Exploring unusual tools

I like to explore different techniques and materials in my journal--and might as well choose a fun subject!  This is Bearlie, a sister-bear to the one I sent my older sis for her birthday recently.  This time, I didn't do any preliminary drawing before jumping in with watercolor.  At lower left, I used a flexible nib Noodler's pen and their Lexington Gray ink.  At right, an old brown Micron Pigma with a black one for Bearlie's features.  The paper is WN watercolor paper, a bit lighter weight than what I normally use--you can tell it buckled a little.

Sometimes it's fun to paint with a raggedly little oil-painter's bristle brush--I often use this for spatter, but since this teddy is SO fuzzy I thought I'd try it for her fur!  These are the new QoR watercolors I've been testing--mostly, here, the Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna, and Cobalt.

I sharpened the end of the brush with an X-acto knife to use as another tool--almost like an ink pen.

Here it is in action...

I did use a brush for the eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as the pads on her feet and hands--I have a bit more control.

The new Sharpie EF white waterproof marker worked well for eye-sparkles and light-struck fur...it's got acrylic paint in it, so once it dries you can paint over it. (I tried the oil base one but didn't like it--it soaked into the paper!)

Remember, your journal is a great place to PLAY and try out different tools, mediums, and approaches.  Mine gets a lot of use like that...

Drawing in Dad's workshed Alissa Duke

I have a yearly visit home to Toowoomba (in Queensland) from Sydney at Christmas. It is a week or two catching up with friends and family and falling into a familiar routine. This usually includes de-cluttering cupboards and being highly distracted by childhood memories.

It also involves re-exploring my Dad's workshed in the backyard. It is a step into the past. Dad died in 1987 and although much of the larger machinery and tools are gone, it still has shelves and cupboards of work tools and bit and pieces. Dad was a panel beater by trade and a handyman, inventor the rest of the time . He seemed to have every possible item to fix, nail, screw, clip, polish, cut, drill ... The tools are stored in specially labelled  containers and drawers or hanging up above the workbench, on the wall. Most of these items are still there and have not been moved

So much of this is part of my childhood

drawn in 2012

This year I decided to draw some more of it. It is al in watercolour pencil and Lamy Safari Joy ink pen. If a clean out is ever done (hopefully this year) it may not be there next time I visit. These are my artist journal pages

 

 

 

I stood in front of a wall and started drawing the tools and containers. I decided to add the colour to the (old Dixibelle margarine containers circa 1970).

 

 

 

I then drew the wall above the main workbench, over two pages. I was not sure where/if to add colour to the page. I do not need any of them in my life in Sydney, but wanted a memory. That gave me the idea to draw some of the tools on the page. I chose a few and bought them up to the house and drew they over two days.



This is what I did New Years Eve !  (wire strippers and washers)

a G-Clamp and pop rivets

 

this is what the dinner table looked like on New Years Eve - a drawing in progress

 

 

 

 

 I have no idea what many of these objects are and the labels are a mystery. It was the job of my brother & I (and Mum to ) to sort through and to separate buckets of nuts and bolts ! I did not inherit my Dad's mechanical and technical nature, although he also had a creative side (woodturning and pottery). This is not the first year I have drawn tools from the shed. Previous Christmas visits have also provided opportunities. I think I am done now.

 

 

(can't figure out how to turn this image)

Current Tools - and New Travel Palette

I've been using a new palette lately and now like it enough to show and tell a bit about it :)


I'm always looking for a way to make my palette lighter, smaller and more flexible plus I enjoy playing with different set-ups of colors. After my Alaska adventure my friend mentioned an interesting artist and avid outdoor sketcher - Maria Coryell-Martin whose work is entwined with Alaska. I looked through her we-site and blog and really liked her palette shown on one of the photos and thought that I should write and ask a few question.


A few days later I realized that it would be very useful to have watercolor pans attached with magnets as I'd like to try changing colors and their position in my watercolor kit. I googled magnetic watercolor pans and... I was back at Maria's web-site!

Impatient me probably was looking at pictures, reading every other line in the best case - but now I noticed that she is selling these palettes :)

Below are some photos of my new set-up in action. In short - it's working great for me!



