Adding the Dots

The way I apply the dots has sort of evolved into using the materials pictured below. I am not brand conscious except for the paint. Golden was chemist, so I am confident that his paints will be alright. I switched from another brand I can no longer find locally. Oh, I suggest seeing how often you make use of a color before buying a large tube of Golden acrylic paints.

The throw away palettes are convenient when working with acrylic. I prefer the ones that are solid. Having that traditional palette thumb-hole doesn’t work well for folding the palette over on itself to keep the paint wet – the waxy surface is a big help.

When I first started painting with dots, I used some old Q-Tips with wooden dowels. But then I ran out. I tried the ones with cardboard dowels. Those just became soggy in water. Eventually I located small wooden dowels at a Michael’s up in Memphis – while I was evacuated there. Rolling cotton on one end of a dowel works fine.

Anyway the technique for making the dots has just sort of developed from my experimenting. The amount of cotton on the dowel will determine the size of the dots. Figuring out how to paint with the cotton is just a matter of “trial and error.”


Painting Materials: 1 roll of paper towels, 1 bag of wooden dowels, 2 disposable palettes, 1 bag of cotton balls, 5 tubes of Golden acrylic, party cups of water

Here is the same dowel with a regular and large amounts of cotton on one end. It's a matter of how large you want your dots to be.


Regular amount of cotton on a wooden dowel


Large amount of cotton on a wooden dowel