Danny Gregory and I Discuss Visual Journaling From May 2008: Part one of a two-part podcast. Danny Gregory, author of "An Illustrated Life," talks to me about journaling, art media, and materials…The second part is in the same location. Be sure to check out the great interviews he does with other artists included in his book!
Finding Bits of Time Ricë Freeman-Zachery, author of "Creative Time and Space," talks to me about finding time to be creative. (Taped October 23, 2009.)
The other day I was in Wet Paint (my local independent art supply store) and they showed me these new travel palette boxes that replace the former ones I've been using in this size: 3-3/16 x 2-3/8 inches approximately when closed.
I LOVE it. As you can see from the video, it is still very compact, but it now has half pans that are easily switched out. It's very ingenious and well-made. I'm totally in love with it and had to show you as soon as I could so I didn't even set up lights and a tripod (apologies for the shaky video, but you get to see what is important).
Currently my palette is filled with a selection of M. Graham and Daniel Smith watercolors. But because the little pressure plates are simple to remove I can change my mind in a moment. I can simply take out the pressure plates that lock in the pans, switch out the pans I don't want to use, put in ones I want to use, lock it up and go.
Note:If you're a fan of Schmincke's Pan Watercolors I tried inserting them in this box. They also fit. (That's the only brand of factory-made pans I use so I can't help you with info about other brands.)
With the old box this size made in China, that wasn't an option. While I have this flexibility with my larger travel palettes sometimes you just don't want to take a full box. This makes it very simple to have just a few pans of color that you really want.
So if you like to travel light you might want to check this palette box out. I am not commercially connected to the makers or sellers of this palette. I'm just a happy customer. I paid $30 for mine.
If you would like to see a selection of my watercolor and gouache travel palettes (including the old Chinese box when it was empty) you can go to Travel Palettes for Watercolor and Gouache. The small kids palettes that you see in that image are palettes that I carry with me every day, regardless of where I'm going or for how long. The larger travel palettes are for when I'm going to a specific destination or on a road trip. The old Chinese palette was something I carried for special trips to the zoo, or day destinations, when I wanted more color. Now I have an even better option.
Above: St. Paul artist Pat Beaubien discusses her nature/travel journals at the March 2012 MCBA Visual Journal Collective. Here she shows a watercolor of a meadow near Grand Marais, MN where she rents a cabin as frequently as possible. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
First, before we go any further, Pat Beaubien doesn't currently have a website so what I was able to snap photos of is what you'll be able to see until she develops a website. You might encourage Pat to do that, she's tired of hearing me say it. If you would like to contact Pat with questions about her artwork you can reach her at patbeaubien@gmail.com.
On March 19, St. Paul artist Pat Beaubien came to the MCBA Visual Journal Collective to show her nature/travel journals to the members.
Pat is a watercolor artist who also uses pens and pencils of different sorts, "Give me one and I'll try it out," she said laughing, when someone asked if she ever used watersoluble colored pencils. In her hands ordinary tools are given a new life and direction.
Left: a stack of Pat's journals ready for discussion, along with her small leather pencil case which holds all of her supplies—several sizes of Niji Waterbrushes (including a flat), a Staedtler Pigment Liner, a Pentel Pocket Brush pen, and her mini palette filled with Daniel Smith Watercolors. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Pat's idea of travel is to go to one destination and spend 2 or three weeks there sketching—not moving about trying to see a travel guide's highlight points. It is more satisfying to get to know one place, and Pat does this through her painting.
Until her recent retirement Pat taught art to elementary school children. She would use her vacations to travel and paint. She would sell her paintings, made on site, to fund her trips. (When you view the stunning beauty of Pat's work you can understand how this was possible.)
During the school year, however her painting side was dormant. Teaching took her focus and energy. "Then in 2007 I took Roz's nature journaling class in Grand Marais," said Pat, "and took to heart her comment about doing a little sketching and painting everyday. It's amazing how quickly you can improve when you work everyday."
(Note: Pat was already more "improved" than most artists I see when I had her in class. I'm glad I had an effect on her practice.)
Left: Cone flowers and other blooms in a Grand Marais garden, share space with a local artist's garden sculpture. Grand Marais may have more artists per capita than any other town in the U.S. There are things to look at and purchase everywhere. This watercolor sketch is in one of her 9 x 12 inch Fabriano Venezia journals. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Pat still uses the same mini kid's palette she got in class (refilled many times), Niji waterbrushes (also replaced over time), and Staedtler Pigment Liners. She'll experiment with new pens as people suggest them and she has become quite fond of the Pentel Pocket Brush pen.
The palette contains the following Daniel Smith watercolors: Quin Gold, Azo Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Quin Pink. Napth. Maroon, Cobalt Teal, Phthalo. Turquoise, Indanthrone Blue, and Zinc White. The set originally contained Buff Titanium but Pat says she hasn't replaced that. Also she is thinking about replacing the Cobalt Teal to get a different range in her mixes.
Pat will sometimes do a light pencil sketch before moving to watercolor. Other times Pat will sketch directly with pen and then apply watercolor. Her method, she explained, is just what happens when she is seated and ready to paint.
While she initially continued making books of the type she learned to make in Grand Marais (8 x 10 inch sewn-on the spine journals), the urge to just paint was great, so she moved on to the Fabriano Venezia 9 x 12 inch journals. (Pat loves the large page size in both these books, and you only have to look at the results to see that's a great size for her work.)
