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In Context: Looking at the Arteza Watercolor Book Part 5
On this page of my Arteza Watercolor Book I was testing fountain pens—using my Sailor Fude Fountain pen with Platinum Carbon Black ink. The pen moves well on the slightly textured paper. The ink settles quickly and doesn’t bleed when you add your washes. (I go in pretty quickly with my washes so I […]
Stonehenge Aqua Review Part 1—Overview and the Cold Press Surface
In 2017 I requested Stonehenge Aqua samples based on a company promotion. I’m sure many of you did the same. You’ve probably already made your decision about this paper. I spent most of January 2018 working on Stonehenge Aqua 140 lb. watercolor paper in both the cold press and hot press surfaces. For various reasons—the […]
Looking at Canson Heritage Watercolor Paper
This past fall I purchased a block of 140 lb. hot press Canson Heritage Watercolor paper. It is a 100 percent cotton paper with vegetable sizing. (Yep, I am not happy about the sizing, but there you have it.) Since then I’ve been working on it to complete a project. I haven’t posted sketches from […]
Testing Yarka Watercolors
Last fall I was in Wet Paint and they had some sets of Yarka Watercolors for sale. I purchased two sets. One was a standard set of colors that I bought for a young friend as a gift. The other set, “High Chroma” (HC) was for me to experiment with. They were in fun square […]
Self-Assessment: 2018—Filling Journals, Using Up Paint
Some Background and The Brand of Paint I’ve Been Using Lately Yes, this painting actually has something to do with self-assessment and goal setting. First I want to say something about the materials… While I did sketch some more after painting this image yesterday (Dec. 31, 2018) this turned out to be my final […]
Painting with a Paper Towel?
If you don’t remember to restock your regular day pack with all the tools you put in your Minnesota State Fair fanny pack, you’ll have to manage with what you have left. Saturday when I visited my father-in-law with Dick I didn’t realize I had practically nothing in my pack! My last Fair day was […]
Storing My Montana Acrylic Markers
I am frequently asked how I store my Montana Acrylic Markers. As you can see from the photo I use a cleaner’s caddy. I cut stiff cardboard dividers to insert into the two main wells. These dividers are held in place with tape on both sides so that they don’t move. (See the side of […]
Part Four: Working in the Smooth Zeta Soft-bound Journal from Stillman & Birn
Today is part four of a multi-part series on the Stillman & Birn (S&B) smooth surface Zeta journals. You can read part one here. This post deals with some mix-media approaches and some pros and cons I discovered about this paper. You can read part two here. In this post I write a bit more […]
Part Two: Working in the Smooth Zeta Soft-bound Journal from Stillman & Birn
This is part two of a multi-part review of the Stillman & Birn (SB) Smooth Zeta Soft-bound journal. You can see part one here. Today I wanted to look at two approaches for which the smooth heavyweight Zeta is suited. Mixed Media Because of its weight the paper is particularly suited to collage and mixed […]
Working in the Smooth Zeta Soft-bound Journal from Stillman & Birn
A couple months ago I picked up a Stillman & Birn Soft Cover Zeta Book. I don’t use Stillman & Birn books. I don’t care for the way they make their hardcover books and their papers are either too lightweight, or in other ways not responsive to the way I work. With so many other […]