Month: March 2018

Wed 3/14/2018 school worksheet “house”

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My art for yesterday and today is simple and fun. I was helping my daughter create some coloring pages for her primary grade French classes. They’ll choose a house style, then color and cut out little bits to use with it, and hopefully learn the French vocabulary as well. Some of these ideas came from images we searched, but we needed them independent of their buildings etc. Now I’m wondering if I should add lines to the glass to look like reflective surfaces? (But maybe the kids can use their imaginations. Or maybe there’s just no glass in those windows!)

 

Oops I just realized I added a little hedge after I took this picture. It was vertical anyway, beside the window and lamppost, so you wouldn’t have recognized it as a hedge, but as a tall rectangular flowering bush, I think!

 

 

My Amazon Prime commercial and links. I am a fan. (for art supplies. And dog supplies. And life.)

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I was just looking around Amazon and found info about Amazon Prime student accounts… (linked here)… it’s 6.49 a month OR $49 a year (breaks down to $4.09 a month, but paid in a single payment) And you can get 6 months free through this link! Two of my kids are college students and I’m pretty sure they don’t know about this, and I had forgotten all about it. This made me start looking around Amazon a bit and I came across links to their other prime programs…

I use Amazon for SO much. I wasn’t sure the free Prime shipping would be a value for me but good grief I get nearly everything from them. Anything I can find at a good price, anyway. Nearly all my art supplies. Pet supplies (with two newfoundlands this is a huge expense. And I am cautious about prices. And dog food is HEAVY and difficult if I have to go buy 30-50 pound bags every week at the pet store) Household supplies. Gifts. Toys. Stuff for work. Books. Audiobooks. Videos. Even groceries (we have that two hour delivery service around here, Amazon Prime Now… so cool! So I can get bread or milk, dog food, etc) AND I use Amazon Smile, so a portion of my purchases goes to the charity of my choice. (Which I can change at any time. Sometimes I do the children’s hospital, sometimes my local dog club’s rescue program (colonial newfoundland club) See if your favorite charity is available!) It doesn’t give a lot… so far this year for my kazillion dollars in purchases for work and home it’s like $17 to the group… but hey, that’s $17 they didn’t have, and it didn’t cost me anything extra. It’s a donation from Amazon. (Thank you Amazon for that gift… they do appreciate it! It has helped the group help local dogs who have needed rescue help this year)

There’s Amazon Prime Family… (linked here)… which I didn’t even know was a thing! (with a free 30 day trial)  Here families get the free Prime shipping, and can share some of the benefits of their membership with members of their family, and they get up to 20% off diapers and baby food! Plus a bunch of other benefits. I haven’t tried this so don’t know if it’s any good, but suspect it might be worth trying (for free anyway).

And HERE, you can check out the free 30 day trial for the regular Amazon Prime membership… even if you don’t try it through my link, I hope you’ll give this a try if you haven’t yet. Good grief I use this A LOT. Weekly. Daily, sometimes. I look here first for EVERYTHING, then compare prices and shipping other places. Speaking “art supplies”, I buy from Cheap Joes sometimes, and from Wet Paint, and a couple other places. But most often I find what I’m looking for at the best price through Amazon.

HERE you can even purchase a Prime membership as a gift, $39 for 3 months or $99 for 12 months.  I didn’t know!!!!

I would apologize for the shameless commercial ( because if you follow my links I get a few cents, and it doesn’t cost you more) but frankly, I’m not sorry. 🙂 I use Amazon a lot and always recommend it to my friends and family. (Although we ALWAYS check prices everywhere we can! Prices on Amazon go up and down… if you keep checking favorites you can find some great deals. You can also pay more than you should if you aren’t careful)

More art next time, I promise.

Sun 3/11/2018 following kelogsloops

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I copied a few ideas from kelogsloops last year, and pulled up his watercolor journal video again to find something to learn from. I used one of his ideas for this… and found out this book is not good for watercolor. I gave up about 2/3rds of the way through. Back to my smaller journal.  (Although, if I use ink instead, I think it might be pretty cool in this book!) IMG_9668

Kelogsloops painting is really cool. Go find his youtube video “watercolor journal” and see. His image is so cool. I’ll give it another shot later!

