Currently Browsing: Roz Stendahl 2252 articles
Review: Clairefontaine Watercolor Sketchbook
Background on the Testing of This Sketchbook Earlier this year a Clairfontaine representative wrote and asked if I would like to test one of their new watercolor sketchbooks. Typically I buy all materials that I test and review on my website. This time, because I use many Clairfontaine notebooks and love them all I […]
Paper Matters: Is There A Right Paper?
For artists making works on paper media selection and method of application of course both matter, but too often artists forget that paper matters too. Have you been seduced by an art supply catalog into purchasing a substandard, non-artist grade paper? I see it all the time in my student’s questions. They’ve spent money on […]
Working on Canson 180
Today I look at working with watercolor on a not-wet-media paper. In May I shared with you how I started working in a Canson 180 sketchbook given to me by a friend. Because recovery from cataract surgery has been protracted I’ve been rather cooped up, unable to drive, get to life drawing, etc. One […]
Working Transparently and Opaquely with Watercolor
My eyes have still not settled down after the cataract surgeries (January 28 and March 5). There are some issues which appear to be permanent. I’ll deal with them in another post. Today I wanted to write about the drive to paint in color, the need to push paint around. If you saw the journal […]
How Do I Keep a Journal or a Sketchbook?
I get asked all the time “How do I keep a journal or a sketchbook?” I teach journaling classes in which students create in visual journals. I teach drawing classes that require students keep a sketchbook. Some people also ask me how journals and sketchbooks differ. The questions have so much “extra” weight. What those […]
Ways Your Journal Reflects Your Life—Unfinished Tests, Unfinished Sketches
I hear from a lot of blog readers and students that they work on their journal sketches later, if they can’t finish them when they first set out to sketch. I believe a journal needs to reflect your life. That puts me in the “move on” camp if a page isn’t finished […]
The Property Brothers Make Change Seem Easy (with Hard Work)
I’m probably the only person on the planet who sees “Property Brothers” as a show about change, adaptation, and living in the present moment. (As I write this I’m also including “Property Brothers: Buying and Selling,” as I watched them all simultaneously; and I have since started watching the new, “Property Brothers: Forever Home.”) While […]
In Context: Looking at the Arteza Watercolor Book Part 9
Doing a Tape Test in the Arteza Watercolor Book I use Nichiban Artist’s tape 99.9 percent of the time when I want to tape something. It works well on my favorite papers—it’s one of the reasons those papers are my favorite papers, I’ve found a tape that works with them. But many watercolorists like to […]
Sewn-on-the-Spine Bookbinding Class Registration Opens Today
I’m excited to announce the launch of the online version of my Sewn on the Spine Book Binding class. The above video tells you about the structure and shows you various examples so you’ll know what to expect. (If the above video doesn’t run please see it on YouTube at this link.) The first […]
The Janus Sketchbook from Kunst & Papier
I am currently not able to do lengthy, in-depth reviews like I’ve done in the past. But there were some items I have tested and not yet reviewed. Rather than sit on the information I’m doing short reviews that give my impressions and initial reaction to a product. But you will read those points, in […]