Currently Browsing: Minnesota State Fair
10th Anniversary—The Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together
The dates have been posted, make your travel plans. Sketch Together organizer Marty Harris has the buttons ordered and we’ll be getting together on: Saturday, August 25 and Monday, August 27, 2018 The 10th Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together More details on meeting places and times closer to the event.
Making a Simple Brush Holder for Your Travel Brushes
This year at the Fair I wanted to use real brushes with water, not water brushes, when painting. Since I stand when I sketch it meant I had to have a way to put all my supplies and journal on one work surface. Dick and I made up a prototype “travel table” using plastic corrugated […]
The Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together Is Almost Here!
The name has changed slightly but don’t be confused, the best sketch out of the year still offers the same great fun—two sketch out days to choose from (attend them both if you can); four fun meetings to attend and meet other sketchers, and a whole world of live subjects to sketch and interesting buildings […]
How I’d Like To Paint All the Time
Left: 9 x 12 inch mixed media sketch of a rooster on 9 x 12 inch watercolor board (Canson). Sketch made with extra bold Uni Posca Pen (orange), then Sakura Pigma Fine Brush Pen (solid felt tip). Next painted with gouache, Montana Acrylic marker (background which was then painted over with darker blue gouache), white gouache, […]
Looking Back at Prepping for the Minnesota State Fair
Above: Warm up contour sketches of live finches in an aviary setting. I used a Tombow Calligraphy pen (hard tip) for the sketching and an extra bold (chisel tipped) Uni Posca paint pen for the purple background. I outlined the bird on the recto page with a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen after the purple was […]
Tests within Tests: And a Bunch of Fair Sketches Up on the Minnesota Public Radio Site
Above: 9 x 12 inch Canson Watercolor Board cut in half to 6 x 9 inches. Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and Daniel Smith Watercolors, with Montana Acrylic Marker for background. Sketched from video. The 2016 Minnesota State Fair is over and I've come away with a lot of sketches—yes mostly birds, but even that has […]
One More Reminder about the Eighth Great Minnesota State Fair Sketchout
NOTE: IN CASE OF RAIN—We're still on. Maybe I haven't convinced you to attend the sketchout yet? Here's one more reminder. Saturday, August 27 and Monday, August 29 come and sketch at the Eighth Great Minnesota State Fair Sketchout. There are meetings BOTH DAYS at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to touch base with other sketchers, share work, […]
Someone Really Wants to Take Gouache to the Fair
Left: The scan of my second chicken test on the Canson Plein Air Watercolor Board (cold press). This is 9 x 12 inches and done with a Uni Posca Marker, the Pentel Pigment Brush Pen with the squeezy barrel, a Montana Acrylic Marker, and Daniel Smith Watercolors applied with a Niji water brush. Completed under […]
Which Paper Will I Use at the 2016 Minnesota State Fair? Don’t Know—But I Can Tell You How I’ve Been Narrowing It Down
Left: My first runner-up for Fair Journal paper was white Stonehenge. Here’s a test piece I made while sketching from the TV one afternoon. It’s glued down to a larger page in my experiments journal. Which paper will I take to the 2016 Minnesota State Fair? I wish I knew. I have a vague notion. […]