Now that I have finished going through my watercolors, my next order of business to explore is my acrylic paints. I approached my small set of acrylic paints with a little bit of hesitation because…well…I don’t like using them. I never really used them in previous applications except for the random wooden art projects I have wanted to work on…and never finished. But I say I have a complicated relationship with them because as I tested them out in my usual way of drawn squares, I reacted more to the colors than I did to the actual paint. I have always wanted to learn how to use the paint, hence the reason why I kept them. Well…I tell myself that as an “art supply” hoarder. So, I tested out which paints based on color and quality. I have various “Anita’s” and “Folk Art” Paints. I have more metallic and glitter paint than I do normal colors. I purchased these paints strictly on the color choices because I was drawn to the hues and tones. And who can say no to glitter? It’s like magic.
Which brings me to “my silly relationship”. As I went through my various acrylic paints, I struggled with getting rid of them. I struggled because of the emotions I had with the colors and my desire to keep them. I literally argued with myself about keeping the metallic and glitter paints. So, this is a little bump in my art minimalism journey. I purchased these items, and most of the items I am being overwhelmed with, based on emotions and the idea of creating something big and exciting using them. And the frustrating thing is with this idea is that I never actually truly used them or finished a project while using them.
I decided to compromise with myself by keeping the paints I have these “emotional” attachment with and donating the colors that I see no need for. And my conditions are that if I do not use them by January of 2018, then they will be thrown away.
Part of me feels as if I accomplished something but the other part feels like I’ve taken a step backward. It makes me feel uneasy but I think my step to moving forward is to accept this feeling because I need to understand why I’m feeling this way.
It’s also frustrating because my goal was to have the paint I decided to keep by keeping it in the paint tool box I mentioned in the previous post. But alas, I have one too many paint bottles that are preventing that. That makes me reconsider getting rid of a few more paint bottles…but I have decided to stop obsessing over something silly like acrylic paints and move on.
Are there any minimalists artists out there who struggle with the emotions that art supplies can evoke and inspire ideas? How do you deal with this? Do you keep the tools that can help you create something that tells your story? Or do you get rid of them because they take up space? How do you cope with “the clutter” that causes the anxiety? This whole purpose of this blog is my exploration of just that question. And it’s silly because it’s just paint that started this question within myself…but it’s an object and that’s what part of minimalism that I’m exploring; simplification of objects.
I should just throw them all away…hmph.
From Mess to Dress 