Currently Browsing: watercolor 143 articles
Upgrading Your Paper Choices for Sketchbooks, Visual Journals, and Art
To get the best results when sketching and painting it makes sense to use the best quality materials that you can afford. Then upgrade those materials as your budget allows. Recently a blog reader wrote in saying that she had upgraded her art supplies to artist level watercolors (mostly Daniel Smith), purchased some quality […]
Another Watercolor Sketch in an Arteza Watercolor Book
I’m still working my way through an Arteza Watercolor book. It’s 8.3 x 11.7 inches. I wrote a review of this journal and paper in a ninepart series (I think it was only nine). You can enter the words “Arteza Watercolor Book” in my blog’s search engine and all the posts will […]
A Little Bit of Bright Color in a Portrait
You already know how I feel about the paper in the Arteza Watercolor Book—pretty ambivalent at best; but there is nothing like a bit of bright color to make you smile. And if you are working loosely with a flat brush, you might just start giggling because you’re having so much fun. Get out your […]
Print Always Means a Tight Edit…
Last week the Minneapolis Star Tribune posted a pop-up interview with me in their Currents section. It’s a way to pose a couple questions to people who are in someway connected with the outdoors—to find out what is catching their interest and focus now. I’m not sure why the editor asked me, except that we’d […]
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 […]
In Context: Looking at the Arteza Watercolor Book Part 8
Again I didn’t write anything on this journal page, so it’s a bit weird for “In Context” but it’s one more in my series of mini review comments on the Arteza Watercolor Book. What I enjoyed on this spread was the manner in which I could get some delicate wash techniques. I was using a […]
In Context: Looking at the Arteza Watercolor Book Part 7
This is me using up left over watercolor paint and working opaquely (for the most part) in the Arteza Watercolor Book. This paper is fine for working opaquely with either watercolor or gouache. I find the paper is a bit draggy when working opaquely, especially with my watercolor flats. I find myself wishing I’d chosen […]
In Context: Looking at the Arteza Watercolor Book Part 6
This isn’t strictly an “In Context” post. I don’t have things written on these pages and I’m going to show more than one spread. But I’m keeping it in context because these are all from the Arteza Watercolor Book and all these posts together constitute my review of that commercially bound sketchbook. […]
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 […]
In Context: Looking at the Arteza Watercolor Book Part 4
Since there is no writing on this page in my Arteza Watercolor Book—direct brush painting with watercolor. I used a 5/8 inch flat wash brush and also a size 10 watercolor round for some of this. I should have worked a little harder to make enough wash for the background to not […]