What I like most?
First - it's tiny! (photo above compares size of this credit card holder with my trusty Cotman Sketcher's Pocket Box.

Second - it clips very nicely to my sketchbook (this is 8.5 x 11 Alpha series Stillman&Birn - love them!). The cover of the kit and kit itself are so thin that I can close a book if I need to move or rush somewhere and have no time to pack.


Third - I can move my colors and add/exchange on the go. I like that pans are rather shallow so I can add fresh colors often.


Last but not least - pans are large enough for my flat brush to get in. I am showing flat Niji waterbrush on the photo below because many of you are familiar with it's size but I've been using my 1" with this kit happily!


And palette came with a nice little towel - which soaks up incredible amounts of water.

Moleskine books get second life

Moleskine books get second life, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I got a few cahiers moleskine books (3.5 x 5.5) at some point - I carry one with me all the time in little waist pouch. I sketch in it if my main sketchbook is unavailable or if I need to be more discreet. And then I tear pages and post them in my main sketchbok as continuity of my sketchbook notes is rather important for me. I liked the size and simplicity of the paper - nothing intimidating :) Easy to share with kids around :) But I use a lot of them and they are pricy... So I decided to try this: use their inconspicuous cover (with a little pocket), put some plain, cheap paper inside, bind as simply as possible and see if these will work in the same way.
I filled first book rather quickly and now I am thinking about gluing it as a whole in my main sketchbook - it's basically filled with one story - I drew in it while on the chair lift during recent skiing trip :)
So I need more experiments to see if my hand-made moleskines-alike books would work in the same way as pricy ones :)
I made a few more today for myself and my sketching companion :)
If you ask me why not use just simply separate pages - I tried - but the feeling of the book in my hand is so much better :)

Three Experiments

March 2012: Experiments, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I tried three things this month: watercolor book from Pen&Ink and Hero fountain pen (Hero M86 Calligraphy Pen) with Noodlers Lexington Gray Booletproof ink. The combination of all three is a major failure...

Pen& Ink paper is not taking watercolors well and all Lexington Gray is blotching ugly. Even the thinnest line in a few seconds becomes a lichen-covered stick. And no booletproof ink is waterproof or water resistant on this paper. It's not even smudge proof! So I am very disappointed with this sketchbook and will not use this paper again. Though ballpoint works great on it :)

Hero pen is something I need to learn how to use - but it's a lot of fun to experiment with! Variety of lines is amazing!

I do not have anything to say about Lexington ink as I am waiting for a better paper to try it on :) My previous experiments included watering down black inks to get some gray and they worked fine - but this might be more consistent in the long run.

Watercolor Paper and Ball Point Pen

Re-posting form my blog:


My last couple of sketchbooks were a little odd - craft paper or thin dry media paper (though I gave it quite a lot of watercolor and gouache coverings:) And I longed for a good old white sturdy watercolor surface to work with. When the time came quick review of the "reserve" box showed that I have this watercolor "Pen and Ink" horizontal book stored - COOL! I splashed some color right on the first spread!
However most of the pens in my "usual rotation" were bleeding, scratching, and overall misbehaving. While running some tests I picked up bic ball point and... what can I say - 1/3 of the book is filled now and most of it is black and white, done with the same bic ballpoint... see below :)

January 2011: Evening Apples and Pen Experiment

January 2011: Evening Apples and Pen Experiment, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Actually there were some pears in this glass bowl too :)

I recently acquired a new pen: it's a gel pen form Pilot and it 's called Frixion - you can erase it. But wait - the most interesting thing is that if you freeze the paper with some lines erased, they COME BACK! It was a major hit among my sketching pals this holiday season - our freezer was filled with notes to each other, Santa, martians and neighbor's cats.

But for me the lure was in it's not-so-black color and I wanted to see how it will work with watercolors, especially how erased lines would work with watercolors :)

So here is my experiment: the pen is waterproof and has a varied density of ink as you make lines (which might be frustrating but I like these little surprises). It can be erased from under watercolors too - but little trace of empty paper stays as I expected (see the area in the shadow right under the bowl). I am not sure how it will survive exposure to light and time I am not planning on using it constantly (imagine all the lines you ever erased coming back if you sketchbook travels with you to Norway) but it's a fun thing to play with and now

Publish Post

I am ready to make a treasure map - even on a very short notice!

