My Minimalist Approach to Art

I’ve noticed that, for most artists, more is more. They have buckets and buckets of supplies, paintings covering their studio walls, and messy piles of discarded work stacked everywhere. I envy them. It looks like a fun way to work. If you’re like this, I hope you celebrate the way you are.

I used to try to work this way - buying more supplies, hanging up sketches, making a mess. However, I’d find myself throwing away the supplies I didn’t use, organizing my work into boxes, and cleaning up when my studio got too messy. I couldn’t rewire the way my brain worked. So, at some point, I learned to accept this about myself. For some reason, this is just the way I am. I’m an artist, yet I crave order. I’m not sure why.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s my non-traditional background. I studied communications in college. Then, I switched gears after school and ended up working as a corporate graphic designer for many years before landing on art. Liberal arts colleges don’t exactly encourage play. And you need to be extremely organized and detail-oriented to succeed as a graphic designer. Often, I wonder if it’s my childhood too. I moved around a lot and had three younger siblings. Maybe that made me crave order from a young age.

The first way I consider myself a minimalist artist is the way I approach art supplies. If I don’t use something for a year, I throw it away or donate it. As a result, I have a very small amount of supplies. I only use 5 types of paint brushes. I only use 11 shades of gouache (keeping a few extras on hand for client work, when they want me to use a color I wouldn’t normally use). I use the same brand of gouache always - Winsor & Newton. I have one eraser I like, and one sketchbook I come back to again and again. I like a certain brand of paper. And I use the same paint palette and water cup every time I paint (switching to disposables only when I travel). I keep a small collection of colored pencils and pastels to use over my paints. I have everything I need and nothing more.

Since I know what I like, I keep backups of my supplies. I only use five paintbrush styles, but I have extras of each. I have backup tubes of all the shades of gouache I use, just in case I run out. If all the art stores suddenly ran out of supplies, I’d be prepared. I even have 5 copies of my ceramic paint palette and 2 of my water cup.

Another way I’m a minimalist artist is the way I store and display my art. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve tried covering my studio walls with paintings - something I love seeing on Pinterest. Sadly, it makes me uncomfortable. I like blank white walls while I work. Instead, I’ve opted for a small pinboard in my space where I can hang my favorite works. The rest of my paintings are framed around my house, or carefully organized into boxes. I have all of my past works in plastic sleeves (since gouache can be damaged by moisture), and stored away in archival boxes by year. I even have a typed catalog of what’s in each box.

Am I starting to sound a little crazy here? Maybe I am! At the very least, one might call me particular.

And then there’s my studio - one plant, blank white walls, two desks, my pinboard, two rolling carts and a trunk for storage. It’s a pretty simple layout. One might call it boring. All of my shipping supplies are carefully organized by size. Everything is in its place. This is the only way I can work. To keep things orderly, I clean up every Friday, wiping down surfaces and putting things away.

The way I manage life as a freelance artist is pretty minimalist too. I work 9-5 hours. I’m very selective as to what I take on, trying to focus my energy on the areas that will have the most impact. In my mind, I have a web of business endeavors I’m working on that I rarely stray from. And I repeat tasks on the same days every week. For instance, Monday and Thursday are the days I ship print orders. I write a blog post every Wednesday. And I keep a daily task list of what needs to be done to keep me on track. My inbox is usually empty. My desktop is always clean. I have all of my art files carefully organized on Dropbox. I know these are things many artists struggle with so, in this sense, I’m grateful I’m wired this way. It’s probably where being a minimalist artist helps me the most. I have a pretty good handle on the business side of things, because I can’t help it. I can’t sleep properly if things aren’t in order.

What I’ve realized is that this pull towards minimalism is my greatest strength and downfall. I have a lot to learn from more maximalist artists when it comes to art. This is where I most feel the effects of being a minimalist. Experimentation is tough for me. Using new supplies makes me uncomfortable, but maybe this is keeping me from discovering my new favorite medium. Sometimes, my work feels a little rigid to me, and my minimalist tendencies are probably why. I’m afraid to give up control.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the way I’m wired, and I see there’s balance to be achieved in all of us, like yin and yang. We need to be minimalist enough to function as successful artists, but not so minimalist that it impacts the kind of work we’re making. In our work, we need to take a maximalist approach - to allow ourselves to loosen up and have fun. To make a mess sometimes. This is something I’m actively working on.

So, how are you wired?