Am I alone?

[pumkin54]

Originally Posted by Mettaphorica

Quality art supplies--whether you have, or don't have talent (in your biased view), is not wrong, or an issue. It's great--if you enjoy what you have, and love using them, and get a little thrill every time you pick up that brush or palette or whatever. It's an issue if, no sooner have you bought the next 'new' thing, then you need another new brush because then, only then, will you be 'good enough' as an artist--that new brush is what you need to become the person you aspire to be. It's very subtle the way this happens, and we can always, always justify spending to ourselves, if we want something badly enough.

I often joke that I have enough art supplies to furnish an art class for a year. Yet I just put in another order to Blick. And my Jerry's cart is full. As is my eBay watch list. And my Amazon wish list. I don't do drugs or gamble or sky dive or take expensive vacations or have 75 pairs of shoes. Everybody has a vice. What would be the fun in living without desires and allowing yourself to fulfill them? As I say to my sister all the time, we work eight hours a day (or more). We've earned the right to indulge ourselves from time to time...and not feel guilty about it.

[veltetra]

I used to spend tons on art supplies - when I was younger and didn't see any end to a lucrative career that let me spend what I wanted. Now, I'm disabled and older and am looking forward to the day when the market gets better and I can sell my house and buy something much less expensive and smaller. So, now, I don't buy any new paint unless I'm running out of the old one, and instead of buying every pretty color, I stick with some 9 or 10 basic colors. And I have enough brushes to last me for a few more years, so I don't even consider buying them. But, just when I'm doing so well not being extravagent with my art supplies, I started taking a metalsmithing course, which gives me new fun things to buy. And I'll be taking enameling and electroplating courses this summer, which means more equipment and supplies for my studio. I think my problem is that I'm so attracted to anything with color or glitter that I just can't keep my hands off the merchandise and my money in my pocket.

[sashntash]

Terrific topic and, in my case, timely as I recently had to answer a relative who asked why I needed "another" brush

My answer was:

We all have a certain amount of money available to us.

Some have just a little bit, some have a huge pile and most have something in between.

Once we have allotted for the basic necessities of life: food, a roof over our heads, basic clothing and shoes, maybe a car, some insurance and have put some away for emergencies and retirement and the kids education...

what's left is what the experts call "disposable income."

We each spend our disposable income on what makes us happy (or what we think will make us happy.)

For some.. that might be a new car... or nice clothes... or handbags or shoes or golf equipment or a country club membership or new living room furniture or kitchen tools or plants for the garden or some yarn for knitting or a new camera or a laptop computer or an iPhone or a kayak or a pretty bracelet or some candles or a new bed for your beloved dog or a DVD or a used piano or a beach chair or ........

I drive a 13-year-old car because it still runs great and my mechanic says we can keep it humming for another 5 - 10 years and spending my limited pile of money on a new car would not make me happy.

I don't spend money on fancy clothes or jewelry or shoes or handbags or any of that stuff. I live in t-shirts and shorts or slacks. Nothing fancy.

But I'm retired and I have hobbies... so that's what I spend my disposable income on.... Watercolor paints, paper and brushes and instructional DVDs. Yarn for knitting. A subscription to ancestry.com to do genealogy research. And a gym membership so I can stay healthy as 70 approaches.

And I buy good watercolor paints and paper. I buy good brushes.

Why???? Because I want to and I can.

I like working with good tools. I love the surfaces of Fabriano Artistico and Arches paper to paint on. I love the colors of Winsor & Newton and the consistency of Maimeri paints. I love my Escodas and DaVincis and Raphaels and Pro Arte brushes. They make me happy just owning them. They make me happy when I use them to paint.

So I'll keep my 13-year-old car and buy me another brush

Tred, enjoy all of your beautiful art supplies !!!

[Neeman]

Originally Posted by Tred

...
. I must remember to make an appointment with my psychologist tomorrow because this thread has, in no way, helped with my problem.
Cheers
Tred

An appointment with your psychologist??
Are you crazy???
Just think how much that costs!
And what you could buy with that money.

Makes cents to me....

[pumkin54]

Originally Posted by Neeman

An appointment with your psychologist??
Are you crazy???
Just think how much that costs!
And what you could buy with that money.

Makes cents to me....

I sent a text to my sister about a purse I was drooling over. I said, "Talk me out of it!" She promptly replied, "Art supplies!" She knows me well. I left the store sans purse.

[Brian Barnes]

Pumkin .... Good one!

I wouldn't take the instructor's comment as being intentionally negative. It was his attempt at some friendly humour and we're all guilty of trying that with mixed results sometimes.

Enjoy! ... and let the "watercolourists' dream" live on!

BrianB

[dejaa]

Tred

Yet another destined for the rubbish bin - too tight and over worked.

STOP throwing stuff in the rubbish bin. If you had seen some of the things I have seen in the last few weeks in the many many many Museums I visited in Vienna. You would stop throwing away even your scrap musings on restaurant napkins.

If I learned any thing on the class trip it was that most of us consider what we do not good enough. yada... However, I have seen musings from folks that are considered Great Artist that you could litterly see in a kindergarten finger painting class.

So please put the negative self doubt monkey back in its cage and enjoy your art work. and Please let us see more of it. Love what you have here it reminds me so much of the lovely local art I saw in Prague. Love the red umbrella.

[M.L. Schaefer]

No, you are not alone! I value high quality paints, and have my favorites...the Kolinsky's I recently purchased have made a world of difference, and I have tried many papers, until, I've finally found what works for me!...palettes, not so much..as long as I can put on a dab of paint, add a little bit water, and paint what I'm seeing in my mind's eye, anything works for me!!!! Possibly you may be "reading" too much into your instructor's words? He may be a bit green eyed, but not necessarily in a bad way? And, I love your threads, they always keep our forum interesting and thought provoking!

Margarete