Working on novella still. I have been maintaining my allotted time for my visual work too as it is of equal importance to me (on top of nightly drawing i.e woodshedding).
These two pieces I mostly used Rembrandt paints.
The paper is:
Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Rembrandt Watercolor Paper 9×12 140 lb cold press
Here are two posts about the paper and the paints:
As I am in the middle of writing my next novella, sometimes I day dream which is an articulation of extraneous ideas that I will not use as to be able to concentrate better.
I day dream as I clean my studio. There’s a vague idea that I have had of an artist who has all the equipment he needs to do his thing and in variety. In his mind’s eye, this makes him “rich” as he let’s slip at a bar (This leads to trouble).
When I first started doing visual work, I used the pages of the newspaper (for the youngsters: this was like a twitter news feed but accurate and truthful, made from thin slices of a tree, which showed up on your doorstep every morning) I used black and red markers as to be able to see my drawings.
I then graduated to blocks of cheap paper filling every page on both sides.
Slowly, I worked my way towards legitimizing the need of good equipment. Initially, i was thrifty out of necessity, i.e using pencil extenders as to squeeze every drop out of a pencil.
Fast forward, I can now afford whatever I want for equipment, i can buy things merely to experiment with etc. I still use pencil extenders and observe other economical practices, not because I have to or even because I am cheap. It is a sign of deep affection for serving the process.
When working on a painting, the amount of paint which I use at most only takes up two ten slotted porcelain palettes. Not much but I often find myself when a painting is completed with a little bit paint remaining.
I started the practice of doing a smaller painting with remaining paints in my trusty Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches. Nothing is wasted and it often presents some manner of stimulating challenge for me. It’s my version of what great chefs like Paul Bocuse did in their every part of the animal philosophy.
The Mark Watercolor & Rembrandt 9×12 cold pressed fin paper
Gerd Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Still deep into working on my latest Cinefield®. Locked into a groove, my studio has been overrun by sheets of paper upon which rests tiny confetti like pieces of paper.
In the interim, I continue to draw every night. I have mainly been using my trusty Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches while also finishing the other pads in varying states of completion I have on my desk.
Here are some of what I have been doing, the joy for me serving the process even if only with a pencil nubbin on a scrap piece of paper:
In case you missed it I got a nice showcase which goes into my modus operandi:
The painter Phillip Guston said that when one paints, at first everyone you know is in the studio with you and one by one they drop away until you are left only with the painting. I understand that, the pleasure of serving the process, everything else is temporarily suspended, where will the painting end up etc etc.
I am in the middle of typing up all my notes & stories from Europe. The visual work that I do, it is work but it isn’t. I have been going at a steady clip with my paintings but not because of any specifically set tempo. The visual work becomes a respite from the challenges of other things. Ideally, if nothing else my work offers people a brief cessation from the doomy bleakness of the news.
My paint palettes are now exactly as I want them, incorporating professional grade half pans from several companies.
This piece is 9×12 watercolor & Rembrandt cold press/fin grain 140 lb
An amazingly busy but rewarding week. I decided to do two small paintings. My paint set up in the studio is now a mix of several companies professionally rated half pans.
Once one is at a certain point quality wise, it becomes a matter of preference which is dictated by the artist’s style but also the inherent properties of the equipment. In explaining this concept to a fellow jazz-head I gave the analogy that it is the equivalent of Miles and his horns. No matter what he played on, his distinctive voice was ever present. However, he did have certain horns he used for ballads, for cookers et al. In this way it is a collaborative effort between artist in equipment. So it is with the various papers and the set up of watercolor half pans I utilize.
Both these pieces are done on Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Unfortunately with my last trip, I did not get any photos which would serve as the raw material for my Cinefield® work. I legitimately miss working on them, which lasts until I am two weeks into one and I start to see little pieces of paper confetti in my dreams.
I continue on with painting. This piece is 9×12 Rembrandt paper which was given to me by Royal Talens. It is professional grade cold pressed 100% cotton. I have often used French cotton paper and that absorbs pigment quicker which makes it less forgiving in regards to blending or correcting a spot. As with all professional grade equipment, it becomes less which is better and more a matter of personal preferences.
Blue Pillow Watercolor & Paper
Detail
“Color always occupies me, but drawing preoccupies me” Delacroix
“Drawing is the basis of art. A bad painter can’t draw but one who draws well can always paint.” Arshille Gorky
I always have a pocket pad on me, usually 3×5 inches, and then a slightly larger one in my ever present book bag. When I travel, what pads and accoutrements I have depends on length of trip, location and what else I will have going on while on the road.
It took me many years of trial and error but I have my trip equipment selection process down pat. For the past month or so I have been writing about equipment given to me by Royal Talens. My current go to pad is by them, but I had discovered it long before they had sent me anything, Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
You can read my initial impressions:
I have never looked at drawing as a second class citizen in comparison to painting. No matter if I have spent the day painting or doing some of my other visual works, I draw an hour a night, every night. This woodshedding is akin to a musician practicing scales, but also one of my greatest pleasures in life.
