art supplies: WATERCOLOR PAINTS AND PAPER PADS

I have always been scared of watercolors.  I have no idea why.  I know, they dont bite.  I think it is because I know nothing about how they are supposed to be used and every time I try to even just play with them, I make a muddy mess.  Every time.  I guess I am feeling braver lately because I have been gravatating towards the yummy watercolor supplies.

Remember the sprial bound watercolor pad I showed previously?  I loved that pad of watercolor paper more than I thought I would!  The paper was relatively smooth for cold pressed watercolor paper so my pens work great on it.  And as watercolor paper should be, the paper was nice and thick.  Add in the sprial binding and I officially love it!  The only bummer is that there are not that many papers in each pad.  Only 12 sheets per pad.  So when I realized how great they were, I went back for more.  They are not cheap and I found they come in a several different sizes so I just grabbed one more 7" x 10" and a 9" x 12".  I have a feeling I will go through them pretty quickly but I can always go back for more. 

A wonderful friend of mine gave me a travel watercolor set years ago.  Maybe 8 years ago?  And it was so cute and so nice, I did not dare use it.  I am terrible!  I have finally given myself permission to use it.  And I think that paid off in  more ways than one.  I got an email out of the blue from my friend, Lois, only two weeks after making that decision.  We havent chatted in years!  Anyway...exciting on all kinds of levels  :) 

If you look closely at the pictures, you will see my newly found watercolor pads are the same exact brand as the travel watercolor set I was given years ago!  They are practically a set!  Cute, isnt it?!  It is about 4" x 5" when closed and has a strong white case.

It has a ton of pallette space and it came with a compact brush.  I think I am going to use a water brush but it is very nice to have the back up brush.  The water brush will be shown in a later post.  I dont want to over excite you all. But the travel set is a bit too nice for me to just play with. Dont get me wrong, I will eventually play with it. I promise! No more horading it! It will be perfect to take to work with me so I can do a little arting during my 'lunch'.

But that is where this set comes in.  Remember this medium set I mentioned some time back?  It is made by Paperchase and I got it at Borders with a coupon.  It was only a little over $2.00.  It too came with a brush but I still want to use that water brush.

But then I stumbled upon this set at Michaels last weekend.  It was the only one left.  It is just an Artists' Loft brand set so Im not sure how great the quality will be but look at the colors!!  I signed up for a new online workshop today and the artist uses a set that looks very sikilar to this one.  And ofcourse I had a coupon so it was about $6.00.  And it is huge!  It does not matter what kind of paint I am using, I do not enjoy mixing my own colors so the more colors the better for me.

Come on!  Look at these colors!  I have done a little playing already but I will save that for another post.  I thought I would introduce you to the supplies first and THEN bore you with my attempts at watercolor painting.

sketchbooks: FLEXI-SKETCH

Another new category in my blog is going to be sketchbooks. I admit it right now that I am addicted to GOOD sketchbooks. I am always on the search for that perfect sketchbook...not too big or too small...the perfect weight of paper....bright white pages....aesthetically pleasing...I could go on and on. I carry one every where I go. I have one at work, one (or two) in my bag, one on the writing desk in my livingroom, one open in my studio, etc. I think everyone should. Even if you dont consider yourself an artist, think how handy it would be. To doodle in while on the phone, or to make lists in while waiting to pick up the kids after practice, or to sketch in while eating lunch at your desk. Ok, ok, I will also admit I am a bit of an art geek and I know this may be of no interest to many so feel free to skip over this section if it bores you. I wont be hurt ;)

But for those that might be interested...I introduce the Flex-Sketch by Carnet de Croquis:

