A Lovely Article About Moi!

I am a self professed junkie for J.Herbin inks, Clairefontaine & Rhodia paper and notebooks, Brause Nibs and pen holders, Pollen Stationary. What is the thread that runs through all of these fabulous things? They are all Exaclair products!

Karen from Exaclair was gracious enough to want to do a small article on me on the Quo Vadis Blog. Today was the day. Thanks Karen !

To see Karen's article go to:
The Quo Vadis Blog

Other than that it was arather wacky week and I am happy that it is now Friday. This full moon totally messed up my sleep for almost this whole week. Tonight I need my z-z-z-z-zz---zzzzzz!!!!!

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!

A New Creative Tool From Exaclair: DecoPatch Meets An Exacompta Basics Sketch Book

My journal craze. The newest Exacompta Sketch Book is second from the top

It has happened. I have succumbed. I am a journal junkie. Granted I do write in my journal everyday & I have even found new reasons to require more journals. I use one for books I am currently reading- as a convenient place to write down words I want to look up, concepts that interest me or quotations that seem pithy or useful. I use another journal to take notes for things that I want to write blog posts about, and yet another notebook is used to record daily things - hum drum lists and what not. Karen Doherty from Exaclair has helped me along the the way. She has become one of my suppliers of my mood adulterant of choice - journals & sketchbooks! Most recently she sent me an Exacompta Basics Sketch Book to 'play' with along with some of Exaclair's newest product called DecoPatch. The DecoPatch papers are beautiful, just a bit heavier than regular tissue paper, and they make covering things - lots of things - just plain fun to do. Karen included a variety of papers, a jar of DecoPatch satin finish/glue & a DecoPatch brush to complete the the fun filled bounty box. I was beginning to salivate just thinking about the things I could cover with these fun, happy papers! The most likely candidate was lying right there - the Exacompta Sketch Book.

The Exacompta Basics Sketch book comes in two sizes, 5.5" X 8.25" (the size of a Moleskein) or 4"X5.5". There are 100 sheets/200 pages in the book. The creamy paper is similar to laid paper - slightly textured on one side & smooth on the other. It's beautiful to draw on and is also just about impervious to bleed-through. I have used watercolors, various fountain pen inks (more on this in another post), colored pens, & Sharpie xtra fines. The Sharpies bled through just ever so slightly - and that is amazing for any paper! The cover is black hard board - pretty plain all in all.

Not a lot of product branding on the covers. A nice colored book mark is also included.

Here's is the selection of DecoPatch papers, glue & the handy little brush

Here is the same Exacompta journal after I played with the Decoatch paper! Using the DecoPatch was easy & it was lot's of fun. I enjoyed combining papers, designs & colors but a project would look just as well using a single paper because each paper has variety & color variations in the pattern You could decorate boxes, journals - well, even chairs or dressers with this stuff! It's a great new product from Exaclair - you should give some a try - and will be happily surprised at how much fun it is to work/play with!

The 'new' journal - opened up.

Here's a look at the smooth, creamy pages about to be doodled on. It's a pleasure to draw on this paper - now I want to try one of the ruled 'Basics' journals (I think they also have 100 sheets/200 pages). This large size is most similar to the size of the ruled Moleskein journal that I use for daily ramblings. For some reason it is the size I have become most comfortable with. Anything smaller is too small and another larger seems too large. I may have found a perfect alternative! I love my Moleskein journal but the paper is too thin to support my favorite fountain pens or colored pens without a lot of bleed through to the back side of the paper - so this "Exacompta Basics' may be the answer I have been looking for with it's nearly "bullet-proof" paper. Were I to grade this Exacompta Basics Sketch Book I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars! The ruled journal mught even garner 5 stars - we'll have to wait and see!