Unorthodox equipment

i've meant to post this earlier, but somehow i always manage to forget. as it is no secret that my palette is unconventional, so are my tools for painting. no one has really taught me this system, but at the same time, i'm sure it's not new. my system has evolved over the years as i continually seek to set up a system that is very time saving at both ends: setup and clean up. this was very important to me as my family grew, i could not spend as much time in the studio. so i had to make sure that when i was in there, i used my time in there painting. very unromantic and non-traditional as far as the fine arts was taught to me, but yet it works practically and efficiently.

so here it is, from left to right:

• Butcher paper and cutter: i don't mix my paints on glass as i found that just rolling out the paper and crumpling it up when i was done to be a much faster and less tedious
• ZipLoc bags: any left over paints i scrape up with my palette knife and save it in this bag. i squeeze out all the air and the paint is usually good for up to two weeks. this would be my chromatic grey for future painting sessions.
• Short hair comb: i use this as a cleaning surface for my brushes. i squeeze Gojo pumice hand cleaner onto the comb and wash my brushes onto the teeth of the comb.
• the last unconventional tool in the photo is the gum stimulator. i got it at Rite Aid. i use this to scratch back into wet paint for fine, straight lines. you can also use this to scratch out your signature if the paints are still wet.