Left: Pat sketches lakeside in the North Woods. Often one of her artist friends Nanette Lee will join her—you can see Nan in the bottom left of the image. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
As she spends more time up north exploring, revisiting painting sites she has previously discovered, Pat has considered returning to flat paintings but she was unsure how to store them. The Collective threw out a variety of portfolio options she could use to house the final paintings in "journal" form.
After her presentation and a round of questions the 25 attendees gathered around the table to get a personal look through Pat's journals, and continue the conversation. We all left inspired and ready to jump back into our own journals after our trip into nature with Pat.
Below: A view of a stone bridge on Lake Superior, using Daniel Smith Watercolors. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
If you would like to know a little bit more about Grand Marais and some of the artists living and visiting there you can check out this short film on the yearly "Plein Air Brush Off." Tom Winterstein supplied this link after the topic came up in discussion.
Above: One of my small kid's palettes that I carry all the time. This one had Daniel Smith Watercolors in it. Read below for more details. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
In January I was at a gas station filling my tank and the nozzle malfunctioned spewing gasoline all over my boots, pants, and the bottom part of my winter coat.
Safety Tip: Dry out completely before you get in the car and start it, because even static electric sparks from opening and closing the door or touching the fabric of your car seat (if you don't have leather and I don't because I think fabric is warmer in the winter) can turn you into a fireball at this point.
Well, the short part of the story is that my lovely Gortex boots were totally saturated and are toast. (Happily, not burnt toast, but they are non-boots now as they still smell after 6 weeks, so strongly that I can't wear them—and of course no one carries this style any longer.)
When I got home I stripped off everything and it all went into the wash, over and over and over. (Dick rinsed it all out first in the laundry tub before putting it through the 3 cycles. And I should also point out that we have an extra rinse as the default on our washer, so that's six dousings as it were.)
Both of us thought we'd emptied all the pockets, but I'd just gone to Como Zoo a couple days before this incident and had put all my supplies in my pockets so I wouldn't need to take a bag. The above palette didn't get removed and so it went through the wash all those times.
The watercolors of this closed palette (and it didn't open during the wash, or at least we don't think so as it was solidly closed) almost completely washed out in the process, and my Bounty paper towel sort of disintegrated and then felted back together (during the spin cycle) into something else entirely wonderful attached all around the palette. This was an older palette and the pans were about half full.
We use Tide Free and none of the other clothes (dark/cold) washed with the coat were stained by the paint.
Above: Variety of paintings demonstrating my approach to color in my own paintings. If you've been reading the blog you're used to this by now. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
The Midwest Art and Lettering Retreat is a four day event held at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. This year they have asked me to teach a color theory workshop.
While the retreat is put on by the Colleagues of Calligraphy and three of the five workshops are calligraphy based (one is a book arts workshop), you do not have to be a member of the Colleagues or even a calligrapher to attend.
My class, Use Color Fearlessly, will explore color theory concepts through the use of watercolor blending and mixing. This type of approach will have immediate benefit to calligraphers wishing to enhance their use of color in their calligraphic work, but it is also applicable to artists working in all media. The exercises can be performed by artists at any skill level. We are concerned about blending and learning concepts.
Students will build a looseleaf workbook of their own exercises and explorations that will serve as an on-going reference for their color theory work. They will leave class with strategies for continuing their color journey regardless of whether they work with letterforms, or create figurative or abstract paintings. The emphasis of the workshop is to lay a foundation of understanding upon which the student can build a personal palette of colors.
Class will be a mixture of lecture and demonstration from me, and a lot of blending, mixing, and thinking on your part. Color is an integral part of any artist's work. With color we create emotion, set tone, and define our focus. Don't let your worries about color choices tie your artistic hands up in knots. We'll move forward fast, furiously, and fearlessly.
The workshop will be an intense and fun time. Each day there will be a morning and afternoon session of 3 hours each. A complete brochure and schedule for the workshop can been seen here. You will also see the other great class offerings in that brochure. (Sadly you can only take one workshop for the entire 4-day period.)
The workshop cost is $595: for three nights in a single room, meals Thursday lunch through Sunday lunch, and tuition. (The organizers have also provided a small optional charge for Wednesday and/or Sunday night lodging should you wish to arrive early to settle in, and also leave on Monday morning. This is explained in the brochure. I recommend that you plan to arrive on Wednesday so that you're up and ready to jump into color on Thursday morning.)
Registration began on January 21.To register, please follow the brochure link and send the completed the registration page to the Colleagues of Calligraphy (all information is in the brochure).
A list of supplies will be sent to registered students. Supplies include a few specific watercolors, paper, brushes, and a three ring binder. Students may elect to work in gouache instead of watercolor and will have a slightly different supplies. Colored inks are not be recommended for the main exercises, but students who already have colored inks are encouraged to bring them for additional experimentation.
I haven't been to Carleton College before, but I am told that the facilities are delightful (with air conditioning), the residence hall bedrooms pleasant (with air conditioning), and the food tasty. I'm looking forward to it. I hope that you'll consider joining me for an exploration of color theory in Minnesota in the summertime!
I like to use a small and compact traveling palette. I always have my tiny kid's palettes (in which I fit 11 colors of either gouache or watercolor) with me. But sometimes I need more paint and for that I have two squarish Schmincke tins that I just love (one for gouache and one for Schmincke pan watercolors. (See a selection of my palettes here.)
