As an artist, you know the importance of learning how to take care of your art supplies. Nothing dampens inspiration and the creative work flow like finding that your favorite brush has hardened or your paints have dried out. Hawaiian Graphics, Honolulu’s best source for quality art supplies, knows the necessity for you to learn how to properly care for your tools to help you maximize your creativity.

The art experts at Hawaiian Graphics offers a few tips for keeping your painting supplies in mint condition:

• Never Let Paint Dry On Your Brush: Far too often, an artist gets distracted or sloppy and neglects to completely clean their brush. Nothing kills a project faster than dried paint on your brush. How to clean your brush depends on which medium you use.  For watercolors, hold it bristle-side down under lukewarm water, and gently massage the paint out of the bristles until the water runs completely clear. You may use some mild dish soap to assist you in cleaning out the bristles. For acrylics, first blot or gently wipe excess paint with a rag or paper towel, then follow the same directions as that for watercolors, this time make sure you use the mild soap.  For oil paints, blot or wipe excess paint then use a one of many brush cleaning products or solvents available at Hawaiian Graphics to remove oil paint residue. Final washing with mild soapy water is recommended periodically.  Brush Cleaners or Restorers can help revitalize brushes with dried paint if used promptly as directed. Talk to a Hawaiian Graphics professional about the right products for your needs.

• Do Not Allow Your Paintbrush To Rest In A Cup Of Water: There are times when you might be tempted to leave your brush in water while you do something else. This is a common mistake you must avoid for several reasons. Submerging your brush in water for more than a few minutes can cause the bristles to bend or separate from one another and the water can also soak into the wood handle causing it to swell and crack the varnish/paint coating or cause rusting on the ferrule. Once this occurs, your brush is essentially ruined.

• Store Your Oil Paint Tubes On Their Side Or Cap Down: When a tube of oil paint is stored with the cap-side up, the pigment and the oil will separate. The oil rises to the top, and the pigment will begin to sink to the bottom of the tube. When you try to use the paint by applying it to your palette, you will get mostly oil. To ensure that you get an even distribution of oil and pigment, you should store your paint on its side or with the cap down.
• Always Tightly Cap Your Paint Tubes or Jars Immediately, Especially Acrylic Paints: It's easy to become so engrossed in your painting, that you forget to replace the caps of your tubes or jars of paint while mixing colors.  This habit can become costly when your paints dry out prematurely or develop skins or hardened bits that can ruin a delicate wash or glaze.

For more advice on how to care for your equipment and information on purchasing high-quality painting supplies, call Hawaiian Graphics at (808) 973-7171.