Friday Jan 26, 2018- a bit of Winnie the Pooh Mail (the ‘reveal’)

A pen & ink bookmark I sketched for a Winnie the Pooh themed swap I was in earlier. I drew one image on marker paper, then copied it onto watercolor paper and added color with caran d’ache museum aquarelle watercolor pencils. (I actually made 2 colored bookmarks, sent to two people, but I forgot to photograph them before I had packaged the first one up!)  I used my xyron machine to laminate them, and decorated the envelopes a bit. Upcycled security envelopes folded inside out provided interesting backgrounds. I love swaps like this! (Yay, swap-bot.com!!)

Sunday Jan 21, 2018 inky bird

I’m still adding to that pen and ink series all on one page. After I took this photo I corrected some little places, but didn’t take another picture.

This sketch actually came from one I started in a journal last night while waiting for our takeout order to be ready. There’s something pleasant about drawing birds and flowers. I’ll keep adding to this page and post the whole thing soon, as well as that original sketch.

Supplies, and Amazon links: Canson 140 lb watercolor paper, 9×12, cold pressed, not my favorite brand but actually great for this project, using ink, where I want some texture, and where I may add a light wash of paint. A pretty good deal here I think at under $10 for 30 sheets…. drawn with a uniball deluxe micro pen, .5 mm tip… . My favorite pen. It’s waterproof, in case I do choose to wash some color over it. I’ve linked the 12 pack here, because at $24, it’s such a better deal than the individual pen I could fine for $8. (???!!!)But wait until there’s a good price on a 3 pack if you aren’t sure about them.  I have found a three pack for $9 before, but right now that is $12. Prices fluctuate on Amazon. The 12 pack micro tip seems to stay close to $2 a pen.

Uni-ball also offers this pen in a fine tip instead of micro, .7mm, for $12.95 a dozen.

(As an Amazon Affiliate I do get a few cents back on any sale made through these links, but I only offer items I think you may be interested in if you are reading this blog, at prices I think are reasonable.) I’m going to order these 7mm pens myself because it’s the same quality ink at a great price, and let you know what I think of them for larger pieces, but I do love the smaller 5mm micro tip!

Sun Jan 14 2018… inking flowers again

Stuck in a waiting room yesterday for a while, but I thought to grab a pad of watercolor paper that happened to be in my car. I wish I’d had my sketchbook instead because I really like the way this turned out. It’s a tiny spot on a large page so I’ll add more to it.

(I use this uni-ball deluxe MICRO rollerball pen, with a .5 tip, to draw with (because Peter Sheeler recommended them in some of his videos.) I had my doubts at first because I thought I needed variable tip sizes but I love it. I keep one of these in my purse for everyday writing, AND for unexpected sketching opportunities. It writes smoothly and is waterproof so I can add paint if I want to. Prices fluctuate on Amazon, so watch for a deal.)

[I am in the Amazon Associate program, so get a little store credit if you purchase through an Amazon link I add… but I always check other places for better prices, too, and will add those as well if I find them.  I love using Amazon (and also use Honey there, too, which finds me the lowest price available!) and purchase often through them, but I check other sites as well to see how prices compare.]

If you find this exact pen at a great price somewhere, please let us know in the comments! Right now they are about $3 a piece, which is pretty good, as far as I’ve seen.

Sat Jan 13, 2018 Winsor & Newton professional watercolor paints

I ordered 6 individual half pans, just to see how I like the WN watercolors (I don’t like using the wn cotman’s as well as some of my other paints, but they are student grade, so it isn’t a fair comparison) I tried the “jay lee” pink flower again from the youtube tutorial I showed in my last entry.

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I purchased Quinacridone magenta, permanent alizarin crimson, transparent yellow, winsor blue green shade, winsor blue red shade, and burnt sienna. After a swatch page and this flower I can say I like them very well, so far.

I felt like the wn paints lifted more completely and worked (maybe?) with more transparency than the daniel smith or qor paints. But I’m wondering if I would have noticed that myself if I hadn’t read it somewhere?? I’ll have to watch that over time. I should be painting a lot more.

The left image is ds paints, the right is wn paints.

The more I’m painting, the more I lean toward ds as my favorite brand. The qor I enjoy in just a few particular instances when I’m not using much water with them. The wn paints are rather lovely, I’ll try them more over time. And honestly… I’m learning that all the professional grade paints might be awfully similar, for an average part-time hobbyist anyway.

Thurs Jan 11,2018: trying a watercolor layering technique

Just trying a quick technique I watched Jay Lee use on a youtube tutorial. (JayArtPainting is the channel)

Cute, huh? Looks like tissue paper cut outs, or a rubber stamped image maybe? I needed to let my petals dry longer between layers.

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