I've really beat "the-you-know-what" out of my tins. And once I almost lost one of them. I tried last year to buy a replacement to have on hand, just in case I lost one. The tins were no longer available.
Well, that's no longer the case. For a limited time you can get this half-pan tin, with 12 Schmincke Horadam Pans at Wet Paint. I'm not overly fond of the 12 colors of paint that were selected for inclusion, but that's always the case with any set. At this price the tin is worth it ($59.95).
I happened to be in the store earlier this week when the shipment arrived and they brought a tin over for me to check out. I went on quite a rant about the colors (everyone laughing and laughing—they know I'm not dangerous), but of course I caved and bought one. I need the darn can.
I wasn't going to post about this palette box until next week. I had hoped to test out the colors a bit first: lemon yellow, cadmium yellow, cadmium red light, permanent carmine, ultramarine finest, Prussian blue, phthalo green, permanent green olive, yellow ochre, English Ventian red, sepia brown, and ivory black.
Black? Really?
However, I decided to post today because already two friends have told me they have purchased a set and Wet Paint is heavily promoting them on Facebook with words like "limited" and "while supplies last." I don't know how large a supply they have, but I would hate for them to evaporate before I write a post about the can. So if you're on the fence you might want to jump down and get one of these—even if you later purchase additional pans and switch out a lot of the colors. (Which I've already done. See the note below.*)
The great thing about this can is that you can fit another row of 6 half pans in without even trying. And if you have the ability to or are friends with someone who can cut through metal, you can trim the inner metal plate on which the pan holders are attached so that the top row slides over, allowing you to wedge in 6 additional colors held in place by the tension of the last row and the edge of the box. Then you can get 27 half pans in your box (which is what I do for my gouache palette visible at the top of this photo—3 rows of 7 and one row of 6 half-pans).
Speaking of gouache, you can of course buy EMPTY HALF-PANS and insert them in the extra space and use your favorite tube paint or tube gouache (if it rewets well; see my two part post on tubes vs. pans starting here). Then you can continue to use some of your favorite tube paints right along with your new favorite Schmincke paints! Wet Paint sells the empty half-pans too.
At first I was a little annoyed at the fancy photo of half-pans on the top of the tin. Now that I've stopped ranting and hyperventilating I'm actually happy about the decoration. I can tell my palettes apart at a glance.
At any rate, if you are looking for a hearty 5 x 3-7/8 inch metal palette (closed) for pans now you know where you can get this handy little palette. (There's a thumbring on the bottom of the box to aid in holding it while you work.)
(Usual Disclaimer: I am not connected to Wet Paint in a fiscal fashion and have nothing to gain if you purchase one of these. I also have no knowledge of how limited the supplies are and whether we'll ever see these tins again, or see them return at a later day—change in art supplies, as in life, is constant.)
------------------------------ *While I have already purchased new colors to customize my box, I don't recommend you do this. In fact I think it might actually make you a better person to just use the colors the box comes with for a bit and see how you like them.
But I don't have time to become a better person and I love Schmincke's pan watercolors. I also know someone is sure to ask, so yes, I removed some of the colors that came with the set. Then I purchased additional colors. My box now contains the following: lemon yellow, translucent yellow, yellow ochre, translucent orange, permanent red, permanent carmine, English red, translucent brown (I've been looking for an excuse to try out this color), quin violet, indigo (have to have my PB60), ultramarine finest, cobalt turquoise, permanent green, permanent olive green. I'll also put in a zinc white or titanium white pan from my other box depending on what I feel like using on the day.
My changes are predicated on the fact that I don't care for the cadmium colors, I love translucent orange, and I can't live without Indigo, cobalt turquoise, or quin violet. But that's just me. After you've used your box for a bit you can fill your extra row with colors you can't live without.
This is part two of a two part discussion on the choice between pan and tube watercolors. Please see yesterday's post for part one, which poses essential questions you need to ask in order to make a useful decision on this topic.
Additional Considerations Now that You've Asked the Hard Questions about Your Watercolor Paint Consumption, Usage, etc.
Something You Need to Know Pans are economical. They look small, especially half pans, but the pans that are made at the factory last a long, long time. I can't give you any statistics on this, all I can tell you is that as a user of both factory made pans (Schmincke) and pans I make myself from my tube watercolors (Daniel Smith and M. Graham), the factory made pans last under heavy use and I get my money's worth out of them.
(Making your own pans out of tube paints leads to all sorts of other issues involving the component parts of a paint and the response of that paint to water over time, and the need to ultimately clean out a home-made pan and fill it with fresh color—that's a conversation for another day, but it does impact economy so I mention it here. It can never be a straight comparison.)
What To Consider When Deciding Between Pans and Tubes If you like to go into the field with a pan watercolor set, but like to work in the studio/home with freshly squeezed paint from tubes—buy tube paint and fill your own pans. Just work with the one type of paint.
If you are worried about "rewetting issues" and paint falling out of your palette, and any number of horrors you can't even conceive of right now (including being chased by spies) because you haven't sketched in urban or rural situations, go with factory made pans.
Not All Pans Are Created Equal Just as not all brands of tube paint are of equal quality (because of poor quality pigments, binders, and fabrication) so too, not all pans are equal. Some pan paint is student grade and you should just forget about it. Some pans are marketed to artists and contain artist quality pigments, but when you do your research you find more fugitive pigments in the line than others, or you find that the paints, when tested are more granulating and less finely ground (which for some will actually be a turn on). There are so many factors that you really do have to seek out information and rule out obvious bad candidates before you arrive at a useful list.
