Six Confessions of an Art Supplies Junkie

I love art supplies.

I love the colors.

I love the textures.

I love the smells.

I love how they come in all different applications.
Tubes, sticks, pots, pans, pencil form, crayon form, thick, thin, chubby, chunky, mini there is no end to how the color is delivered.

But most of all I love the potential.
Each tube of paint, each brush, each canvas, has the potential to be something beautiful, something that might move someone to laugh, cry, smile, or even cringe a little.
Art has power and the items used to make art are the foundation for that power.

A small sample of supplies

Confession #1: I have bought ALL the supplies.

Confession #2: I have purchased supplies of mediums that I have no training, skill, or practice in using.
Hello oil pastel crayons that are still unused (they were on sale).

This is as far as these crayons got to making art.

Confession #3: The supplies I’ve purchased didn’t make me a better artist.

I can’t buy my way to greatness.

I can’t buy my way into someone’s soul.

The only way in, is through the work.

The time it takes to hone the skill and the time it takes to make the art.
No one can buy time.

The right supplies are important yes, but I cannot look you in the eye and say more is better. I want to, I sincerely want to say “Yes! More is always better,” because there is no greater joy than spending an hour, or more in the art local supply shop with a credit card and thick juicy art supply budget. But that hour likely would have been better spent drawing, painting, and using the supplies I already had.

Confession #4: There is downside to too many supplies.
My studio is cluttered, overcrowded. I spend more time than I’d like tidying up and shuffling my daily supplies around my table-top because my storage spaces are full of other unused supplies.

Confession #5: I won’t be getting rid of any of it.

Confession #6: Potato chips will be my downfall.