Tag: Art supplies

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Art supplies Life in general Sketchbook Pages

Thinking about….People Chow and Pens

People Chow & Pens
Thinking About People Chow & Pen Testing

I’ve been testing pens that I have on hand, trying to find one that is permanent or archival but also will bleed when water is brushed across it. I haven’t found it yet, so if you have any suggestions, send them my way. While I was testing I was hungry and annoyed that I was going to have to stop and go cook dinner, and then clean up after dinner.

I’d recently learned that cats don’t need variety in their food (assuming they’re being fed a high quality cat food) and that in fact, switching their food around gives them digestive problems. Cats only have about 500 taste buds compared to our 9,000 so they make their eating  decisions based on smell (and how hungry they are), not so much on flavor. When I stopped constantly changing their food, Busby’s chronic digestive problems disappeared and he became much nicer to have to around.

Since veterinary science has determined exactly what nutrients are required for cats, why hasn’t medical science discovered something similar for humans? I’m not saying I’d want to eat kibble 3 times a day (although my beloved Cheerios do look an awful lot like kibble and my cat Fiona has been known to rip open the Cheerios box and eat them) but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to just take a meal replacement pill, beverage or bar and have all the nutrients needed to nourish the body and stave off hunger until the next mealtime? Take the poll at the bottom of the post and tell me if you agree.

I was also thinking about how much more I enjoy sketches and sketching when they’re about something other than making a copy of something, and when there are words included. Pretty pictures are nice, but when something is just about being a pretty picture it feels soul-less to me. I want some meat in my sketches, not just pretty (or at least some kibble, if not meat).

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Categories
Art supplies Painting Photos Plein Air

ShadeBuddy Umbrella Review

Plein Air set up with ShadeBuddy Umbrella
Plein Air set up with ShadeBuddy umbrella & stand

Have you had bad experiences with plein air umbrellas that were flimsy, funky, poorly designed, or just plain hazardous when it gets windy? Often when my plein air group is out painting, a gust blows over an easel or two when the umbrellas attached to them turn into sails.  When I felt my old umbrella about to carry off my easel I started attaching  it to the tall handles of my rolling cart (which also got pulled over once) but I had a hard time adjusting my small umbrella to be in the right place, at the right height or at the right angle.

Now I have a ShadeBuddy Umbrella and Stand and the problem is solved. In the picture above the umbrella is set up in my backyard next to my Soltek easel. (Also pictured, is my trash container (a mesh pop-up laundry basket that folds flat to a  circle about 8″ in diameter) clipped to my easel,  a folding brush holder, and a plastic shoe box that holds my paint palette and paints. You can see the large area of shade the umbrella provides.

The pansies and pitcher on a table I was preparing to paint are on the far right.

Cylinder that holds umbrella
Cylinder that holds umbrella

The umbrella and the stand are two separate sections that fit together into the sturdy black zippered bag with a shoulder that comes with them. At the top of the stand is a white cylinder (above) into which you stick the umbrella’s wooden handle. There is a secure locking mechanism for keeping the umbrella in the cylinder and a knob that allows you adjust the angle of the umbrella and then holds it in firmly at that angle.

Foot lever
Foot pedal

The cylinder is attached to a metal pole that has a pedal about six inches from the bottom that you step on to push the pointed end of the pole into the ground. When I set mine up for the first time I was surprised how well it all worked and how easy it was. I tend to be spatial-relations challenged and am always prepared for difficulty when assembling things but this was a snap. I was able to adjust the tilt and direction of the umbrella as the sun moved, and the vented umbrella handled the afternoon wind gusts with  without even a flutter!

The umbrella is very well made, with a 48″ diameter with “wind vented construction combined with a nonreflective black lining to keep your colors true and a reflective silver outer shell to keep you cool.”  Both the closed umbrella and the pole are 48″ long and, when stashed together in the bag, weigh a little over 4 pounds.

The umbrella and pole are manufactured and sold by Judsons Art Outfitters and are also sold at several major online art supply stores. I checked prices and availability on the web and bought mine on sale from Dakota Art Pastels. It was my first purchase from Dakota (in Washington state) and they provided excellent service. My new umbrella arrived two days after I ordered it.

