A New Mandala & Some Great New Acrylic Inks

By now many of you must know what an incurable art supply junkie I am! I buy art supplies rather than clothes, food or household objects. I love being surrounded by art supplies - which, of course, includes those supplies related to quilting, felting and knitting as well as to painting and drawing!

I found these fabulous new acrylic inks made by Liquitex and, of course, I had to have the whole range of 30 available colors. I sold some pens to be able to buy the inks - so as not to upset my inner exchequer! I am happy to say that it was a good exchange too. These inks are rich - saturated colors. They work really well with dip pens - and, of course, brushes. The color range is quite complete and the metallic colors are truly beautiful! I searched for the best prices and found that my usual purveyor of choice (DickBlick) had the best pricing for these inks. Here is the link to Liquitex - see what they say about their new inks. Joggles, one of my favorite craft and class suppliers is also now selling them - go here to see what they have. Liquitex says that you can use these inks on fabric - although I have not yet tried them for that. Maybe today I will though. I think that they would heat set some but am not sure that they would hold up to much washing. Then again - I really need to test their washability I guess!

A new Mandala piece I just finished - it's 9". I have been drawn to very earthy colors lately -I find them to be very calming - helps me get more centered. Hummm Is that really possible ??!

The metallics are rich and vibrant.

The Work Of My Hand

I've been experimenting with a variety of pens, inks, watercolors & acrylics. The "work of my hand" was painted/drawn/inked on a page of my regular (daily writing versus art) Moleskine lined journal. The paper is very thin &, once I had started this drawing I wished I had done it on my Clairefontaine Watercolor pads. Thankfully, a layer of gesso on the paper really helped to beef up the weight & made this sort of detailed work possible on such thin paper possible. I loved working on this hand ! I may doing a regular painting of both hands in a similar style - I have some nice square canvas' all ready to go !

Fascination Or Obsession? What Some Great Paper Can Do To You!

I think I just have to blame it on Karen from Exaclair. I simply can't stop doodling! I am having so much fun with the fabulous new Clairefontaine fine art papers that she sent to me! I doodle in the morning, at work on breaks & in the evening while I watch the tube (must be why I can't remember if I watched some shows or not!). I have been using colored pens, J.Herbin inks & acrylic paints. There are so many kinds of 'coloring things' that I want to try. I'm used to using very small brushes - and that has helped me to 'stay in the lines'. Interesting that I can stay within the lines in art work but not in life! The nuns must have missed something with me!

Also, Teena, was observant enough to see that today is my blogaversary! Yikes! I thought that I still had a few days. I can't believe that I am into my third year of blogging. I began this blog on a whim really - like so many of us seem to do. It never crossed my mind that I would become a dedicated blogger or that this blog would become a meaningful part of my life. I find it amazing that my cyber friends often seem to know my moods more accurately than the people I work with do! I wanted to have a surprise give-away to celebrate this day but, since it came up faster than I had planned I have to think about what to do. Suggestions?

I want to thank all of my cyber friends whose notes and friendship makes make me want to continue blogging -especially on the days when I least feel like it. Thanks too to folks like Karen who support keep me fascinated (or is it obsessed) with making art of one kind or another!

In Love With Paper: Clairefontaine Artist Paper That Is!

Clairefontaine watercolor paper with pen,
J.Herbin fountain pen inks & colored pens

I am sure that some of you may recall me saying that I have been blessed & am very fortunate to be able to experiment (read "play") with some awesome products thanks to the largesse of Exaclair's Karen Doherty. Being a little short on funds has made this a double blessing for me since without her generosity I would not be having some of the great fun that I have been enjoying lately! Karen's latest 'box' arrived packed with some more wonderful Clairefontaine paper products. What I don't think I have mentioned in the past is that I was a fan of Clairefontaine products long before I made this happy connection with Karen. I always had at least one or two colorful Clairefontaine notebooks on hand - a small graphed paper one for my purse as well as a larger graphed version for home. So I am not simply being gratuitous when I say that I truly do feel that Clairfontaine products are quite superior - as well as more colorful and appealing !

What I had not realized prior to the arrival of this box was that Clairefontaine produces what I now know is a full line of truly select artist sketchbooks, pastel papers, watercolor paper & pads as well as an inspiring line of calligraphy papers. WoW! I have been one happy camper!

Clairefontaine watercolor paper with pen & permanent India Ink

I have received some queries today asking if I had fallen off the face of the earth . Aside from a spate of the rainy,wet & cold weather doldrums as well as some birthday days off for DH that threw me way off schedule (who knew I had one of those?!) I have, in fact, been busy, experimenting with some of these great artist papers. My new 'career' must surely be "Doodles r Me "(or is it i? ). I have been using of J.Herbin inks, paint & pencils on these papers & trying to fit in other, much less enjoyable things, like work & home, has been difficult! This morning I even got up an hour early to be able to doodle some before I left for work. Those who know me also know that this is not at all like me. I do not 'do' morning easily nor generally with a smile on my face!

