First, put on your apron...

by Jo Reimer

Pink Flowers on Green
12"x12"
Acrylic on board

Do as I say, not as I do.

As you enter your studio put on your apron.  First thing. Just do it.

Or, like me you'll get in a hurry to accomplish just one more little thing before hitting the gym and before you know it you've ruined another tee shirt. This morning I slapped a couple of colors on the panel I'm working on, sprayed the remaining acrylic on my palette, and left the house. It was only after I got to my destination that I noticed an ugly white and turquoise line of acrylic paint across the belly of my favorite navy tee shirt. And I had a ton of errands afterwards. Luckily I could zip up my jacket and look presentable.

And put on some gloves if you plan to paint.

I use surgical gloves to protect my hands when I'm using acrylic or oil paint. Lotion helps, or a barrier cream, but not as well as gloves.
Murphy's Oil Soap to the rescue...

But if you forget and end up with acrylic paint on your clothes and hands I have a remedy... Murphy's Oil Soap is my secret weapon.  Bob Burridge told us about soaking brushes in MOS 1:1 with water.  Soak overnight and old dried paint rinses right out leaving the brushes soft and useable again.  I keep a pint jar in my studio in which I soak brushes. When I take the brush out I put a lid on the jar and it's ready for the next dirty brush. No waste.

That's what I used on my navy tee shirt and all the acrylic scrubbed right out even though it had dried for hours. I've saved other shirts, some that had been through the washer and dryer.  You can buy it at the grocery store, but don't use it to clean floors or cabinets (the intended use) because it just might remove the finish.

Don't you just hate "acrylic gloves"? I've found that MOS and warm water makes slick work of getting painted hands clean.

Save your cereal box liners to use in the studio...

Cereal box liners are made of plastic and are very useful in the studio. I've used them for years to protect freshly painted pages in my art journals but now I've come up with another good use. Line your butcher tray palette or any other flat tray with a plastic liner that you've cut to fit.  You can squirt your acrylic or oil paint out on the plastic liner and use it over and over and simply toss it when it's too dirty to continue using. You'd throw it out anyway so you might as well get some use out of it first.

I think I'm channeling Hints from Heloise today.