands to reason I’ll save the bubble wrap, too. I bet galleries hate it when I send things in in recycled bubble wrap, but then, some galleries do it back to me. Anyway I just tell myself it’s less bubble wrap for the landfill, or something.

One of several bundles clogging up my cabinets

6. Save everything. ​

Don't ask me why I won't throw them away ~ I have this idea that one day when I won't have money for paint I'll slice these open and use them as watercolour (well that day has come and I still haven't)

This is a habit I’m seriously trying to cut out (okay maybe not trying very hard) especially now that I’m living in the jillahouse (which isn’t exactly Wayne Manor). Some of this junk I’ve never gotten around to using, honestly, even though I remember saving it ‘for art someday’.

Ashamed to say this is one of several batches of everything stashed in several places around the jillahouse

Although in my defence I did actually use the ‘canvas corners’ a few times when I was transporting some of my stuff. And bits of string or ribbon are always handy even if I don’t actually use them for like crafts or something. (I don’t think I’ve done anything crafty since freakin’ high school.)

I ran out of places to stash these so they ended up in a closet

​7. Use ‘weird’ tools. ​

Saving everything includes saving strange things like the little spoons and palette thingies that used to come with the hair removal wax LOL thinking I could use them for paint. Or using things that weren’t meant for art for art.

So here's a cake knife and more of those opaque cups that help these biggish batches last longer

I’ve written about these, the icing knife, the gardening trowel, and other weird things I’ve used for palette knife painting. I keep telling myself how one day, when I’m rich, I’ll have a veritable armoury of knives and bladed implements (for painting, of course). But these serve me very well for now ^_^

I’ve also had recourse to using other odd things like cup noodles cups as makeshift easels (useful things, cup noodles cups) and picture frame glass as a palette. I’ve actually used lots of weird things as palettes (like candy box liners and disposable canvas labels).

The glass palettes I’ve been using were glass table tops. (I broke one cos I was clumsy and I was so cheap I kept the shards ~ please don’t do this, very dangerous.) (Maybe one day I’ll throw them out, I haven’t used them in aaages.) (Suuure I will.)

​8. Use tools to death.

May it rest in peace

That same post I just linked out to will show some of the poor knives I’ve literally used till I could use them no more. Indeed, some of the brushes and things I have ~ although I legit have brand new brushes and things I haven’t even used ~ I’ve used since I was around 12 (I kid you not).

I honestly just don’t see the point in not using something anymore or replacing it if the thingy you have still works. Must be the Ilocano in me.

Don't laugh, but these actually are still in use ^^; 

9. Use things until they’re near death. ​

I write with these mostly but I draw with them, too

I remember how the lady who’s done our laundry and basically taken care of us for 20 odd years laughed at how tiny my pencils are. ‘Sa kakatipid mo, ikaw yun nahihirapan.’ (‘You’re the one having a hard time from all that saving you’re doing.’ ~ close translation, jill.)

Wait till she sees how tiny my pastels are, lol. (Actually since she’s keeping house for me now, too, she probably has.) The good thing about pastels is you don’t have to fit them into a sharpener (or fiddle with craft knives) ^_^

10. Resurrect dead things (or use zombies). ​

No actual Downy in this but just to demo ~ used to do this in cup noodles cups, but here's one hack one can use instead of that spirally wire thingy with the tin cup underneath (yeah I save the lids, too)

I learned to do this in art school, where ~ while it was known for being where the ‘poor but deserving’ studied ~ some kids were obviously rich enough to use brushes just once, let the paint dry on them, and then throw them away (then just use fresh ones).

Other kids were smart (and kind) enough to teach me this little hack ~ you can reanimate dead brushes by soaking them in Downy (I’ve never tried any other brand but I suppose any ol’ fabric softener will work).

As an aside, I wouldn’t actually kill a brush on purpose or let one die if I could help it, but accidents will happen ~ in any case, it’s nice to know you can still save a dead brush.

Or, even keep using them even if they are *clinically dead*. Like I’ll tape broken brush handles together or glue the ferrule back onto the handle or just use a blade that’s broken off of its handle (because heaven knows when I’ll be able to afford another like it again).

Again, why toss or replace something when it still serves, n'est-ce pas?
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Bonus: Pose for yourself or paint your relatives. ​

When I was a kid (as in around 12) I remember hearing that this artist’s model (the first I’d ever drawn, I’m pretty sure) ~ was getting paid 10 grand for sitting for us. Seeing as that was almost 40 years ago, you can imagine how much they’re getting paid now (or ought to be).

Add to how you need to buy photos on the internet if you want to use them, which has led starving artist me to (don’t laugh) (or okay go ahead, it is laughable) pose for myself or get my siblings to sit for me.

For one show, I got my sister to get her friends to pose and my cousin to get my niece (I bet they regret it given the results), and for another, I got my friends (and one daughter) to (I bet they regret it, too). Last year, I got another niece to sit for me. Thankfully, none of them billed me for it ^^;

Work in progress ~ she changes when the moon is full (in the genes, can't be helped) ^^​

​Anyway, I guess the point of this month’s post (apart from me having a little laugh at myself) is to say that no matter how hard things get (financially, I mean) ~ if you really, truly want to do something, you’ll find ways.

Even if all you had was a pencil or a ballpoint pen, a scrap of paper or the bathroom wall (not that I’m encouraging that sort of thing but I hope you get the idea) ~ you’ll make things work somehow. We’re just born or driven that way, I guess.

That said, I’d like to say thank you for stopping by and I hope you never have to resort to weird things like this in your practice. If you do, this is me sending you all my best wishes for things to get better for you again real real soon ~