Hello
Welcome to the FLOAT-YOUR-PIGMENT Newsletter #229, Testing New Paper
The year of workshops for me is coming to a close, I still have one this weekend from Fri to Sunday in LaGrange, Illinois. If you would like to take my last workshop CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Last week and weekend I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing artists and some famous artists. I met The amazing Bridget Austin and Brienne M Brown both at local art guilds. I recommend joining a guild or art club near you. So many clubs around the country are looking for artists to join... Join one today, there are so many wonderful benefits to belonging to
these art clubs and while you are in the club see what you can do to help the club because most of the time the club helps you back three fold.
Have you started making those greeting cards for the holidays... get going the holidays are coming up quicker then you think!
YES to Class, at the Civic Center in Libertyville,Thursday, Oct. 17th 1pm to 3:30pm
No to Class at the BeckerArt Gallery in McHenry, Saturday, Oct. 19th 9:00 am to 11:30 am
Join an art club today to meet famous artists like I met this last week... Top above is Brienne M Brown and below that photo is Bridget Austin. There are so many wonderful artists, join a local art club today!!!
I've noticed a big push lately with artists switching papers. Word or rumors on the street is that Arches has lost its golden touch. I like the new Stonehenge Aqua so I really don't care if there is a rumor going around about Arches and if it's true or not.
I tell my students that if they are going to change the brand of paper they are using they should try practicing on a sheet first before doing a whole finished painting on it. Here is a list of things I do to a new sheet of paper to test it out.
- I usually start out by doing a large gradation wash on the new paper to see how well a wet into wet wash works.
- I then take a small round brush and try a heavy load of paint into that wet-into-wet wash.
- I also draw with a pencil on that paper while it is dry and then see how well the pencil line erases on that dry paper.
- Then try wiping out with a MrClean magic eraser the paint on a dry wash and also on a wet wash.
- Try scrubbing hard to see how well the paper holds up to scrubbing.
- Putting tape on the edges and pulling it off also will give you an idea of how tough the surface of the paper is.
- Do a dry brush type of wash quickly over the surface of the new paper to see what the texture looks like.
- Try both sides of the paper to see if there is a difference.
- Try the different weights of the same paper if available.
- Soak the paper and see how well it stretches and do a wet wash on a soaked piece of paper to see how it handles.
One thing to keep in mind is that just because a paper handles differently from what you are use to doesn't mean it's a bad piece of paper, it just means it handles differently. a skilled artist can work on any sheet of paper, they just have to adjust their way of painting to that paper.
Yes, there are bad pieces of paper and paper does get old and expire. Sometimes there are marks on a paper that can't be explained or there are problems with the sizing of the paper. Old paper not stored correctly can become unworkable. I say if you get a bad sheet of paper send it back to the company that made it, I think they would like to know about that bad sheet and hopefully they will send you back a good sheet. If they don't send you back a good sheet then I would start looking for a
new paper.
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WORKSHOPS and DEMOS in 2019
Coming up this Friday is my last workshop of the year in LaGrange, Illinois... click link below to register
LaGrange Art League WORKSHOP, LaGrange, IL, October 18th - 20th For Information Click Here
My 2020 Workshops List is COMING SOON!
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I am doing a lot of watermedia painting which includes acrylic paints and a palette like this glass palette is a great way to go.
Buy it here
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I don't remember if I ever had Don Andrews as the artist of the week but if I didn't I can't believe I didn't get him in the line-up sooner. I have always loved Don's figurative work. Outstanding watercolorist
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Shop Amazon by clicking the logo below to help me fund this newsletter... Thank You! For any other info please email me at david@davidrbecker.com
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