I initially discovered water soluble graphite by complete happenstance. Once I had the mechanics down, I was able get painterly effects. When I work on my Cinefield® pieces, I can not draw as an under construction Cinefield® piece slowly dominates the space of my studio. But, I also do not want to let too long go without painting, which I end up missing.
Water soluble graphite work is the same as painting but in all greyish black tones. I can use my witting desk and do a piece in one session. I may not be able to paint but this was very close. Unexpectedly, I found that as I added to my graphite technique it helped my painting and vice versa.
I was just on the road and while it was a short trip, I had a lot going on. With this is mind I knew I would have no opportunities to paint. I brought my water soluble kit. Another important aspects of this medium which I like it how compact it is. 2x graphite sticks, a sharpener and one watercolor travel brush. I can literally put it in a coat pocket. If at a cafe I use a mineral water cap, in hotel one of the plastic cups to be found by the gratis bottles of dasni for water to dip brush into.
Here are some latest pieces:
Just in time to once again hit the road, I have now integrated the new paints which I had been trying out permanently into my studio & travel palettes.
Of course I have note added all of them but that is just matter of color preferences in what I use for my work. I have found that once a thing, be it whisky, paint et al is of a certain quality it is not a matter of which is better but more personal preference.
Certain brand’s colors are better for specific things than others i.e one brand’s red or pink better for base coats in showing skin while another better for showing bruises, capillaries et al.
Now that I know the new paints, i have started experimenting with them on all different types of paper.
Annabeth first time using tan paper w/my new set up. Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media Paper 11×14 184 lbs
Croc Clip Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
If interested in what comprises my new paints see previous four posts which give details
Back of Hand / City in Blue
Royal Talens were nice enough to give me some supplies to try out (no strings attached). You can read my reviews at these two previous posts:
Now that I know the paints properties, I have added them into my permanent studio & travel palettes. They have seamlessly integrated in and so my next step is to try them with various types of paper.
When I Initially became serious about my painting, I was mainly using blocks of cotton watercolor paper. This is not ideal to travel with. I had found that it was also very sensitive to weather, one season in Paris it seemed to rain for almost a month and each layer of paint took forever to dry and it didn’t blend as well. These factors plus the increasing price of my preferred brand made me start to explore.
I ended up for a long stretch using a spiral bound pad of Canson watercolor paper. Easy to travel with, not cost prohibitive and of good quality.
In art, I am completely self-taught so I do not know how it may be for other artists, but I see the size a piece is meant to be in my head before ever touching brush to paper. I began to envision works both smaller and bigger than the Canson pad. While continuing to use it, I tried other pads too, preferring the pads over blocks as they are easier to travel with.
On the road my go to pad has been Talen Art Creations Multimedia Pocket Pad 4×4 inches. What I like about it is that I can use it for my Lyra water soluble graphite pieces, watercolors or just drawing. It eliminates my having to have multiple pads in my bag. I do still always have my trusty 3×5 pad in pocket regardless.
At home I mix it up size wise going all the way up to 11×17 size.
In my exploration of the added paints to my palette with various papers I decided to first try them with my old favorite the Canson pad.
Canson Montval Watercolor pad. Spiral bound 140 lb. cold pressed. 5.5×8.5 inch
In doing an extreme close up it presented an interesting challenge. To be able to show volume and mass without the help of showing the outline of the hand which would have served as a guide/clue to the viewer’s eye. The piece is almost abstract. Keep looking, you notice the volume and mass, keep looking you notice little things with each new viewing.
Back of Hand
I have done a lot of portraiture of late but have also always enjoyed doing cityscapes. I want a style but never mere mannerisms and a key to this is to always be challenging myself. I decided to do a cityscape, a nice challenge on a smaller sized paper, especially as it has been a while since I have done one.
City In Blue
Bath / Lucky Shirt
Royal Talens were nice enough to give me some supplies to try out (no strings attached). My initial, more technical posts can be found on these two links:
For these two pieces, I used half pans from the two sets sent to me which I previously wrote about, incorporating them into my preexisting palettes which include half-pans by Sennelier, Schmincke Horadam and Charvin.
Once at the professional level paint quality/grade wise, it is not about which is better. It is not even necessarily about brand preferences. I have found each brand had specific qualities and properties which dictate what I will use. I equate it to cooking. One can have favorite spices, but it would not make sense to use them in certain dishes.
The new paint sets have certain colors which regardless of brands I do not find myself reaching for often. For the colors most utilized, I have absorbed in the hues from these new sets into my palette boxes.
These two pieces illustrate how seamlessly they work when mixed with other brands on a painting.
Bath 9×12 Rembrandt watercolor paper 140 lb cold press. Fin
Lucky Shirt Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches
Paper Life Painting 