Making Artist's Tools

152 Pages·1979·22.59 MB·English

by  Vance Studley

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Studley
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cTWAKING
ARTIST'S
TOOLS
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Have you ever wanted to make a watercolor
brush, carve a lettering quill from a swan
feather, or grind your own ink? Have you
found an artist's tool priced higher than the
highest amount you were willing to pay? If you
haven't, then close this book and pass upavery
readable and lavishly illustrated manual on the
methods and procedures of making an assort-
ment oftools—tools used by all artists, whether
the medium is painting, printmaking, water-
color, papermaking, or drawing.
If, however, you love to make things with your
hands and are drawn to the natural properties
of bamboo, brass, oak, and natural fibers, then
learn how to assemble a pocket sketch pen
made entirely of bamboo, how to make your
own pastels that are far superior to their
commercial counterparts, how to mix and
shape bright and colorful crayons, how to
make paper from an assortment of plants from
your own yard. Convert a beach backrest into
an adjustable, portable drafting and lighttable.
Proportional dividers and circle templates are
even simpler to make.
The hundreds of tools, brushes, quills, and
drawing pens that the author has made and
crammed into breathtakingly inadequatequar-
ters are simply the working tools of his trade in
which he takes special delight. He even uses
them—
daily.
A VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD BOOK
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY

cTVlAKING
c^RTIST'S
TOOLS
cTWAKING
TOOLS
ARTIST'S
^ance
Stualey
VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD COMPANY
SHE
NEW YORK CINCINNATI TORONTO LONDON MELBOURNE
For Walter Durian and Henry Lion
Acknowledgments
would like to express my appreciation to the follow-
I
ing individuals who assisted me in the preparation of
this book. They have given not only their time but
something of themselves, and their contributions are
greatly appreciated: Norton Simon and the Norton
Simon Museum Staff, Andrea Clark, Toshi Sekiyama
of Yasutomo & Co., Hans Christian Krake, Sue Moss-
man, Al Fiori, Lee Wexler, Robert Fiedler, WalterAskin,
Garabed Mardirossian, Frances Kinman, and my wife,
Margo Studley.
Copyright 6 1979 by Litton Educational Publishing, Inc. Van Nostrand Reinhold Australia Pty. Limited
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 78-18233 17 Queen Street, Mitcham, Victoria 3132, Australia
ISBN 0-442-27905-5
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Limited
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham, Berkshire, England
hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any
means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and
retrieval systems—without written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Printed in the United States of America Studley, Vance.
Designed by Loudan Enterprises Making artist's tools.
Published in 1979 by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Bibliography: p.
A division of Litton Educational Publishing, Inc. Includes index.
135 West 50th Street, New York, N.Y. 10020, U.S.A. 1. Artists' tools—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
I. Title
Van Nostrand Reinhold Limited N8543.S88 702'.8 78-18233
1410 Birchmount Road, Scarborough, Ontario M1P 2E7, Canada ISBN 0-442-27903-5
Contents
Foreword by Walter Askin 6 7. Measuring Devices 94
Introduction 8 T-squares 95
1. Historical Precedents 10 Templates 96
The Role of the Designer 10 Ship's Curves and French Curves 97
Early Contributions 15 Modified Carpenter's Scribe 97
Artist and Environment 15 Proportional Dividers 98
2. Tools and their Characteristics 17 8. Printmaking Tools and Materials 99
Tools, Equipment, and Materials 17 The Etching Needle 104
Assessing Your Needs 21 The Linoleum Block 106
3. Tools for Drawing 23 The Linoleum and Woodblock Frame 106
History 23 Plastic Plates 107
Artist and Medium 24 Brayers and Rollers 107
Charcoal 26 Brayer Storage Rack 110
Sticks, Twigs, and Dried Plants 29 Woodblock and Linoleum Press 111
Bamboo Pens 30 C-clamp Press 114
Pastel, Charcoal, and Lead Holders 32 Bookbinder's Press 115
Silverpoint 33 Hydraulic Press 115
Aluminum Cigar Container 33 Solvent Containers 116
Pigments 34 Ink Applicators 116
4. Tools for Painting 38 Two Useful Resists 119
Types of Brushes 38 9. Papermaking 120
Making Your Own Brushes 41 Background 120
Spray Devices 52 Materials for Making Paper 121
Knives 53 Forming the Paper 128
Palettes 54 10. Miscellaneous Tools 133
Pigment Containers 54 Artist's Toolbox 133
5. Tools for Lettering and Calligraphy 55 A Simple Worktable 134
The Reed or Cane Pen 56 Weights 134
The Quill Pen 61 Humidor 135
Bamboo Pens 68 Rubber-cement Lift 135
Fountain Lettering Pens 73 Lead Sharpener 136
Tongue-depressor Pen 76 Bookbinder's Bone 136
Felt-tip Markers 77 Agate Burnisher 136
Hacke Brushes 78 Marker Holders 137
Drinking-straw Pen 79 Sharpening Stone 137
Plastic-tube Pen 79 Wood Mallet 137
Lettering Guide 80 Portable Drawing Board with Paper 138
Tool Stands 81 Portable Drafting Table 139
Scroll Pens 82 Brush and Solvent Container 139
6. Crayons and Pastels 84 Bibliography 140
Crayons 84 Sources of Supply 141
Pastels 85 Index 142
Making Wax Crayons 86
Making Pastels 90
Tbreword
G ^kin
by
Waiter
for many artists the weeds between the fields
. . .
of the media have become more nourishing than all
the tame potatoes within the boundaries.
—
Fred Martin
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to
see every problem as a nail.—Abraham Maslow
On a large scale, and in work determinable by
. . .
line and rule, it is indeed possible and necessary
that the thoughts of one man should be carried out
by the labour of others But on a smaller scale,
. . .
and if a design cannot be mathematically defined,
one man's thoughts can never be expressed by
another: and the difference between the spirit of
touch of the man who is inventing, and to the man
who is obeying directions, is often all the difference
between a great and a common work of art.
—
John Ruskin