altivo

I'm sure it's still big and bright for some folks but here it's too cloudy now. For a busy and tiring day, I feel as if I didn't get much done. But we went grocery shopping and I did some reading and started revising a manuscript. More about that in a day or two, I think.

I'm feeling an art itch that I'm going to have to scratch soon. I haven't done any serious painting for quite a few years, but for some reason I'm going to need to do some. Dug out my supplies and went over them, figured up what I need to replenish or replace. I don't usually do oil or acrylic, but prefer watercolor. Animal subjects and landscapes. We'll see what develops, I'm really not sure what's up with this.

Squeezed by various deadlines again. Monthly spinning quota, but I'll leave that for Argos to deal with. Book manuscript needs polish, pitch, and submit within the next week at most. Fortunately it's in good shape already. Weaving work and now this muse who demands that I be painting. I dunno. Of course there's ordinary work too, and the animals to care for.

Right now, sleepy is the order of the moment.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: Frozen oak grove

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From:

mondhasen.livejournal.com

We'll see what develops, I'm really not sure what's up with this.

A whisper on the cosmic winds? Can't wait to see these :o)

It comes and goes, for me. I feel I'm circling but I haven't jumped back into the middle of it all, yet. I even picked up some recommended drawing books, something I've avoided for years (self-taught syndrome), but haven't taken the time to look through them.

Taxes to be done first...

From:

altivo.livejournal.com

Fortunately for me, my partner likes doing the taxes so he does mine as well.

I did stretch some cheap cold-pressed paper for a few little technical exercises to get back into the watercolors. It needs to dry overnight, though. I started in this direction two or three years ago, but stalled when I found that my paints were all dried out (no surprise, they were 40 years old) and the search for new materials at an affordable price eventually turned me away. This time I have a little more expendable cash to jump start the process again, so I'm going to give it a whirl. I was pretty good at animal portraits and landscapes once upon a time.

From:

mondhasen.livejournal.com

I thought paper stretching was a lost art. I've still got some boards done up from a few years ago. My use of 90 lb. paper demands drum tight surfaces ;o)

I think my paints are okay, but the ink may be in need of replacing. One reason I quit using technical pens was that the ink would dry up between uses.

Good hunting!

From:

altivo.livejournal.com

I'm so old fashioned that I use dip pens.

Yeah, this was 80 lb. paper, because I'm cheap. When I get around to an actual painting I'll use some 140 or better, though.

I let Argos provide the details here.

From:

mondhasen.livejournal.com

I've always used gummed brown paper package tape to anchor the wet paper.

I couldn't find this when I started stretching paper five years ago, but I found an old Guptill book ("Watercolor Painting Step-By-Step") that listed a better method: white glue. After the paper is soaked and shaken off a bit, lay it down and put a bead of Elmer's or a similar white glue along the edge. Flip it over on your board and use a paper towel to push down the edges only, working outward as you go around the perimeter. Leave the border when you cut the painting free and put your next paper right on top of it :o)

I use dip pens as well: the tech pens weren't worth the trouble. I pencil sketch and then ink, and then erase. I soak the paper with the inked outlines and then paint it when tight on the board. Other methods I won't bore you with.

Edited Date: 2010-02-01 12:36 pm (UTC)

From:

argos (from livejournal.com)

Dick Blick's has the old Kraft paper tape. Apparently it's also still sold at Office Depot and Staples. My preferred mail order supply house, Cheap Joe's Art Supplies seems not to stock it, which is strange since the owner is a watercolorist. He offers the plastic stuff, which everyone (now including me) agrees is inferior.

I've used the white glue method and may try it again if I don't get some gummed paper soon. My main objection to it is that it's messier and leaves a residue on the board that can't easily be removed. Back in the last century (ack, literally) when I was in college I "borrowed" a plastic cafeteria tray and used that for stretching paper with white glue. On the plastic surface, it worked and the residue could be scraped off with a palette knife. Of course I returned the tray when I moved out so I don't have it any more.

Whose paints do you use? I've always used Grumbacher Academy because they were readily available and cheap. Probably ought to graduate to a "professional grade" brand, but I still have a nice metal folding palette that has an insert to fit the small Grumbacher tubes. I've used it for so long I'm reluctant to give it up. ;p We get so set in our ways sometimes.

I'm sort of looking at "half pan" style colors as an excuse to switch to a new palette, but I'll hold off to see if I'm really going to do art again. Thinking about illustrating my own stories, though, so I may get into it.

From:

mondhasen.livejournal.com

I tried that plastic sided tape and it failed miserably. When I first tried the white glue method I did it on coated particle board, and that didn't work well, either. I settled on finished plywood, and have been very happy with my results.

My main objection to it is that it's messier and leaves a residue on the board that can't easily be removed.

I never worry about the glue with the plywood. I don't remove the border from the previous project unless it begins to lift, and then I just putty knife it to a smooth surface (usually a couple of layers down):
http://www.tigress.com/moonhare/lj/board_after.jpg

I also try to put a 'ready to paint' image on the board so that I don't run into the wood grain problem or 'fuzzies.' I found that erasures*, at least on my cheap paper, leave little fuzz traps for the paint to pool around. The air gap under the paper also invites tears and indents, particularly from sharp nibs:
http://www.tigress.com/moonhare/lj/board_before.jpg
(these are two different boards/projects)

I use the little Winsor-Newton Cotman tube paints, as well as a little field box of half pans (not the tube box). The pro tubes are larger. I recommend switching to pro grades (I was just starting to) if for no other reason than to have consistency in colors.

Finally, I was ready to buy a 'real' brush, prepared to spend up to $100, when I stumbled upon a sale at Jerry's Art-O-Rama (why do the good places have such cheesy names?). I bought a mixed set of Kolinsky Sable Creative Mark brushes for a fraction of what I was going to spend on one Winsor Newton Cirrus brush, including a No. 12.

Thinking about illustrating my own stories, though, so I may get into it.
:o) I love 'illustrations.'

*I actually have used a light box to transfer a finished albeit fuzzied drawing to a fresh paper, and then into the tank and onto the board. Almond, a copy shown above, utilized a plethora of techniques:
http://mondhasen.livejournal.com/903.html

From:

argos (from livejournal.com)

I've wondered about the Cotman colors, though they are considered "student grade" as well. One of the nice features of the Grumbacher paints is the fact that they are designed to be rehydrated. So if you leave blobs squeezed into the little wells on a palette and they dry out, they will readily come back to life and be usable when some water is applied. This sometimes works with other paints, but not as consistently I think. You do need to be aware of the fact that the pigments in student colors are synthetic for the most part. That isn't always bad. Cheap Joe's has them labeled in the catalog to tell you which ones are permanent, unstable, or fugitive. He also rates them on transparency and staining qualities. I figure as long as I stick with the "permanent" colors, they're probably just about as long lasting as the expensive ones made from actual minerals and earth compounds.

Still haven't found any gummed paper tape. Gary tried the bookstore at the university yesterday, and they didn't have it either, but he bought me some halfsheets of Strathmore cold pressed 140 lb. Those are heavy enough not to need stretching if you're careful.