Tools Matter

I was talking with an artist recently and the subject of technique came up. There are artists who believe that only expression matters, and technique does not. Only the process matters, and the end product is what it is. When I was in art school 20+ years ago one of the professors described an artist saying, "He probably uses a triple zero brush." This was not a compliment. The fact that this artist took months to make a painting was something being derided. Somehow I internalized something from that conversation without knowing it, thinking that small brushes were instruments of evil. So I've spent years trying to paint things with big brushes that are impossible to paint with big brushes. It's a kind of artistic Sisyphean challenge.

Doll making has unveiled all this for me. Because the truth of the matter is, the kind of lines I want to make can't be made with a large brush. Using the right tool for the right job is important.