Having the easel made my previously posted painting, “Pansies in Pitcher Plein Air”  a pleasure to paint, even under the hot sun in my windy backyard.

Because I really appreciate good tools and well-made products that just work (and that experience is so rare!), and because I know that many other plein air painters struggle with lousy umbrellas that flop or fly, I wanted to share my positive experience. I have no other connections with the manufacturer or store (except that I think highly of both).  Judson Art Outfitters also manufacturers the Guerilla Painter line of plein air products and is a family-run business with very helpful and knowledgable staff who can answer most plein air outfitting questions with expertise.

Categories
Art supplies Drawing Flower Art Ink and watercolor wash Painting Photos photoshop Sketchbook Pages Still Life Watercolor

Hydrangeas: More Testing Fabriano Venezia Sketchbook

Hydrangeas in Pitcher, 9x11", ink & watercolor
Hydrangeas in Pitcher, 9x11", ink & watercolor

The first hydrangeas of the season provided an opportunity to try out ink and watercolor in the Fabriano Venezzia sketchbook I posted about yesterday. First I drew directly in ink and then tried painting the flower on the right by wetting the paper there, and painting into it.  I didn’t like the results and tried lifting off the paint with a tissue and was pleased and surprised that it came right off, leaving only a slight stain.  Then I painted back into the damp area and got the results I wanted and completed the rest of the painting working very loosely.

The painting was easy compared to trying to get the image in the sketchbook scanned or photographed for posting. The image above was the result of clamping the edges of the sketchbook to photograph it (see below) and then using Photoshop’s Clone Stamp tool to “erase” the clamps and then using the Levels and Dodge tools to clean up the shadows caused by the paper buckling and some reflections from the light source.

Ready to photograph

I also tried scanning the page in the sketchbook but encountered the same problems I had yesterday with severe blurring plus shadow from the seam. I (want to) like this sketchbook, but preparing the images for posting is really a hassle. Even if I wasn’t working across the spread and just painted on one page I’d still have the problem with the shadow and blurring since it happens on the righthand page.

Scanned version, after touch-up
Scanned version, after major touch-up

Have you had this problem and solved it? I’d be so grateful for suggestions!

Hydrangeas and sketchbook
Hydrangeas and sketchbook
Categories
Art supplies Drawing People Sketchbook Pages Subway drawings

Dignity, in New Fabriano Sketchbook

Dignity, ink, 9x10" in Fabriano sketchbook
Dignity, ink, 9x10" in Fabriano sketchbook

When I saw this woman reading on BART I had to draw her. She seemed to express the essence of dignity to me. She was carefully dressed and groomed, all in white,  grey and black, with her hair covered in a white crocheted net and that wrapped with a perfectly ironed bandana, tied in a tiny bow in front.

This was my first drawing in my new Fabriano Venezia sketchbook that Roz had tested and praised and that I bought in a couple of sizes from Wet Paint. This is in the 9×6″ size. I left the first page blank to serve as a title page/table of contents later and did this drawing on the next page. I was totally in love with the sketchbook, writing a little rave review on the page of this first sketch about how wonderfully smooth and thick the paper was, and how nicely it worked with the Micron Pigma .01.

I was a little concerned about how much larger and heavier to carry around it is than the Moleskine watercolor notebooks I’ve been using, but thought it would be worth it. BUT when I tried to scan my drawing and the book didn’t quite fit on the scanner, cropping off part of the image, and the middle seam caused half the image to blur and have a dark shadow, no matter what I tried.

Then tonight I tried adding a watered down ink wash to her jacket, which had been black. The paper acted very strangely, not at all like I’d expected. I knew it wasn’t watercolor paper, and thus wasn’t sized, but now I’m now worried how these books will react with watercolor. I guess I’ll find out soon.

Here’s the same image with the ink wash that went all splotchy.

Less Dignity with ink wash
Less Dignity with ink wash

She was so carefully groomed, with everything perfectly ironed and smooth and now she looks much less dignified with her splotchy jacket.  I don’t think the ink wash added anything positive to the drawing, do you? And I don’t think adding more ink to try to make it smoother or darker would be a good thing either.

