I like buying art materials. If I go into an art supplies shop, I can rummage through all the peculiarly shaped palette-knives, never-before-seen types of pen, and obscure brands of parchment paper. I am highly likely to buy something if cash allows, and maybe even if it shouldn't/doesn't. However, skills - things we all need - can get put to one side. I must admit I hadn't really noticed this tendency until I started looking at the selection of paintings I had produced with a future exhibition in mind. Some of them, quite a few in fact, needed framing. I started totting up a rough estimate of how much it would cost for me to get them framed, even with a bulk discount. The figure entered the realm of four figues. Serendipitously, while at a friend's house, he mentioned that he had a hardly used mount-cutter for sale at a very reasonable price. That was it - I'd get that and a mitre saw, some corner clamps.. and so on. So I did, all for less than the price of just one of the required frames. I got a book on picture-framing too. I already had some suitable wood, and so I began measuring and cutting...
...and that, as they say, was that. Well sort of. I'm aware that the story isn't quite that simple - I already have reasonable DIY skills, but even if I didn't, a basic course
and all the tools would still be cheaper than a couple of the frames, especially the big ones. I do have the space (just) and I can (again, just) manage to find the time. I appreciate that not everything can be learned by getting the kit, and a book (or video tutorials), then having a go - but in the world of art and craft, a lot can and it's a good use of scrap materials. So, however I look at it, the outcome's the same - if at all possible, learn the skills. Since then, I've improved my silverworking (tools and some one-to-one tuition needed for that one) too and that's already paid me back, so have workspace improvements, and there are other areas I'm thinking of investing in - the question I keep asking myself is along the lines of "how much extra do I need to sell to make this pay for itself?" and the answer is generally "not that much".
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| A selection of self-framed pictures ready to go. |
