Currently Browsing: reviews 29 articles
Another Look at Hahnemühle’s Travel Journal
I go on and on about how much I love Hahnemühle’s Travel Journal. It’s about 8 x 6 inches and looks like a very thick Moleskine—i.e., black cover, elastic closure, back envelope, ribbon book mark. (Let’s just point out that the first thing I do when I open a new one is pull that ribbon […]
I’m Learning More about Neill Rea’s Face
Season 8 of “Brokenwood Mysteries” started streaming in July on Acorn. I’ve been watching along as they release the new episodes; and of course sketching. I think I’m finally starting to get a little better feel for Neill Rea’s face. (His cheeks need to be a little plumper to catch his character’s kind but “I’m […]
Derwent Shade and Tone Set
Manufacturers of art materials are always looking for new ways to bring existing products to more people, often in different forms. The Derwent Shade and Tone Set is a recent example of that. I’m not testing a lot of stuff right now (downsizing, blah, blah, blah; and a lot of paint I want to use […]
Review: Kuretake Ultra Fine Pigmented Water-based Brush Pen
I love brush pens and I’m always looking for a brush pen with ink that will withstand watercolor washes and not bleed. Additionally the brush pen has to be water-based ink because solvents (and even alcohol pens) give me headaches. I was excited to try the Kuretake Ultra Fine brush pen with pigmented, water-based ink. […]
Hahnemühle 100 Percent Cotton Watercolor Books
In March I purchased one of the new Hahnemühle Watercolor Sketchbooks which contain 100 percent cotton, 120 lb. watercolor paper. I purchased the large portrait size (8.3 x 11.7 inches). I’ll start by saying it’s an expensive book. I paid just under $60 dollars for it (that becomes important later). You can click on the […]
Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators (And More on Magnani Portofino)
After my initial tests with Magnani Portofino I tried different pen and ink only tests. For today’s post I did a quick pen sketch of actor Mark Benton who stars in “Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators.” It’s a fun mystery show set in Stratford-upon-Avon where everything is Shakespeare-related. Benton plays Frank Hathaway, and the […]
Television Mysteries
Things have come up and interrupted my writing of blog posts. I’ve got little folders with the dates and topics and the drawings all set up and yet I keep getting “called” away. I decided rather than try to make the reasoned, composed, and collected blog post about all the mysteries on television I’ve been […]
Can’t Resist Those Almost Dried Out Brush Pens
Because of some equipment failures and other glitches in the system I’ve been behind in processing journal page scans. Here’s one of my favorites from 2020. This is a sketch, using a dried out brush pen, of the detective in “Dead Still.” I’ve written about the show before. It’s a favorite of mine. It involves […]
Some Brush Pens with Color Ink
200824-pen review from Roz Stendahl on Vimeo. In the above video I look at some brush pens, and discuss how they work for me. I hope this gives you an idea of whether or not these pens will be useful for you. The items reviewed can be found at Jetpens.com at the following links. (I […]
In Context: Downsizing My Book Collection
If you click on today’s image you’ll be able to read the text, but depending on your screen size it may be difficult so I’ve transcribed it here, a little “in context leisure reading” for today. (Brush pen warm ups in a Hahnemühle Travel Journal.) My musing ended as you see it, with no conclusions. […]