For Pan Watercolors I Recommend— Schmincke is the brand of factory made pans that I use. In the 1990s I read an article about an illustrator who used them (he had the complete range) and thought pans would be useful and bought a small set. (I was mostly using colored pencils in the field at the time.) They worked great, I was a happy consumer for years.
Then I changed the way I was painting and was seduced by Daniel Smith Watercolors. They don't make pans. I bought a bunch of tubes and did a lot of studio painting with them and found that they rewet so well that I could fill my own pans with them. My Schmincke pans languished for quite some time.
Then about five years ago, for reasons I don't even recall, but I am pretty sure it had something to do with my constant search for an interesting orange and my love of wild turkeys, I returned to the Schmincke pan watercolor display and gazed upon it. Well one thing led to another and soon I had an empty box and 27 little pans of delight (including two orange pans I adore!). (I had to do a little bit of engineering to get 27 pans in my box. I've written about it elsewhere on the blog.)
I don't carry the Schmincke box of Schmincke pan watercolors with me much (I don't carry any of my large palettes with me much—and large for me is anything more than 4 x 4 or so). Mostly I carry the small children's palettes you've seen on the blog. Each carries 11 colors of paint (one contains watercolor and the other contains gouache). Obviously with these small palettes I've had to use tube watercolors and tube gouache to fill them, so of course I've used Daniel Smith for my watercolors (with a few M. Graham) and for gouache I've used M. Graham and Schmincke gouache in tubes.
Do I notice a difference in watercolors between Daniel Smith tubes and M. Graham tubes and Schmincke Pans. Yep.
But I pretty much work around those differences on any day when I get up and decide to favor one paint brand over the other.
What I can tell you is that all three rewet beautifully. For tube paints that's not always a given. For pans it's required. I know I don't have to look for any other paint. My needs are met. I constantly assess and look for differences as new tubes in a line come in, because manufacturers do change their processes over time. At the first drop in perceived quality in any of these brands I'll be out looking for something else, but I'm not worried that will happen because that's just life with art materials.
I'll just add that I have two friends, talented artists who both will die with their factory Sennelier pan palettes gripped in their hands. So if you are looking for another good brand of factory made pan that's a possibility.
An Ecclectic Palette—When One Brand or Approach Won't Suffice Remember just because you now find yourself leaning towards either pans or tube paint don't overlook your affinity to certain paints within certain brands. You may choose to go with a brand that works well from tubes except for a couple problematic colors (some of the earth colors can tend to be more crumbly by nature, but across the range of colors any number of paints could, within one line, be a problem.) In that situation there's no reason why you shouldn't use your tube paints to fill your pans and augment your collection with factory made pans of those problem colors. Or maybe you have a color in your current paint line that you can't live without, and it doesn't exist in the new line. Keep buying it (tube or pan) to include on your palette. (Realize that colors in one brand may have the same name in another brand but the pigment(s) and presentation on paper will often have dramatically different results. You'll need to experiment and find the pigments, from the brands, that do the work you want them to do.)
My large watercolor palette (front and center in my travel palettes post) has 4 pans glued into the waterwell area, center right of the palette. They used to all be Schmincke pans of colors that really didn't rewet well in Winsor & Newton when I was using and then phasing Winsor &Newton out and bringing in Daniel Smith tube paints. Gradually these four factory made pans were replaced until the only ones remaining are Schmincke's Cadmium Red and Yellow Ochre factory made pans. I rarely use either because I prefer other colors now (like Daniel Smith's Nap Red.) They stay on my palette for those rare times I need them. I find the factory made pans of these colors work better than homemade pans from tube paint—they don't have the tendency to crumble in the way tube-home-made pans of those colors might—regardless of which tube paint brand I'm using.
There's no reason why you shouldn't keep the pigments you love, pan or tube, from whichever brand you love, if those paints are still working for you. Watercolors are united across brands by the use of a common binder: Gum Arabic. So while other factors in a paint may make one brand work differently from another in ways it may take you seconds (or years) to understand, you can still use them all within the same painting.
Now What Do I Do? You ask yourself the questions given above (and in yesterday's post!). Is it time for you to step up in quality; is it time for you to learn to work with a new paint; is it time for you to test new brands or new colors, or both?
Economics is an issue for all of us. The money we don't spend on dead ended tests allows us more purchasing power for expression in media that do work for us.
But the real economy is always in time. Learning new working methods, becoming familiar with a new paint, it all takes some time. That's the choice you need to assess and weigh the pros and cons of before making a decision.
Buying a new set of watercolors is an expensive endeavor. You want that experience to be joyous. I hope these comments will help you make a happy choice.
There's another way to look at economy in this purchase. What if I buy a box filled with a set of factory pans?
For me, that's never an economical decision. The set of colors that usually come in a standard, pre-packaged palette might include only one or two pigments that I actually want to use. I wouldn't even want to test the other paints. I'd be better off buying an empty box at a higher cost and spending money buying exactly the pigments I want to use—of course this presupposes you know the colors you want to use. Testing will get you there, testing within whatever line of paint you land in. Knowing yourself also helps you assess the real economy of any situation.
Remember something else. This advice comes from someone who bought two Cotman Pan Watercolor boxes JUST TO THROW OUT THE PAINT AND USE THE BOXES! That's right. Sometimes the real economy is in getting the box that will work for you because you already have the paint that you need sitting on the table beside you.
