Pashur's shading technique - a tip

I watched Pashur's spiders and scorpions video on FabaTv the other day. He shared so many awesome ideas. I just knew that I had to try them, especially the shading technique that he did using the paint wash.

There was only one problem. He did the wash on his hand, which I wasn't really too keen on doing, as I hate having paint all over my hands ( I seriously go through 1/2 a pack of baby wipes every gig just trying to keep them clean). So I started thinking, how can I do the wash without having to get paint all over my hand?

I am a crafter, and sometime during the past couple of years, I managed to get a hold of some clear plastic bead containers like these:


I saw them yesterday, and I started thinking "hey, that might work." So today I tried it.

Instead of doing the wash on my hand, I loaded my brush as usual, then rubbed it around on the bottom of the container. Added a bit of water, and it was a perfect wash.

Here is my first spider attempt using it:


Just thought that you guys might enjoy this idea, especially if you are like me and do not like getting paint all over your hands.

Thanks PJ!

Worked well, I love your spider.

Clever girl! I did the hand thing, trying to emulate Pashur (lol)... but now I'm gonna do like YOU!

I hope it works for you.

I have a whole stack of the little plastic containers, if anybody wants one. They are different translucent colors. PM me if you want one. I think it would probably cost less than $1 to mail.

I just use a lid off of one of my containers...

I had thought about doing that too, but I didn't want the hassle of having to wipe out the lid as I cleaned up at the end of every gig(I am a bit lazy, and all I want to do is get out of there when the gig is over). That's why I thought of the container. This way I just pop the lid on it then rinse it out when I get home.

I came up with a few other 3-d designs as well. Will be trying them out at my first gig tomorrow. Fingers crossed that all goes well.

Well... seeing as I wipe EVERYTHING clean as I pack up wiping off one lid doesn't even register with me.

the spider is super creepy! shading really pops it

Oh, God. I didn't realize how un-hygienic that made me sound.

To clarify, I do clean everything. It's just that I prefer to wait until I get home to do so. The faster I get out of gigs, the better. Especially the ones that are in the bad parts of town. I used to take my time to wipe down everything before I packed it back up - probably still would if I was older...or if I had a black belt. It's just that a lot of the kids whose parties I paint at tend to have really creepy drunk uncles who I would prefer to get away from as soon as possible.

Yep, since I'm old I'm slow and take time cleaning up as I pack - from finishing the last face to walking out the door is generally 20 minutes, give or take (if I rush it, maybe 10 minutes). I know a lot of people would think this is nuts but I do NOT want to unpack to clean it when I get home, I just want to put my trolley back where it belongs ready to go next time when I haul it back into the house.

A other than the towels and sponges - which I keep separated, I don't want to unpack the kit again to clean it.

And I usually outweigh the drunk uncles... so they don't bother me.

Loved the spider! I have to laugh at you not wanting to get paint on yourself! I'm a mess after a gig! Today I did a grande opening at a Western/feed store/hardware (C-A-L Ranch Store)store and I had to wash up before I could even pack up because I had so much paint on my hands. Like Shannon I clean as I pack and it takes me 15-20 minutes to pack up. I'm usually in slow motion by the end of a long gig (over 3 hours) because of my feet and back. Today I was on concrete and my feet hurt!