Friday's Finds: Easy solutions!

Problem No. 1: You want the color but not the texture of a granulating pigment. What to do?
Easy solution: This is so easy I don't know whether to categorize it as an AHA moment or as a big "DUH?" Case in point: Cerulean. It's a great color but I've often wanted  a smooth rather than textured application of it. While browsing through the watercolor books at the Monroe County Public Library this week, I came across a solution: Turn the paper face down to dry! This forces the sediment to dry at the surface rather than down in the nooks and crannies of the paper, resulting in much less granulation. How easy is that?
Problem No. 2: You want to indulge in the guilty pleasures of eating chocolate and buying art but, oh, the guilt...
Easy solution: This weekend you can banish the guilt by combining chocolate and art with a good cause, such as Options, which partners with people with disabilities and their communities. Go to http://www.weekofchocolate.com/ and click on the Online Art Auction link to see and bid on some amazing works of art. The Art of Chocolate is this Sunday at the IU Art Museum 5:30 to 8 p.m. Art + Chocolate + Good Cause = Guilt-free Pleasure.

Problem No. 3: You want to travel light at the next paintout or SketchCrawl, but you don't want to shell out the money for one of those nifty field boxes.
Solution: Get a seven-day pillbox and squeeze out some paint in each of the compartments. All you need are a couple of brushes, a sketchbook and a paper cup for your water.

That's it for this Friday. If you have other suggestions for "traveling light" or reducing granulation, click on comments below. Also, please be a blog Follower by clicking on the Follow button at the right.