Above: Video review of the new Stillman & Birn Epsilon Sketchbook. Again, apologies for the autofocus problems. When focused on a blank page it started to search around for something to focus on and settled on lens dust! See below for review details.
UPDATE March 2012—See additional comments about this product at the end of the original post.
I finally got my hands on a Stillman & Birn Sketchbook—8.5 x 11 inches, Epsilon series. It cost me $24.00 which I think is a good price for a book of this size and heft.
I wanted to run down some points of interest (both pros and cons) that I mention or allude to in the above video (can't see the video, see the Stillman & Birn Espilon Review at YouTube). (Also, don't worry about my hands, my fingers are bandaged because they are cracked from drawing snow piles, gloveless, in the cold.)
Stats: Epsilon Series
Size: 8.5 x 11 inches; 62 sheets/124 pages heavy weight paper for pen and ink; natural white; 100 lb/150 gsm; plate surface; archival neutral pH, lignin and chloride free.
Note: Thin and thick or light and heavy when describing the weight of a paper are relative terms. For purposes of the discussion below I use the words light weight or thin to describe this 100 lb. paper because it is lighter weight than the 140 lb. watercolor paper I typically use. You may use paper that is lighter still as several sketchbooks on the market have 70 lb. drawing paper. The paper in these books would then be heavier than what you're used to using. Be sure to check the specs on your current sketchbook's paper for comparison.
Pros: Super plate surface is a joy for pen work.
Dick loved the plate surface for writing with his various colors of Noodlers Ink. He'll probably be using these books for his engineering design books.
Easily removable labels. There is also a debossed logo at the base of the back cover, not glaring.
Solid cover boards will ensure a long life of travel, dropping, and shelf storage.
The signatures are sewn, and in my sample were neatly done, with no loose loops (which I had recently in a different company's journal).
The glue joins are really solid in this book. (Between the signatures there is a place where glue is applied from the back of the spine, before casing in, so that the first and last page of each signature join together.) In many books these pages pull apart easily and expose the spine. In many books the sizing on the paper causes the glue join to delaminate. Either way, it's a bad deal if you want your books to last. I really, really pulled and pulled on several of these in my book and I think they will easily withstand normal use.
The sheet, though thin, is sturdy. So sturdy in fact that I could use Stabilo Tones on it, dry, wet, dry again, and then a lot of buffing, without any pilling or bleed through onto the previous page. This is a huge surprise in a sheet of 100 lb. weight. A delightful surprise!
All the pens I tested work great on this paper, which is after all a pen paper. Gel pens, technical pens, fiber-tipped pens, brush pens, dip pens, even bamboo pens (another dip pen) all love this paper. (It just takes a bit of time for the ink to dry if you're going to do washes over it, and even then you might have some minimal bleeding of the ink into your wash).
Markers are fabulous on this paper. In particular the AquaMarker blends well with water on this paper. Stabilo All washes out in a delightful fashion on this paper.
Collage—with lightweight paper is OK. Anything heavier than the lightest weight of papers makes the page very stiff.
The Epsilon 8.5 x 11 inch opens flat so it's easy to work across the spread. I don't know how tightly the smaller sizes are constructed. In other sketchbook lines like this it always seems that the smaller sizes don't open as easily or as flatly as their larger siblings. Before ordering a gross of the smaller books be sure to check one for yourself to make sure you have the page spread space you are expecting.
Cons: Opacity issues with the 100 lb. sheet—you can see through the page to your previous drawing, especially if you work with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen which gives a thick dark line.
Note: See-through is an opacity issue. What you're seeing in the video, and what I'm talking about is see-through. How much of the art on the previous page is visible on the next page; a lot. But this is not bleed through—that's a totally different thing. See-through is something you can ignore, bleed-through is a deal breaker. Ink didn't bleed through this paper, even when ink was added to the reverse side of a wet page. Or when it was worked hard with Stabilo Tones—using various actions that often cause other papers to pill.
Lighter weight paper is not engineered for wet media. You can use wet media on it as I discuss in the video but the paper will buckle. (I do not mind paper buckling with use—but I know there are some fussy people out there that are bothered by this so heads up.)
Cover covering has a bit of a plastic-y feel to it that is not pleasant for me to hold, and is in fact a bit slick. I have dry hands yet I know the book will be difficult to hold in the heat of the summer at the zoo. I prefer bookcloth.
Ink takes longer to dry on this paper so allow more drying time and move your hand appropriately as you work to avoid smudging. I'm a careful sketcher and I had to watch myself.
Smearing, because of the longer ink drying time also interferes with my habit of immediately going to washes. Ink tends to pool in various places on this paper, in minute pools that you only see when you put on your wash. Just be aware that not all areas of your line will dry at the same rate, even if you are using acrylic ink!
(Obviously, the ink handling characteristics are something you can adjust for and are pointed out as part of my experience to help communicate the working capabilities of this paper. This is a fast paper and when you adjust for it it's a lot of fun. Left-handers who have smearing issues in general will need to be especially careful.)
The I'm Not Crazy About It But Someone Else Will Love This Characteristic Category: I mentioned above that I have a problem (personal taste) with the black covering used for these books to cover the boards. It isn't a fabric and it isn't a paper. Upon inquiry I learned it has both a latex and acrylic component to it to enhance durability and abrasion resistance. Only time will tell if such covering holds up to constant use. I've tried to scratch it and scuff it and it seems pretty hardy.