I wanted to try one of these for over a year. But they werent available locally and I am too cheap to pay the shipping when the postage cost is more than the item itself especially when I havent first gotten to handle the book or feel the paper. But then one day I was in Middlebury with my Mom on a little shopping trip. I ran in the cute bookstore on my way to put more money in the meter and there it was. They come in several sizes but there it was, the exact one I wanted. The 6" x 12" Flexi-Sketch with the light blue cover. Not a bad price but it was plastic wrapped and I couldnt feel or see the paper so I hesitated. When I went back to the store later, my Mom just picked it up and bought it and called it an early xmas gift. She is good. Very very good. Anyway, I got home later that day and opened it. I found the covers to be thin but very durable and the thickness of the book itself gave a stable base for use without a table or desk. The paper was a gorgeous smooth bright white and a very respectable 75 lb weight. As advertised, they open pretty flat and the binding holds up very well (so far). These compact sketchbooks have a ton of paper. Yup, I loved it! So when I was scouring through Borders one day this past winter, I was shocked and very very happy to see the orange 6" x 6" and the gold 8" x 8" Flexi-Sketch. The other two sizes I wanted. Why were they there!?!? I still have no idea but it gets better. THEY WERE IN THE CLEARANCE SECTION! Yup, red labeled. The orange one was $3.99 and the gold one was $5.99! WTF?! I scooped up what they had and lugged my strained basket of goodies down the stairs. At the register I hefted that haul onto the counter and whipped out my borders card and coupon. I couldnt understand why bells and whistles werent going off and why balloons werent falling from the ceiling. I thought that happened every time someone won the lottery ;) Currently I am loving the orange 6" x 6". It fits in the smallest purse and really stands up to being thrown around and jostled. The paper takes both pencil and pen wonderfully.I went back to Borders again a few weeks later to find more. My name is Pamela Harris and I am a sketchbookaholic. A sketchbookaholic that found Flexi-Sketch at less than half price!! I can not wait to fill every one of these! Well, everyone but maybe one or two that I might give away. Who doesnt love an online giveaway?! :) After I get my blog and facebook synced I will be doing some online giveaways. Keep an eye out. These lil' guys are worth it :) Above you see the first Flexi that I stumbled upon in Middlebury. I found the green 6" x 9" Flexi at a new art store in the area. On my second trip to Inspirations in Essex I saw it proudly sitting there on a special display table. They had other sizes but I have a thing for the long landscape sketchbooks and I couldnt rationalize purchasing any more. They were priced a bit more than any where else but I didnt have to pay shipping and I kind of expect the higher prices at smaller stores. So I got to support a local business AND affirm my multiple purchases at Borders by realizing I paid less for THREE of the orange Flexis than I did for this green one. I know, it is sickness. What is not pictured is the 9" x 12" Flexi I found at Borders the second visit. I got just one because I had enough free Borders Bucks to cover it. It was $9.99; a great deal but come on, I had to show a glimmer of restraint. Plus, it is a bit bigger than I usually like to use; I prefer my larger sketchbooks to have spiral binding for easier use.

Ok, I have put enough people to sleep. Time to go put some pen to paper to justify these purchases.

haul: BORDERS & BOUTILLIERS PURCHASES

One of my new blog categories is going to be labeled as 'haul'. This is basically where I show you what I bought recently and where I bought it; focusing on art supplies, pet related items and just really great deals you might be interested in. Having said that...

I admit it, I love Borders. I love the smaller local bookstores too and try to hit them as often as possible. However, Borders is the perfect place for some items not available anywhere else. Like Paperchase goodies. Dont get me started on Paperchase. LOVE THEM. Anyway, last week I headed to Borders with just my borders card and coupon. Look what I got for only $6.20!Each of the books above were less than a$1! I had to do some scouring but I found some great gems. A paper play family kit for my niece from MoMA as well as a doodle book I had wanted to get her. The other two books are for me :) And because I had a coupon and a borders membership card, I got the Paperchase watercolor set I had been eyeing. The brush that comes with it is crap but for just over $2, I could not pass up the gorgeous colors.

I also had a rare coupon to Boutilliers Art Center (thanks, Mom!) and since I was already on Church Street, I picked up a portable watercolor pad. So the fun little pairing you see below only cost me a little over $8 and will provide me with hours of lunch time distraction at the day job as well as (possibly) 12 pieces of artwork!

Where did Friday and Saturday go?!

