How to Keep Paint On Your Canvas and Off Your Belongings
Painting is not only messy, it’s unpredictably messy. Sometimes you can paint in your best suit, without a smock or drop cloth, and not get a fleck of paint outside the canvas. Other times, no matter how many precautions you take, you still end up with lilac elbows and an inexplicable streak of green on the back of your shirt.There are ways to minimize the unwanted mess, and there also easy ways to clean it up afterward.
KEEPING ALL THE PAINT ON THE CANVAS
Every class, one of our missions is to get you in and out of the studio without turning your shoes, clothes or purse into an unexpected work of art. The painting smock is the first part of this equation, but the other important part is providing a safe place to store purses, hats, coats and other items away from the painting area. This area is usually visible to the class so you can still keep an eye on your stuff, but out of reach of wandering paint splatters.
It’s nice to have one less thing to worry about when you come in for a relaxing paint and sip evening. And in the event you do accidentally paint polka dots on your sleeve? Our instructors are practiced painters themselves and know the tricks to getting acrylic paint out of clothing.
HOW TO REMOVE ACRYLIC PAINT FROM CLOTHES
Whether you’re painting at home or in our studios, here are a few tricks to know for getting acrylic paint out of most types of clothing.
If the paint is still wet, carefully dab off any remaining gobs of it. If it’s dried, peel off as much of it as you can. For wet or dried acrylic paints, use an isopropyl alcohol to break down the paint. (You can also use an alcohol-based nail polish remover, and if you don’t have that either, dish soap is a good alternative.)
Saturate the area with alcohol, give it a minute to soak in, then rub the area with a terry cloth or towel. To get the final bits of color out, use your fingernails to scratch the paint out of the fibers. After this step, flush that area of your garment with cold water. As soon as you can, toss it into the washing machine for a cold rinse.
Don’t put your garment in the dryer until you’ve checked to make sure the stain is completely gone. If it’s not, repeat these steps.
TIME TO GET SOME PAINT ON A CANVAS
We’ve had to master the art of staying clean, because just as many guests show up in their office attire as in jeans. Find the studio closest to you and join a class! You won’t have a single thing to worry about.