But How Does It Smell Roz? This is the category I have to include, because you all know odors matter to me and are deal breakers. The cover material does have a slight odor that I don't care for (a slight chemical odor). Sort of a plastic-y smell. It aired out almost completely in about 4 days in the back room. I can still smell it if I put my nose right on the material, but it in no way prevents me from working in the book. The paper smells a bit more woody than I like paper to smell. That said, it's a clean and fresh woody smell and not a musty smell that several other commercial sketchbooks give off. I could actually live with this paper (in the Epsiolon Series). It also has no offensive odors when wet media is applied.
Little Quibbles, Because You Know Me I Always Have an Opinion: Marketing—I'm unclear who the market for these books is—college art students? Adult, post school artists? Their ad copy talks about the relationship between the artist and the sketchbook, pushing the archival qualities. In a world filled with Moleskine sketchers I hope they can find a niche.
Labeling—while easy to read and easy to remove (thank you, thank you, thank you), I think it sends a mixed message to say that "paper matters, feel the difference," and then show artwork by dead artists done on defunct paper (because believe me I've spent most of my adult life tracking those papers down). I understand the urge to connect with "quality art" and make a statement about their product being suitable for the creation of quality art, but as presented the message comes off mixed to me. If the product catches on I look forward to seeing quality art, done on the paper the book contains, shown on the labels. For paper, or any art materials actually, I like the advertising to reflect what is possible on or with that product.
Other Factors: You'll see when you go to their website that there are several series each with a different paper.
For most of the papers the books are available as casebound or wirebound books so you can have your sketchbook the way you like it. And for each series there is also a range of sizes that will suit most sketchers. (Though there isn't a square option in all series and I do love square books. Also I would really like something that is between a 5.5 x 8.5 and an 8.5 x 11 inch book, but that's just me. For size the only thing that comes close for me is the 8.5 x 11 inch casebound book and that is a heavy book to tote around.)
For the series with Extra Heavy Weight Paper like the Beta Series, only the wirebinding is available. The good news is that in these extra heavy weight paper series there is a 7 x 10 and a 7 x 7 inch book. The Alpha and Gamma series state that they accept light washes.
I have a Gamma sketchbook, and the paper feels the same as the Epsilon, except with more tooth for dry media. Maybe it will work differently. I don't know yet. I'm going to use it at life drawing with a variety of media and get back to you on it. I have to believe it will also buckle. (Again, buckling isn't a deal breaker for me.)
Besides posting at a later date about the Gamma I'll be posting about the Beta—which has Extra Heavy Weight (180lb.) natural white, rough paper that has "enhanced wet strength." I purchased the 7 x 7 inch for $17.00. Nothing to say about it yet as I haven't had time to crack it open.
Off to do some more experiments.
Update: March 2012—After Extended Use of these Journals
I'm not satisfied with the paper in these journals for note taking and sketching. I used two of them for taking notes in a 15-week Memory Drawing Class. One was the Epsilon, the other the Gamma. I had the same problems with both.
Work included sketching in the journals sometimes with pen other, times with ink. I also had to take extensive lecture and discussion notes. I found that the soft pencil leads required for the sketching (4B to 8B) smudged horribly on this paper and a simple swipe of the hand could almost totally erase the graphite. Cross spread contamination was ugly.
I also found that even as a right-handed note taker the ink from my Nexus and Stadtler Pigment Liner pens (both of which normally dry quickly on any other paper) floated so long on the paper that there are countless smears all over the notes from when I paused, looked up and listened, then shifted my hand, and returned to note taking. It has been a very disappointing experience.
Experiments with the Beta were not good. I intend to write a post and have lots of photographs but currently don't have time to put it all together. My main issue with the paper in the Beta series is that it curls ferociously when you use wet media and I find this is not conducive to working in the heavy, mixed media (which includes wet media) way I like to work. I also found the journals bound too tightly (wire coil too small) to accommodate the changes the paper undergoes after wet media. (The newer books may have different size coils as I did discuss all my findings with the company, but I haven't seen any recent books.)
I won't be using these books again. Please see the complete discussion of the pros and cons I discovered in this post and in the embedded video to learn whether or not the characteristics I find off-putting might actually work for you and your methods.
That post walks you through wrapping and protecting your pages and applying the paint. I have two methods: without gesso and with gesso.
Well my friend Frank Bettendorf decided to take the plunge and used my instructions to alter the covers of a 7 x 7 inch Stonehenge journal. He agreed to let me use his questions and comments here on the blog so that you could all benefit from his experience—and so that I could add some clarifying comments. Frank's comments will be in italic and appear in the red color I use on my blog. My responses and comments will appear as regular text.
1. I need more experience with liquid acrylic because even though I thought I was painting "rapidly" my acrylics dried so fast that my attempts at adding second color were unsuccessful.
I should probably stress even more the need to work quickly with any type of acrylic paint, unless you add some retarder. When you use an acrylic retarder you increase the open time of your paint. This can be a great thing if you want to paint something that is going to take a bit of thought, and if you want more blending capabilities. Fluid acrylics are made to mix with the various media—gel medium, modeling medium, you name it. Because the pigment strength of an artist quality fluid acrylic (we aren't talking cheap craft paints here folks) is so high, you don't get the dilution you do when you mix other acrylic paints with a medium. A tube acrylic, even artist quality, already has more medium in the paint—it's what gives it the unique working characteristics people like for certain uses, but it already has a dilution of sorts and if you mix it with the various mediums you won't get the same intensity you get if you use a fluid acrylic in those mixes with mediums. It's good to know this going in and choose appropriately for your application and needs.