Categories
Animals Art supplies Gouache Illustration Painting photoshop

How Maira Kalman (and I) Create Gouache Paintings with Ink Lettering

Why Are Flamingoes Pink? Gouache on hot press paper, 5.5x7.5"
Why Are Flamingoes Pink? Gouache on hot press paper, 5.5x7.5"

Why Flamingoes Are Pink (Hint: You Are What You Eat!)

Why Are Flamingoes Pink? Gouache & Ink, 5.5x7.5"
Why Are Flamingoes Pink? Gouache & Ink, 5.5x7.5"

I adore Maira Kalman‘s wonderfully quirky gouache and ink illustrations. When I’ve tried to use ink on my own gouache paintings, the ink always got sucked into the paint and blurred, or the pen clogged immediately (or both). I searched every way I could on the internet and finally found this link to India Amos’s blog. India, as Art Director, was responsible for preparing some of Maira’s artwork for print. In the post she wrote that Maira creates the painting and lettering separately. Then they’re scanned and layered together electronically using Photoshop.

So yesterday I investigated this approach. I painted the flamingoes above from a photo I took at Six Flags last month. Then I tried various pens and tracing papers. I also sent a message to India asking if she’d be willing to provide more information about the process.

Continue reading “How Maira Kalman (and I) Create Gouache Paintings with Ink Lettering”
Categories
Art supplies Flower Art Oil Painting Painting

3 Is Not a Charm & Review of Painting Panels/Boards

Camellia #3, Oil painting on panel, 8x8"
Camellia #3, Oil painting on panel, 8x8"

So I’m still at it with these camellias, this time in oil.  I have a plan for Camellias #4 as I still haven’t quite got what I’m after. I want to see if I can get bright light colors in oils without the chalkiness of white paint. I think that will mean using thin transparent washes instead of thick paint, even though the usual method in oil is to make lights thick and darks thin.

Review of Painting Panels/Boards

Continue reading “3 Is Not a Charm & Review of Painting Panels/Boards”
Categories
Art supplies Art theory Life in general Oil Painting Painting Still Life

Procrastination & Painting Pomegranates

Pomegranate and seeds, oil on Gessobord, 9x12
Pomegranate and seeds, oil painting on Gessobord, 9x12"

I never thought I was a procrastinator but after a week’s vacation meant to be spent painting but rarely getting into the studio until early afternoon at best, I began to look at how I’ve spent my time this week and had trouble figuring out where it had gone.

Then l saw this incredibly creative and well-made four-minute movie on YouTube entitled “Procrastination.” I could see myself in every single scene (except maybe smoking).  If you’ve ever procrastinated getting started on a creative project out of fear of failure, perfectionism, artist’s or writer’s block or any other reason, this video and will make you laugh (or cry).

About the painting:

I discovered Gessobord this week and fell in love with the wonderful surface of these panels. They’re smooth but have a texture that sort of bites into the paint and grabs it, as well as enhancing the colors of the paint. It’s really amazing and is a total pleasure to paint on with oil paints. I wish they were less expensive, but they’re still cheaper than pre-stretched canvas, especially when purchased on sale online.

Instead of trying to do a one or two hour painting and finishing this still life in one chunk, I had to do this one in several short sessions over a period of a few days (because of procrastination and various holiday events and other responsibilities).

I paused and studied the painting, and saw that I needed to improve the composition and values:

Stopping point before analyzing and improving value contrasts
Stopping point to analyze problems

I looked at the painting and the set-up through a piece of red plastic (which elimates the color, emphasizing values) and could see that I needed to darken the background and the inside of the fruit on the left side. I also added the seeds and stains on the cutting board to avoid so much empty space and lead the eye into the painting.

The pomegrantate (already less than fresh when I started) got less attractive and eventually I had to stop and call the painting finished.  I think it will serve as a good stepping stone to the next as I try to put more “miles” on my brushes. And now to stop procrastinating and focus on starting that next painting!

Ooops…when I posted what I thought was the “finished” painting (at bottom) a few minutes ago and then posted this photo of the set-up from day one, I could see that the color of the pom needed to be warmer and the background cooler so I just applied a dark cool glaze to the background and a warm red glaze on some of the pom and posted the finished picture at the top of the post. Now I’m done (I think).

20081130_2566-pomegranate-photo
Photo of set-up on day one
Pomegranate and seeds, oil on Gessobord, 9x12
Thought I was finished but more work needed