Hammers, Nail Guns, and Masking Fluid
Why so often do lessons come with stories attached? Lessons comes with stories because stories make those lessons easier to learn.
So I am going to tell a little story about four men and the house they are building. Each of these men work for the same company and each is a highly skilled tradesman. All four of these men are hard working employees and each of them produce excellent results in building. All four men work in the same area of the job site, and all of them do the same exact job.
They are in charge of making sure all the wall braces are up and securely nailed into place.
Bob has been in construction for many years, and is fully versed in all the newest methods, and tools. Yet he still prefers to use his trusty old hammer for this type of nailing job. He is comfortable with this hammer, and since it doesn’t cut his production down, his understanding foremen allows Bob to continue using his weathered hammer.
Lloyd and Dan prefer a mixture of tool use. They can inter change between the old fashioned hammer and nail gun of today with ease.. Each of them usually split’s the use of nail gun and hammer between which they feel is right for the job.
Charlie swears by his nail gun. He flat out refuses to use an old fashioned hammer if he can avoid doing so.
All four men are good work buds, and none of the men look at the other with any degree of disrespect for their choice of tools.
After all does it really matter what tool is used as long as the job is done and done correctly?
Makes sense right? So tell me then why is that there a some watercolorists out their trying to give MASKING FLUID a bad name?
Isn’t MF just another tool of the well equipped artist?
Isn’t it a bit high handed and down right nasty of some artists to be running with a party line that reads,”
No Masking Fluid Used to Complete this Painting”
I, for one can take or leave masking fluid. I use it if the need arises, it is after all just another tool in my studio.
Lately I have seen a lot of different artists using some pretty low (to my eyes) ways of marketing their art.
Yet to see another artist imply that artists that use masking fluid are somehow shirking the customer by using that tool makes me feel just ill. Snobbery is snobbery no matter how you try to sugar coat it.
The use of masking fluid to create a piece does not bring down the final value of the painting. That is just a wonderful little piece of marketing propaganda put out by some artists trying to make their art look more valuable to collectors than the work of their competition.
So the next time you see a web site, studio, or even an online auction emblazed with the words” No Masking Fluid Used to Complete this Painting” remember they don’t mean a single thing in the final value of the painting you are purchasing.
So I am going to tell a little story about four men and the house they are building. Each of these men work for the same company and each is a highly skilled tradesman. All four of these men are hard working employees and each of them produce excellent results in building. All four men work in the same area of the job site, and all of them do the same exact job.
They are in charge of making sure all the wall braces are up and securely nailed into place.
Bob has been in construction for many years, and is fully versed in all the newest methods, and tools. Yet he still prefers to use his trusty old hammer for this type of nailing job. He is comfortable with this hammer, and since it doesn’t cut his production down, his understanding foremen allows Bob to continue using his weathered hammer.
Lloyd and Dan prefer a mixture of tool use. They can inter change between the old fashioned hammer and nail gun of today with ease.. Each of them usually split’s the use of nail gun and hammer between which they feel is right for the job.
Charlie swears by his nail gun. He flat out refuses to use an old fashioned hammer if he can avoid doing so.
All four men are good work buds, and none of the men look at the other with any degree of disrespect for their choice of tools.
After all does it really matter what tool is used as long as the job is done and done correctly?
Makes sense right? So tell me then why is that there a some watercolorists out their trying to give MASKING FLUID a bad name?
Isn’t MF just another tool of the well equipped artist?
Isn’t it a bit high handed and down right nasty of some artists to be running with a party line that reads,”
No Masking Fluid Used to Complete this Painting”
I, for one can take or leave masking fluid. I use it if the need arises, it is after all just another tool in my studio.
Lately I have seen a lot of different artists using some pretty low (to my eyes) ways of marketing their art.
Yet to see another artist imply that artists that use masking fluid are somehow shirking the customer by using that tool makes me feel just ill. Snobbery is snobbery no matter how you try to sugar coat it.
The use of masking fluid to create a piece does not bring down the final value of the painting. That is just a wonderful little piece of marketing propaganda put out by some artists trying to make their art look more valuable to collectors than the work of their competition.
So the next time you see a web site, studio, or even an online auction emblazed with the words” No Masking Fluid Used to Complete this Painting” remember they don’t mean a single thing in the final value of the painting you are purchasing.