 

Thurs 3/8/2018 another treehouse! And a new favorite Daniel Smith green

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One for each grandchild. They are brighter in person,

Both use Daniel Smith paints on Canson XL 140 lb watercolor paper. . This paper isn’t ideal, but at under $10 for 30 9×12 inch sheets, it is A deal. (33 cents a sheet!) Paper IS important, though, and will affect your experience with watercolor, and your result, so it depends on what you are doing. I don’t recommend this brand for anything involved or traditional very wet on wet techniques… It’s good to try different types and see what feels best.

I buy the Canson on sale and keep it around for simple craft projects, for making swatch pages of my paints, making cards, testing colors, doing ink drawings, etc. And I use more expensive brands for more involved things. I’m still learning what supplies are best. I prefer keeping things in journals right now, so I can observe growth and development, and refer back to previous pieces easily, but we can talk journals later!

These aren’t as bright and vivid as I’d hoped but I must say, the green color,Daniel Smith’s Green Apatite Genuine, is amazing! I love it! It granulates into interesting green and brown particles… I can see this will be great for foliage. On Amazon right now it is about $11 for the 15 ml tube… and also $11 for the 5 ml tube, so don’t buy the tiny one!!

 

(I am part of the Amazon Affiliates group… Any purchases made through these links gives me a few cents, but doesn’t cost you anything extra, and I only link things I use and enjoy. I shop at Amazon all the time myself, but I check prices everywhere and if I find them cheaper somewhere else I’ll include that link instead! Always price check, as prices change every day!)

Wednesday 3/7/2018 watercolor treehouse

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I think I like QoR better for the leaves, because of the way the paints spread and flow. But the daniel smith blue (cerulean blue chromium) and green (green apatite genuine) granulate so prettily on this picture. Really nobody has such beautiful and interesting granulating colors as DS. (I tried to make a taped off border, which worked except the tape tore the page. I even rubbed it on my jeans first so it wouldn’t be so sticky.)

This is for my granddaughter, by request.

Sat 3/3/2018 Schmincke Watercolor

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My most favorite set of paints! So far…

It fits on my outstretched hand, and slips perfectly into the front pocket of the small bag I use for my travel art kit. And, ooooh, the colors.

The travel paint brush is a “Joe Miller” Signature Series #6, from Cheap Joes, and fits right inside. I’ve only used it three times but like it very much, so far. And it was affordable!

The paints were not, particularly, but they WERE on sale, so that’s something. 🙂

Fri 3/2/2018 sennelier watercolor, and a deal for you!

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So… this sketch. Yeah. An idea of my own!! Yay! I like my idea and am going to build on it, but don’t love the execution. I hate her octopus hair but I think  I can correct that next time. 🙂 Or… maybe…  make an octopus girl!

I used Sennelier pan watercolors in my khadi journal. I’m trying to use the khadi up… I love the way it looks and feels, and love not for ink or paint without a lot of extra water, but don’t love the way it disperses heavy washes.

I really love these Winsor & Newton Series 7 watercolor brushes (size 4 is what I use most)

They are sable and so nice to use. This one is listed at $31, but if you look under the listing it says you can find it from another seller for $20.97 and $4.99 shipping (I can’t get it to give me a link for that one!!) Honestly, my husband bought me this one from the art supply store and I don’t know what he paid. I LOVE this one, and the size 1 and 6 as well.

Here’s a deal for you…

Recently I purchased this set from Cheap Joes. It is still on sale there, $40 for:

a 9×12 block of Arches cold pressed watercolor paper,

a W&N metal tin (very basic, but cute and useful) full of 6 tubes of w&N watercolor paint,

a tiny w&n travel brush AND

a w&n series 7 size 4 watercolor brush!!

(??) The block of paper alone is $25 at Cheap Joes, so for another $15, you get 2 brushes and SIX tubes of paint?? What a great way to try the w&n brand of watercolors! That said, W&N isn’t my favorite brand, it turns out, but I’m happy to have a set of colors from them. All of the top brands are excellent paint.