Laundry is spinning around in my washer and my dishes are getting a nice hot steamy bath so Im grabbing a minute to type up this post. Later I hope to put on the painting clothes and relax but for now I am cleaning up after a hellish week at work and trying to prepare for another hellish work week ahead. Im sure you know about THOSE weeks. But on to the fun things....

Look what arrived on my doorstep one very snowy evening:
I had been waiting for this package from Paypaya for a couple weeks. My friend Georgia gifted me the most amazing Sabrina Ward Harrison art journal from Paypaya for Christmas. I had wanted one of those journals for almost a year but it didnt give detail on the type of paper and I just couldnt bring myself to indulge in one for myself. Georgia and I both love Sabrina's books and she ordered one up for me. Not only was the cover gorgeous but the paper is crazy thick and the journal is super thick but opens nicely. I knew right away that I would stress about using that gorgeous journal unless I got another one. I know, it is a sickness but at least I know myself. Confident that I love them, I dared to order one and I lucked out with free shipping! Ofcourse even the label is beautiful but then I opened the hefty box to see this:I am a sucker for gorgeous packaging! My picture taking skills do not do the tissue or glossy label justice. I strongly suggest hopping over to Papaya right now and ordering yourself up some of these:

Stunning artwork in beautiful art journal form. I will warn you that regular shipping seems very very slow (even if you pay for it) from here but it is very much worth the wait.

I found some chipboard ornaments while holiday shopping. I did not get a chance to tackle them until after the holiday season but who says they have to be 'holiday' ornaments? I made them winter themed instead. One is going to my mother or she will kill me but the other is up for sale. I am only posting it here on my blog and maybe facebook. Otherwise this little guy gets put away until late in the art show season next year!

I did not think to take a picture sooner but above you see they are about 2/3 of the way done. Smaller work can be very time consuming but lately the small projects have been the easiest to varnish and complete due to the Vermont weather. What do you other Vermont artists do in the cold snowy months when it is time to varnish a piece?

The final stage before varnishing:

A close up after two coats of varnish:

And on the other side you have YellowDog's cousin BrownDog!

I did a ton of cleaning in my small upstairs studio. I am not done but life is so much easier with space to move around and clean work surfaces to work on. So I am flying back and forth between my computer and my painting table lately and it disturbs my studio helped immensely. She would prefer I stay in one spot and in arms length of her. Below you will see the look I am getting a lot lately. Notice she has her own basket. She loves boxes and baskets so by designating this basket as hers (and filling it with her favorite crinkly paper), I keep her out of projects in progress with wet paint and glue. For the most part anyway!

Stay warm!

This looks interesting...

I stumbled across this the other day. It is called a 'Blank'. Can you tell from my terrible late night digital pic what it is? I grabbed the few they had left. Now to see what I can do with them!

ART SUPPLIES MAKE ME HAPPY

I walked past the art store on my way to the dentist today and I had a few minutes to spare (thanks to scoring an excellent parking spot downtown?!) so I popped in. Im always on the look out for my 6 x 8 canvases. I wont bore you with that story again but for the new comers lets just say that it isnt as easy as you would think it should be to purchase some simple canvases in this area. But Im not writing this to gripe--IM VERY HAPPY! I walked in and there on the shelf were ten lovely 6x 8 canvases. I tried to be frugal but each and every one had my name on it. MY NAME ON IT. And by name I mean the bright orange clearance tags you can see in the picture below.




So I bought them and ran to my dentist appointment. After the appointment I had to walk past the art store again. Well, I am trying very hard to find a very very dark gray acrylic paint so why not stop in and check while Im downtown!? What can it hurt? MY WALLET! Thats what it can hurt. But again, Im happy. I found some really fun canvas sizes more than half off. I would have been crazy not to, right? Dont answer that. I took finance courses, I know its stupid to buy something you dont need just cuz you have a coupon. Anyway, the reason for this post is really to show you that art supplies make all the creatures in my house happy...





Those are the bags from the art store. And no worries, I do not leave any bags out when I am not home as Missy will climb in every single crinkly bag she can find. Crazy.