Watercolor paper with pen and permanent ink and water color paint

A feline is beginning to take shape on water color paper with acrylic paint and pen

"Doodles r me" on a larger sheet of watercolor paper.
Pen & permanent ink & a Sakura Glaze pen.

A second 'go-around' of an earlier design on pastel paper.
Pen & permanent ink, acrylic paint & watercolors.

I love working in a square format - at least with painting I do. Quilts are another matter - and I am not terribly fond of working square in quilts - except perhaps for some artistic, non-bed type pieces.

Look at these amazing watercolor pads from Clairfontaine. They're awesome! 300g cold press paper that is a joy to paint on. My favorite size right now is the small 100X100 mm (roughly 4 inches) pad. I have it with me all the time & have been having endless fun doodling away. It got me through a staff meeting today even (no worries - my boss humors me & knows that keeping my fingers busy during staffing actually helps me focus more!). The other size that has become a favorite is the 200 X 200 mm (roughly 8 inches) & the portrait size is a generous 210 X 297 mm (again, roughly 8 X 11 inches). These pads have a cool see through cover made of a sturdy (non-bending) plastic vinyl kind of material with a nice design on the top. The backing is made of the same material with a super sturdy piece of creamy cardboard underneath it (except for the mini square size). The plastic & cardboard makes balancing these pads on a knee , a tree limb or a deck rail a breeze.

These are the watercolor sketch books described above. These pages are not micro-perforated & would need to be cut away if the work needed to be removed. I have to say that I really have become enthralled with this particular paper. I have used different water color brands over the years but this product does have superior performance - comparable or better than any of the more "well known" mainstream brands. I do still like Arches hot pressed with the molded edges - but with this available now I am not sure that the cost differential would be worth it to me any longer.

Below is the 9.5 X 12 " 60lb Ingres Pastel paper with 25 sheets to the pad. The paper color is a very pale, warm ivory & the surface has a beautiful laid structure. Color goes on smoothly; I experimented with pastels, cray-pas, acrylic paints & pen & inks. A lovely paper choice that is available in assorted colors as well & is available in a wide a range of sizes that includes full 19.5 X 25.5 inch sheets.

Next up is Clairefontaines s-m-o-o-t-h & yummy 60 lb Calligraphic paper. This pad is 9.5 X 12 inches and includes 60 sheets.I had to include a picture of the descriptive notes about the paper - which explains why it is such a special choice for calligraphers. I have some calligraphy books that I have been meaning to practice with & this paper could not have arrived at a more opportune time!

Last, but not least, is a really pretty tablet of lined paper that features super smooth Clairfontaine writing paper. I think that this is a truly happy looking pad! I love the full front & back illustration which looks "Disney-esque" to me. It's a little treasure that would brighten anyone's day - what a cool surprise for a Mother's Day gift this would be ! I am, truly grateful for having the opportunity to try out these products from such a fine company - and as I said - I liked their products before so my praise is not simply because I have been fortunate enough to be able to exercise my unstoppable desire to put more playtime in my life! Thank you Karen - may your generosity return to you many fold!

Peachy Cat: The Series

I am doing a series of cat faces and this is one that I just finished. I am not that fond of this one but that's okay - it will work. I am triny different color combinations and will then pick those that I like the best and do a whole cloth type of quilt with them I think. The green, in actuality, is not as flourescent as it appears here, although for some odd reason the other colors are quite true.

It appears that the hummingbirds may catch a break this weekend...we may actually have some Spring like weather this weekend. Today is sunny but chilly here - but it is snowing on the mainland!!

Experimenting With Golden Silverpoint & Digital Matte White Grounds

Yesterday's mail brought the long back-ordered Golden Silverpoint ground. I had ordered it in a fit of experimentation lust quite awhile ago. DickBlick was out of it and one thing led to another and I forgot it until it arrived. I also had bought some Golden Digital Ground in matte white that I had been wanting to try out - so I tried them at the same time.

I had never heard of Silverpoint - "what the heck is this"" I thought? Ah!Something to to explore! Silver point, it turns out, has a long and noble history in the field of art and drawing. Who knew? There is a wonderful website called silverpoint web that will tell you all you want to know. about this amazing art form. One thing I know is that I have to hustle up some sort of real tool to try this stuff with. My experiements were interesting, but I know that the real thing will be awesome. Golden has a great write up about this new product in their publication "Just Paint", which, if you love to paint and draw, you really do need to check out and subscribe to! Golden makes an amazing array of ground products. I am just beginning to really experiment with some of their gessos and grounds - so you can look for more posts about them in the near future. I am really pretty excited about some of the things I have been playing with - things that I have wanted to try out for some time. Playtime really lifts my spirits - and gets me going! I love to try new things and learn new techniques - it's the gadget girl in me I guess.

The photo below:
I covered some scrap printer paper with some Silverpoint ground and then grabbed the things that were on my desk to try out. The top of the examples have ground and the bottom portion (where you can see I taped) are plain. I simply HAVE to get a real tool for this!