Experiencing Stillman and Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook

I heard about new sketchbook maker and all comments were quite good. The name kept popping up  and eventually I did a google search, found Stillman and Birn web-site and then found them on facebook too. I wrote and e-mail to the manufacturer trying to see if any local shops carry these books  and made a note to order one sooner or later online - but then received an e-mail that a wonderful gift is coming my way! It was Alpha Series sketchbook, hardbound, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 - it became my sketchbook #59 and I spent about 6 weeks with it in my bag. Long story short - it's a great sketchbook to work with - my main adjustment would be the size - it seems that I enjoy larger books lately :)

Cover withstood some vigorous activities, was subjected to kids running over it (by accident), heavy and not so heavy rain, kitchen table and sandbox adventures, sticker attack, not to mention normal wear and tear and now that I am about to deposit it on the shelve - it looks great - not a scratch.

Paper worked very well with dry - and water media - I worked with watercolors, acrylics, multiple inks and gouache and in all cases buckling was well within expected amount for this weight of the paper (100 lb).  I used markers, all kinds of pens, some collage as well. Paper was reasonably responsive to lifting and multiple applications though in some cases uneven in the way pigment settled in: I would do a single brushstroke wash, try to lift something and see that part of the edge is still editable where another part is not. It adds some personality to the page and can be incorporated nicely - you just need to be ready sometimes.

My problems were surprising: waterproof inks (and permanent watercolors for that matter) were not exactly waterproof unless I waited for ink to settle for a long time. And during first 1-1.5 minutes even the most waterproof and smudge-proof ink was smudging badly. It happened with Uniball pens, Pentel Pocket Brush pen, dip pen with Noodlers ink, pitt pens and brush-pens - the only pen that was working without a glitch was the cheap ballpoint I love so much :) So - some smudging and some not-so-waterproof adjustment was needed - and for someone drawing quickly it took me some time - but I had a lot of fun in the process:

(these are obviously not all 124 pages I filled - lots of private notes and experiments took place there - but you still can see some results ;)

September 2011: New Scanner

September 2011: Grass, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I just got a new scanner (Canon 9000F) and trying this automatic gutter correction feature - so far I'd say it looks good :) And color is very close to a real sketch - nothing corrected. I'll try to sketch in watercolor tomorrow to test and report on results.

July 2011: Organizing

July 2011: Organizing, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I find it very interesting to look at your work at large and for that Flickr has some great tools! For example: I am reorganizing all my images and see that I am drawing some unexpected things much more than I thought :)

And I used to carry much less in my bad... Here is a link to my "Process and Tools" folder :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23173190@N07/sets/72157606244662915/

My Special Winter Gear

My name is Nina Khashchina, you might know me on Flickr or in Urban Sketching or Nature Sketching community as Apple-Pine. And I will do a proper introduction post later - when Kate has me scheduled :) but for now I wanted to share some of my winter gear secrets.

I live in one of the warmest winter climates out of all correspondents of this blog: Silicon Valley, California. Though I know what a real winter is: today thermometers showed 14F in the town where I grew up and it can get much much colder there. So Silicon Valley feels very warm to me in comparison. But sketching during winter is tricky nonetheless.

First thing I use and would recommend is fingerless gloves. Mine have a mitten attachment which warms up my fingers in between sketching :)

Second thing I find very useful is a baseball hat with light built in. Mine has white, bright white and - the most useful - green light. It gets very dark very early - these days many of my park adventures happen or end in darkness - and this hat allows me to a) be seen by my companions, bikers etc. b) Draw :) Green light is very soft on my eyes while they switch between the object and my sketchbook - though I do quite a bit of blind contours anyways. Too bad my hat is not very warm - I look pathetic with baseball hat over knitted beanie - good thing people around me see only my lights ;)

Here is a sketch of my gear:


And here is a couple of sketches done with my gear: