A tackle box or other tiny container can also hold your gouache paint tubes. To group the paint tubes according to color, you can use little compartments in the tackle box, making this a practical and affordable alternative. Make sure your tubes fit inside the wells. A good practice is to carry a paint tube with you when looking for this kind of box to make tests.
A Guide to Storing Gouache Paint Tubes
Gouache is a versatile medium renowned for its rich, opaque colors and its reactivation with water. However, it can be susceptible to drying out, getting damaged, or becoming contaminated if not stored properly due to its water-based nature.
This blog post will cover DIY storage options, paid options, and best practices for storing gouache paint. When storing your gouache tubes, you should have two purposes: organizing the tubes to find colors easily and protect your paint.
Table of Contents
- Organizing the tubes by color
- Storing gouache tubes in Good Conditions
- DIY Gouache Paint Storage Solutions
- Make a bespoke storage box.
- Reuse manufacturers’ packaging
- Use a pegboard and clips.
- Wait, I have some recommendations handpicked for you.
- Plastic containers
- Recycling jars
- Using Ziploc bags
- Lipstick organizer
- Wood paint tube organizer
- Use a fishing tackle box
- Desk organizer with drawers
- Rolling cart with drawers
Sorting your gouache paint tubes by color is an efficient way to arrange them, and this makes it simple to locate the color you’re seeking and quickly identify the hues in your collection. Depending on your preferences, you can place the tubes according to the color wheel, tones, shades, or hues. This technique makes it simple to find any missing colors from your collection.
ContentsOne important thing when looking for storage is how many tubes do you have to store, and what sizes are your tubes?
Storing gouache tubes in Good Conditions
After using paint, you should firmly secure the cap or lid to prevent drying out and consistency loss. When you’re ready to paint again, open your tube outside or your palette, as you may get dry paint crumbles falling from the lid.
Gouache paint should not be near windows, radiators, or other heat sources. The paint may dry out and lose its consistency due to exposure to heat and sunlight, making it challenging to use.
Keeping the tubes in a cool, dry place is crucial to preserve the paint’s quality. It’s preferable to keep the paint tubes in an area with a stable temperature and low humidity because humidity and high temperatures can damage the consistency and color of the paint. Keep the tubes out of moist or humid spaces like bathrooms or basements.
Until recently, I was storing my gouache tubes randomly in a recycled wood wine box, and it was fine until I had so many tubes that when rummaging in the box I had a tube perforated and had gouache paint everywhere. This is when I looked for different storage solutions. Thank you to the Facebook group ‘Gouache Painters‘ members for providing ideas!
How to Start Organizing Your Art Supplies
Yes, it’s clichė, but it’s true—you start at the beginning. What do you have? Do spring cleaning and pull out all your supplies to see what condition they’re in. Throw away anything that’s too old or simply doesn’t work any more.
As you’re cleaning, sort your supplies into categories. It’s important to keep acrylic brushes and oil brushes separate. The paints and cleaning methods are completely different. Going from acrylic to oil works OK.
However, brushes you’ve used for oil painting will ruin your acrylic paints. It’s best to keep a separate supply of brushes. Here are a few categories but you may have more.
- Drawing tools
- Watercolor paints
- Acrylic paint brushes
- Acrylic paints
- Oil paint brushes
- Oil paints
- Cleaning supplies
- Mark making tools
- Canvases
- Sketch pads
Once you’ve gone through all your drawers and closets to find all your supplies, and you’ve sorted them into groups, it’s time to see what type of storage containers you’ll need.
How Should I Store My Art Supplies?
This is where you can have some fun. There are a number of stores that sell storage containers to help you get organized. You can also get creative and do some DIY options. The key here is to match the storage container with what you’re storing.
- Drawing tools: You can use old Mason jars, pencil bags, bins, drawers. The possibilities are almost endless. It just depends on how many pencils, pens, markers, erasers, etc. you have.
- Brushes: Mason jars work great but you can also lay them flat in a drawer. Be sure that your brushes are thoroughly cleaned before storing them away. Tip: Never store them with the bristles down.
- Paint: There are a variety of ways to store paints. You can hang paint tubes on a pegboard with metal clips attached to the bottom. Storage bins, drawers and carts can also be used. You can separate acrylics into transparents, opaques, and neutrals or put them all together. Oils can be separated into warms, cools, and neutrals.
- Canvases: First of all, you need to store them vertically. They should also be in a cool, dry place and kept off the floor, if possible.
- Sketch books and large paper: Sketch books can be placed on a shelf vertically. Large paper should be stored horizontally on a shelf or in a drawer.
Here are just a few stores that have good options for art storage.
- IKEA: They have great cube units.
- Michaels: They have a huge variety of containers from plastic bins, to plastic drawers, to metal rolling carts.
- Blick: They have so many different categories of storage options. The limit will only be your budget.
- Pinterest: OK, so it’s not a store. However, you can get a ton of ideas on ways to store your art supplies. If you like to DIY, this is a great option for you.
Why Should I Keep My Art Studio Organized?
Now you have a place for everything and everything in its place. That was hard work. Why should you spend time keeping it this way?
- You’ll save money! Once you know exactly what you have, you won’t make the mistake of buying several tubes of the same color of paint because you can never find it when you need it.
- You’ll save time! You’ll know what you have and where you’re storing it so you can use it when you need it. You won’t need to be frustrated wasting time looking for that elusive color you need.
- You’ll be more productive! A clean, organized studio promotes creativity and allows you to focus on your paintings. You’ll work more efficiently and effectively.