Below: left to right:
an embossing tool that I use for metal ,a paper clip (not reall visible!), a berol Prismacolor pencil, a Lamy Safari fountain pen with a medium nib, a Berol 6B pencil, a Staedtler Triplus marker - very fine nib),a Berol mechanical pencil (left line using just the metal nib and right line using the lead). The embossing tool was nothing special but at least the makes showed up. The colored pencil, ink, pencil, marker and mechanical pencils all worked. The ground made a lovely smooth surface for any sort of medium & encouraged a bit of spread for ink and marker. The pencils just wrote super smoothly. Have I said i need a real tool for trying this?!

Below are some plain copy paper prints I tried:

Left to right: plain copy paper, Golden Digital Ground for inkjet printeres in matte white, Golden Silverpoint ground. Obviously the Siverpoint ground really is not effective for inkjet printing. Perhaps not as obvious is the improvement in the color when using the digital ground. The volors really are more rich and vibrant. Keep in mind this was printed on regular old printer paper and I did not adjust the settings - so that's actually a lot for the ground to achieve with no special adjustments made to photo or printer.

Below is a bit more of a close up of the plain copy on the left and the digital ground on the right. The colors are much better with the ground - so I know there will be more of them in my paint box to try out as soon as I can afford to order them. I hope Blick will have another sale soon so that I can get some more to try!

Play Time Doodling

These are the things I have been playing with recently. I get a real 'need' to do something vaguely aboriginal once in awhile. Actually, I have been filling page after page of sketches to try to find something that pleased me. These are just a few of the colored sketches - there are pages of pencil drawings that I did not think were pertinent enough to post about. I have been having a great time playing - trying some things that have been languishing in my 'toy' box for some time without being used. I can;t wait to see what tomorrow brings. Play time is good!

Oh! Baby It's Cold & Snowy Outside! Plus A Return To Chidlhood

Here is an updated photo!

I took this photos at 9:00 pm last evening. Lot's more of this beautiful stuff (well, beautiful when I don't have to drive I mean) is still falling. It's that small crystalline structure that glistens in the light. What an unusual winter we have had so far!

My cousin has been clearing out a lot of old family memorabilia. She has, thankfully, sent me many things that bring back long forgotten memories. Letters with my mother's beautiful & unusual handwriting, letters in my grandmother's clear hand , and lots of other letters from family members to my beloved Grandmother, Thea. I have to share two things that were in the package that made me chuckle quite a bit. Two pictures I had drawn and sent to my grandmother when I was 11 or 12! Aren't these dramatic! I don't know how most 11 years old draw, but somehow I think it's better than this! I am so very grateful to my cousin for the wonderful family momentos she sends my way. These objects and letters really warm my heart!

I wonder what I was thinking? Veronica Lake? No! She was way before my generation!

Happy Cat : Doodling Again

I was doodling last night - and this 'Happy Cat' was the result. I had fun playing with my new set of Caran D'Ache Neocolor II artist crayons. I splurged on the set of 84. I always wait for Dick Blick sales to splurge on relatively large ticket art items! I love the smooth way the Neocolors go one & how well they blend when you add water. My friend. Sarah, gave me one of those cool water brushes last year. At the time I had no idea what to do with it or how it worked. I thought the brush would be like any other brush & would need cleaning after every color. I was wrong !! Now I have a collection of these wonderful water brushes & they have become one of my favorite tools to use with water soluble crayons or pencils. A paper towel is all you need in between colors. IMHO they are little marvels of modern technology! Next splurge (I have to wait for another sale though!) will be more Golden paints .... I wonder how long I'll have to wait ?! I am feeling very impatient ! Color is good. Color is life. Color means fun !

You Get What You Pay For; Erasers Are Not All Equal

First of all, I cannot believe that I am writing about an electric eraser - of all things - much less touting the fact that I own one! I have been doing a lot more sketching recently - thanks to Paulette Insall's class. I am enjoying it a lot too! I am also needing a good eraser more than I used to. One of the books I have been reading recently is "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stuart Parks. In her book she recommends a Sakura electric eraser. I balked at the cost of it & opted to order a much less expensive Helix brand from Dick Blick. It worked for all of about 15 minutes. It had a cheap feel too. Dick Blick was very good about crediting the costof both the eraser & the refills I had purchased. I like Dick Blicks' catalogs & web site & I generally buy all of my art supplies from them. I was pleased to learn that they are good with their customer service! After some more thought about whether I REALLY just HAD to have an electric eraser (I am so weak!) - I sprang for the Sakura model - and yes, it is true, you definitely get what you pay for - even with electric erasers! It works so quickly, cleanly and evenly. No smudges, no lines. Terrifc little gadget!

In the photo above you can see the lines I erased (using some elbow power too) with my trusty Sanford pencil eraser (yes, I also did try a variety of other erasers I had on hand as well)and next you can see nearly the clean paper where I used the Sakura. Obviously, since it broke so fast, I can't compare the Sakura to the Helix! So,it is a foolishly small thing in the general scheme of life, but I am now a real convert to electric erasers - if one plans to do much sketching - and likes clean lines too - it's a good thing; embarrassed as I am to admit to that !