I don't use acrylic retarder because I hate the SMELL. All acrylic paints and mediums have some odor and I make my selections about which to use based on how well I can tolerate those odors. (I tend to use acrylics duing the spring, summer, and fall, when the windows can be open!) I haven't found an acrylic retarder that I can tolerate.
Instead I compensate the only other possible way—I paint as fast as I can. To make this more successful I also think what I want to achieve and make a little plan in my head (do a., then b., then c.) before I even crack a bottle of fluid acrylic open.
Next I only pour out about a quarter's worth (i.e., the American twenty-five cent piece) because it will dry on my palette. And I only pour out the color I'm actually using. I can always add more to the palette if I need it.
I needed to stress this more, perhaps, in the original post, the idea of making a plan, because there isn't much time, and I'm advocating using as little water as possible so that you don't get distressed or soaked boards.
All that said, once you have a sense of how rapid "rapidly" happens your next attempts will be better, and each time will also improve.
I recommend that if you haven't worked much with fluid acrylics that you practice on some cardboard or grocery bags first. Also you might want to make sure you have the humidifier on. I tend to have a dry house, but my point here is that if your temperature is cool-ish and a little more moist you'll buy yourself additional time over anyone painting in a dry, hot environment, or out in the sun for instance—which I don't recommend at all anyway, because that's just crazy; I only paint in the shade with a hat on).
Over time with practice you'll also get a sense of how much of the first color you need to put on to your piece in order for it to be still moist enough to blend when you add the second. (Again, environmental factors are going to be key here.)
And another factor that's key is how much moisture you have on your brush. I like to do these effects with a dry brush, but sometimes the paint is too viscous. In those situations I will wet the brush and then squeeze the hairs with a towel, pressing most of the water out of the brush. I'll then use the paint. Even that hint of moisture will do a lot to opening up your working time. (Without the negative effect of saturating your boards with moisture.)
2. My second color tended to cover the first color rather than blend so I couldn't approximate what your cover looked like. That's not necessarily bad but my vision of the front cover and back cover didn't come out the way my mind's eye had seen them.
Frank, and anyone out there who tries my approach from September 2010, hang in there, try it again. Think ahead as I mentioned in the response to comment one above. Take the other factors into consideration. You will learn to time it so that blending will occur.
If you are, however, one of those contemplative painters who works slowly at stuff then use a retarder. Use as little as possible at first and work your way up from there until you hit a happy mix. Try some environment control too! And always, do what Frank did—have your desired result in your mind's eye. Frank couldn't work fast enough in this first trial to get to his mind's eye view, but if he didn't have that vision in mind he'd never get there and he'd never realize where the sticking points are in his approach.
3. The insides of the front and back (not sent because they're too bad), were where I tried to use Prussian Blue and Flame Red. They made a color too black instead of a rich purple that I was trying to attain. Glad they are inside!
Frank made a common error in color mixing. Blue and Red don't make purple (Michael Wilcox deals with this in his book, "Green and Yellow Don't Make Green.") There is so much green in Prussian Blue and so much orange in Flame Red that everything pretty much cancels itself out, i.e., the green in the Prussian Blue is a complement to the red, and as such will blend to a neutral, which in full strength (undiluted with water or medium) will read as a dark black, and the orange in Flame Red will complement the blue in the Prussian blue, again two complements. You get the idea. To make a good purple you want a clean cool blue and a cool red. Then there will be no mixing of complements to neutralize the result. I like to use PB60 (of course) as my blue, but many folks like Ultramarine Blue or Cobalt Blue. Stay away from the Cadmium reds which are all too orange. You'll want to go with something like an Alizarin Crimson. I don't see one on the color chart for Golden Fluid Acrylics, but a Quin Red or Quin Crimson would be a good place to start, depending on the pigments used in those paints, discovered in your investigation.
Which leads me to another issue. I don't find Flame Red listed on the Golden Fluid Acrylics list which makes me wonder if Frank was using a different brand of paint. That might also lead to some issues with blending, drying times, and of course pigment load and quality. So if you're going to start using fluid acrylics I'll say it again—pick a quality brand like Golden. (And I don't get any kickbacks for saying this.)
4. Each piece of board absorbs liquid at a different rate and therefore my results of front and back worked differently. This can be managed by more experience with the board and the liquids, but requires some reactive planning.
I thought this comment was very interesting. I didn't find that my front and backs of the boards were substantially different in how they took the paint or worked up. I think when someone else tries to do for the first time what you do normally you always end up getting feedback like this which can lead to greater understanding for everyone. (I remember the first time I taught people to tear down paper, something I took as second nature I suddenly saw as a complex dance of finger, hand, and arm motions.)
It makes sense to me that the front and back surface of anything will have a slightly different working property. My only defense can be that I was working so quickly it was not sufficient to get my attention.
But since Frank brings it up I say, BEWARE. And, plan, as he and I both suggest.
The other thing that you can do if the different surfaces make difficulties for you is to cover both surfaces with gesso first (as explained in one part of my original post). The gesso, when dry will create a uniform working surface and give you options.
