The 2014 Blogger Challenge topic 2 is all about skincare. Now....this being an art blog and me being the 'not really into fashion, makeup and skincare girl' that I am, I was kind of at a bit of a loss as to how to approach this one. So I decided to talk about skincare from an artists' perspective.
For many many years there was a stereotype about the 'crazy artist'. So many great artists would pretty much go mad after a while, and while it could be attributed to just the normal artistic chaos swirling around the internal head structures (aka the brains) of those wonderfully creative types it probably has other reasons as well. Take for example the toxic chemicals, pigments and minerals that used to (and on occasion probably still do) make up a lot of artistic materials. Lead and mercury are two that instantly spring to mind but there are others as well.
And artists being artists, well....let's just say I'm not the only one who has ever ditched the paintbrush in favour of my hands. So over time nasty stuff leaches into your skin and for a while this definitely had the effect of sending us artist types a little loopy. Now of course we know better and most of the really bad stuff is no longer in paint. But there's still stuff that plays havoc with your hands and call me a bit girly on this one, but I absolutely hate the feeling of dried out hands!
The obvious answer is probably to wear gloves, like the food preparation type to both protect your hands from any horrible chemicals and to stop them feeling so dried out. But I'll be absolutely honest here and say I'm so so so bad at this. I at least try to use gloves when I'm smooshing ink and paint into a canvas, but I don't always. Sometimes it's just necessary to pour on some paint and get your hands really dirty!
There is something just so organic about it, I can't quite explain it but it makes me happy.
So.....what do I do to make my hands feel normal again? A good soap is on the list:
I haven't used this, but it's on my list to buy! I have used this brands' brush cleaner and it's amazing. I've even used it on my hands, so when I saw this I decided I just had to have it.
For many many years there was a stereotype about the 'crazy artist'. So many great artists would pretty much go mad after a while, and while it could be attributed to just the normal artistic chaos swirling around the internal head structures (aka the brains) of those wonderfully creative types it probably has other reasons as well. Take for example the toxic chemicals, pigments and minerals that used to (and on occasion probably still do) make up a lot of artistic materials. Lead and mercury are two that instantly spring to mind but there are others as well.
And artists being artists, well....let's just say I'm not the only one who has ever ditched the paintbrush in favour of my hands. So over time nasty stuff leaches into your skin and for a while this definitely had the effect of sending us artist types a little loopy. Now of course we know better and most of the really bad stuff is no longer in paint. But there's still stuff that plays havoc with your hands and call me a bit girly on this one, but I absolutely hate the feeling of dried out hands!
The obvious answer is probably to wear gloves, like the food preparation type to both protect your hands from any horrible chemicals and to stop them feeling so dried out. But I'll be absolutely honest here and say I'm so so so bad at this. I at least try to use gloves when I'm smooshing ink and paint into a canvas, but I don't always. Sometimes it's just necessary to pour on some paint and get your hands really dirty!
There is something just so organic about it, I can't quite explain it but it makes me happy.
So.....what do I do to make my hands feel normal again? A good soap is on the list:
Next up is a good moisturiser:
I don't use anything fancy. I either use Vaseline dry skin moisturiser, or Johnsons Baby lotion. Yes...baby lotion. I love this stuff. It smells so good! And it's so soft, and it's pink. And that's it.
So that's my take on skincare from an artist perspective. I hope it provided you with some amusement and was a little informative as well.
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very informative and something we dont actually consider enough, thanks for taking the time to write this <3
ReplyDeleteDavid Munroe Art - http://www.davidmunroeart.com
When I was studying my painting teacher gave us all this information on the bad stuff that's in paints (I still have it somewhere), and it freaked me out big time! I somehow managed to ignore the voice in my head that reminds me of this every time I get my hands in there. Maybe I never grew up and out of the finger painting stage, haha!
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