7 Artist’s Tools Loved by our Staff

By now you probably have met, or at least know of, the staff here at Kamloops Arts Council. But did you know we’re all artists too? We can do more than answer e-mails. The thing about art is that it’s not always made the way you think it is. Paintbrushes, pencils, and paper, that’s all you need… right?

Take a look at our staff members’ favourite tools.

Tanya, Executive Director

The new Executive Director of the Kamloops Arts Council does a bit of everything. Drawing, painting, photography, performing, writing, and installation. We can’t forget baking too! (The staff is very thankful when she brings in cookies). Among the variety of creative outlets Tanya has, she also has a variety of favourite mediums including charcoal, ink and pen, and a potentially messy acrylic paint and water on canvas. Tanya misses having a working film camera and using black and white film in a dark room.

Tanya’s favourite tools:

Big Book of Ideas

AKA a sketchbook or writer’s book. Who doesn’t love a space to visualize ideas and write a quick note when inspiration hits?

Pastry Board

“My partner made me one years ago for rolling out pastry dough, kneading bread, and working out ideas – I had some of my best creative and academic breakthroughs while beating up dough on this board.” -Tanya

Lorel, Crossing Bridges Outreach Coordinator

A mixed media artist, Lorel loves to work with her hands. For many years, Lorel was an entrepreneur that specialized in clay, raku, and other low-fired work. But it eventually became time to start something new. With that, Lorel experimented with creating just for the sake of creating! There was no need to push a product anymore. The new goals for creating are good design elements, a spontaneous look, movement and expressed vitality, and of course, celebrating colour and nature.

Lorel’s favourite tools:

Chainsaw

Over the last number of months, Lorel has spent a lot of her time outdoors. Working with mosaics, glass, concrete, wood, and landscaping can be tough – Lorel says that “the chainsaw and grubber are my new best friends.”

1 1/2” Paint Brush

“My brush container has about 40 brushes in it, but there are three brushes that are my go-to brushes in both watercolor and acrylic. One is my “guilty pleasure” brush, the most expensive brush I’ve ever purchased, about 1 1/2″ wide. The long handle allows me to stand back from my easel to “see” the whole piece as it evolves. It has soft bristles that can apply large swaths of color one way or long fine lines if held the other way. The other two are liner brushes that can load up lots of liquid paint to give a free flowing line and movement through the paintings.” -Lorel

Insun, Administration & Program Coordinator

Insun paints with oil and acrylic mediums, but usually she prefers oil. Acrylic is used mostly for animal pop art because, well, the colour really pops! Oil paints are for cityscapes; the texture and intensity of oil mediums are what really bring her paintings together. Recently, Insun started life drawing with charcoal, which is challenging but fun! The main challenge is to paint people more often.

Insun’s favourite tool:

Photographs

Sometimes people don’t realize that a reference is an important tool for realistic and abstract art! Insun says, “I go around the town and take photos as references for my paintings. My favorite places are downtown, the Riverside Park and Peterson Creek Park.”

Insun’s favourite brands:

For oil painting, Insun uses Gamblin. For acrylic painting, she uses Golden. And for brushes, Insun says, “I use any brushes that’s reasonably priced, no specific brand. I try things and if it works good, that’s good enough for me.”

Marta, Community Arts Intern

Marta does lots of different art forms – she likes to draw (traditionally and digitally), paint, sew, paper craft, and style wigs too! Although she isn’t great at photography, she wishes she could capture moments as perfectly as a professional.

Marta’s favourite tools:

Pentel P209G Mechanical Drafting Pencil

“It’s very specific, I know. I unfortunately lost my favourite one, but usually any mechanical pencil with a 0.9mm lead is really comfortable for me to use when sketching.” -Marta

Wacom Intuos Pro Drawing Tablet

“You know when people ask, ‘what’s the 1 thing you would save from a house fire after family, pets, and other important things?’ I always say my drawing tablet. I paid for my first tablet when I was 12 years old and being able to digitally illustrate really opened up new avenues of art for me – it even helps me in the early stages of making traditional art!” -Marta

Art Changes Lives