Additionally, the gesso will keep the paint suspended longer and increase the open time of the paint. (The bare board will suck the little moisture in the paint, down into its layers, drying the paint more quickly.)
So gessoing the boards might be a better way for you to attempt this form of board decoration.
5. Even though I covered the pages like you recommended I still used a newspaper sheet under the board I was painting. I did get some paint on the newsprint when I did the edges. So you might think about suggesting this to your students/friends.
In my September post I show pictures of the books I'm painting on newspaper. The sheets are on the floor so it might not seem clear that I actually painted the boards while the books were on those sheets. (You can see some paint marks on those newspapers if you look closely.) Frank found it essential to work on newspaper to protect his work surface and I can't urge you strongly enough to do so also.
Additionally you'll want to consider protecting your clothing. I have painting clothing, but frankly, some days I just start painting without thinking if I have painting clothing on and the end result is that most clothing I have has some acrylic paint or ink on it. If that isn't your style then I suggest you have a painting jumpsuit or smock. Otherwise you're going to be stylistically challenged.
6. I followed your directions and used the liquid acrylic undiluted and it preserved the rich color. However, there was a very slight bend to the painted board so when the board dried I left the pages wrapped and weighted the journal with a package of copying paper overnight. This flattened the board.
This could be caused by a number of things. Most likely environmental (air temp and humidity) and paint application (thickness of paint). Frank didn't use any water, so that isn't an issue here. His response to handling the issue was correct.
I would recommend, however that when weighting a book in this fashion you wait at least 90 minutes for the covers to dry (again it will depend on the air temperature and humidity and the amount of water you used) and then insert either glassine or wax paper on both the insides and outsides of the boards so that they don't stick to each other during the pressing, or the objects you weight them with, or your table.
Once the acrylic paint has really cured the pages and boards aren't going to stick together—which is one of the reasons I use the fluid acrylics instead of the tube acrylics. With the latter you have to use more water or medium to make them move and they already contain more medium and the end result is something more plastic and sticky—in perpetuity.
7. I painted the Prussian Blue over the dried green on the cover and kinda like the effect. What do you think?
I like both of Frank's covers! One of the interesting things about fluid acrylics is that you can paint in glazes creating rich, textured covers that you can get lost in when gazing into them. This of course requires more patience because of the drying time needed in between layers. If you want to try this I suggest a dry complete layer (with as little moisture as possible, as suggested in my first post). Additional layers can be more diluted because you have sealed the board with the first layer. You can still do dry brush strokes and such, but your approach to blending focuses on the colors you layer, rather than blending paint side by side, so to speak.
8. I have another 7 x 7 inch Stonehenge wire-bound journal so I'll try the process again because I like trying to solve the problems. I promise to send the results with a narrative of my adventure!
Thank you Frank, for diving in there and giving it a try. I look forward to seeing what you do with the next book. And I appreciate your willingness to share your results with others. I hope you enjoy this new journal and have great fun filling it up with a visual record of your life!
9. It was fun doing the trying and of course I learned something, which I guess is good.
If it was fun, I think that's important. The learning is also important. Often we don't try a new technique or art material because we are concerned about the results, unsure about how to proceed. You can have the most detailed instructions in front of you to follow, but because there are variables that can't be constant as mentioned above, some differences will arise. What happens is that in focusing on those variables and responding to them to get the result we have in our mind's eye, we learn how to manipulate the materials.
This is something you cannot do simply by reading. You must get your hands dirty like Frank did.
I will try in the near future to make a video of me painting a cover—not just so you can see how I do it (which will augment the reading of my instructions and the images I've posted) but because real-time often helps things click in the mind. Also, it will be pretty darn funny to see me rolling around on the floor which is where I work when doing stuff like this.
After posting last week on the polymer clay and color theory book a reader asked me to recommend books dealing with color theory and watercolor. I have created a PAGE which you can access in the left column under pages, or click on the title here: Color Theory: Related Posts and Recommended Books. There is a wonderful world of well-written books on the subject and as I state on the page of recommendations—USE YOUR PAINTS.
I hope you'll enjoy exploring some of those resources. Expand your research to include a Google search for the author-artists' websites. There you'll find additional information about their work, their latest publications, and even some workshops you might attend.
While creating the page of resources and links on Color Theory I realized that I didn't have a category listing for Color Theory. I have added one today with this post. If you are first arriving at this post and looking for additional information on Color Theory please go to the related page. Later posts on Color Theory will be tagged with this category.
Above: A quick and messy chart I made to illustrate my point—Brands use the same name but different pigments and formulations. From left to right, Burnt Sienna Gouache (and an exception): A: Winsor Newton (cake set); B: Schmincke Gouache (dried and rewet); C: Lukas (notice correct spelling here, used fresh); D: M. Graham (dried and rewet); E: Holbein (used fresh); F: the exception—Daniel Smith Watercolor, Quinn Sienna. As this swatch chart shows there is tremendous range in the preparation and presentation of Burnt Sienna. The two paints used fresh are paints that don’t rewet easily, and which I remembered I had after I’d made the chart. Which is the right color for you? Well that depends on the other choices on your palette and a host of other factors. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Recently an artist contacted me (I get similar emails every month) about selecting a palette of gouache colors. She read about my limited gouache travel palette and her questions indicated she was having difficulty with my choices. “You use burnt sienna. Why? It’s a Band-Aid color,” she wrote. “Do you think your palette has appropriate warm and cool primaries?” she asked.
