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Showing posts with label jerry's artarama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jerry's artarama. Show all posts

Sunday, November 2, 2014

A Review of Mungyo Gallery Handmade Soft Pastels


The Mungyo Gallery Handmade Soft Pastels are a joy with which to paint.  They are very soft lending themselves to a very free creative approach.   And yet as I used them on the UART Sanded Pastel Paper, I found that I also had as much control of the placement of the colors as I could have wished.


The colors are vivid and scrumptious.  There is a wide range of beautiful colors to choose from - 96 colors in all..  The pigments are light fast and fade resistant.  And they blend very nicely.  These pigments lay down clearly and beautifully on the paper.  You will be tempted to try all the colors, as am I.  So it is helpful that the Mungyo Soft Pastels are an affordable price.


These very soft pastels may be blended with a blending stump or if you prefer to be more tactile with your art, your fingers.   Even though the colors blend well, they are also strong enough to layer boldly on top of a previously drawn portion of your painting.   For my example I have created a painting with lots of blending and layering of color.  As you can see the Mungyo Handmade Soft Pastels handled the task well.  I enjoyed working with them and will use them again.  I have already recommended them to some of my pastel loving students.





Here are the supplies I used from Jerry's Artarama for this example:
Mungyo Gallery Handmade Soft Pastels
Creative Mark Paper Blending Stumps 
UART Premium Sanded Pastel Paper 
SpectraFix Non Toxic Pastel Fixative





Wind and Honey Creations
Creative Pencils - Online Drawing Lessons

Saturday, September 27, 2014

A display of work testing the Artist Survival Book 



As an artist, I sometimes have multiple projects bouncing around in my head at once.  Most of those projects are at different levels of progress and details can get lost in the mix.  A working journal like the Artist Survival Book is very helpful for keeping the various elements of many projects all in one tidy place.   You will find them at Jerry's Artarama.

 The Artist Survival Book has a lovely leather cover that feels nice in your hand.  For me, even the cover helps to create the ambiance of a creative moment.   There is an elastic band that helps to keep the book closed as it grows with your use.  The elastic is strong but narrow which is nice because it doesn't get in the way.  The papers turn easily and comfortably on the spiral binding allowing for a completely flat display.  And the journal is a nice size that is easy enough to bring along wherever you go so you can work on those ideas when the thought comes.


The front portion of the book has plain pages ready for you to test drawings and other ideas you might have.   The middle portion has lines for note taking or lists of necessary supplies or even thoughts about future projects.  And the last section of the book is made up of pages with guide-dots to help you with precision drawing.   All of the pages are perforated, making it easy to remove them when necessary for reference.

And between each section there is a leather divider that has pockets.  How fun these pockets are!  You can keep extra small papers or reference photos or even a few pencils if you like.  The papers are suitable for dry media like graphite, colored pencils, pen, or conte' crayons.



Here is a short video demonstration of my Artist Survival Book.







Wind and Honey Creations
Creative Pencils - Online Drawing Lessons

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

A Review of Matisse Structured Artists Acrylic Color


The Matisse Structured Artists Acrylic Colors are fun!  Plain and simple, that's the first thing that comes to my mind.  They are a heavy bodied paint formulated to naturally lay down on the canvas with some bulk.  I purposely chose a project that could be enhanced with some texture.  And I really enjoyed watching that texture appear with very little effort using the Matisse Structured Paint.   It felt like the paint was working with me rather than my needing to manipulate it. 


The tubes have wonderful flip tops making it so much easier on my hands to get to the paint.  And I believe those tops will also create a better seal over time, thereby allowing a longer shelf life for my paints.



The colors are vivid and scrumptious.  There is a wide range to choose from - 96 colors in all.  They mix nicely.  And the colors lay down clearly and beautifully on the canvas.  You will be tempted to try all the colors, as I am.










The Matisse Acrylics have a longer open working time than other acrylic paints I've worked with, allowing me to leave more colors out on my palette.  And also giving more freedom to play with my mixed colors as the painting developed.  The Matisse Structured Acrylics would be perfect for mixed media painting and for mixed media collage work.  The heavy body lends itself easily to the various techniques used in these popular art forms. 




These are the supplies I used for this example.  I got all my supplies at Jerry's Artarama:

Matisse Structured Acrylic Colors
          Raw Sienna
          Magenta Light
          Antique White
          Transparent Venetian Red
          Burnt Sienna
          Naples Yellow Light
          Transparent Yellow Oxide
          Unbleached Titanium
          Phthalo Blue
          Burnt Umber
          Titanium White
Colour Shaper Painting Tool
Jewel Bristle Brushes
Ampersand Artist Panel






Wind and Honey Creations
Creative Pencils - Online Drawing Lessons

Monday, July 7, 2014

Ketchup Day!

http://windandhoneycreations.com
When I was teaching local children's classes, we would occasionally get behind and would have several unfinished projects stacked up.  When that happened we would have a Catch Up class day.  The cute thing was that the kids always thought I was saying Ketchup Day and they thought that was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.  I have been absent for many weeks from this blog and am behind on several posts. And for that, I apologize.  I guess that makes this a Ketchup Day!

 My weeks have been full, my moments have been full, my 'to do' list has been full, my desk has been full. But in the midst of all this fullness, I have been without many words for sharing. Do you find that sometimes when life is just full all around you, that you become quiet in self defense of it all?
I do.
But I am back today with a renewed resolve to be faithful here as blogging is much more fun and a much more positive experience than other social media, in my humble opinion.

http://windandhoney.com
Blogging feels more like having someone to tea and then visiting their house to do the same. Much more pleasant than everyone chattering at once.
In spite of my quietness, I have been busy. I've been working on promoting the workshops for The Graceful Artist. I've started a big project of my own art blended with art journaling. I've recorded some new workshops. I am thinking of creating a new Wind and Honey website as the original is designed in iweb. Apple no longer offers this software. When this computer dies I will no longer be able to edit my current website. And my computer is getting pretty old.

I've been doing some review work for Jerry's Artarama. I'll be sharing those with you. I do receive the products I review from Jerry's. But, as I am a terribly honest person, I only tell the truth in my reviews. So, perhaps they will help you with some new products. 
And on top of it all, I am helping my daughter Kate plan her Fall wedding. 

The orange door
Poet has been off work for a week and we chose to stay home this year.  We are working on some projects that we want done but never seem to have time for.  When we moved into this house a year ago, the shutters were orange.   Now, my fellow OSU Cowboy fans, please don't send me letters on this.  But, as much as I love our beloved Cowboys, I really am not fond of orange.  So, finally we've painted those shutters and I imagine the neighbors are breathing a sigh of relief. 

The orange shutters

 
The new shutters

The new blue door!!

Another project Poet is working on is the antique ice box given to me by his father, my father-in-law.  It was promised about 20 years ago but only received recently.  It has sat in a workshop for a long time waiting for its place of honor in my breakfast room.  I should have taken before photos but I forgot.  It had a lot of missing paint and what paint it had was chipped and rusty.  I promise to post photos when its finished.  You will love it.

And so, for now, I am just popping in to say hello again and to let you know I will be more faithful to join you here.  A review for an art supply will be coming soon.




Wind and Honey Creations
Creative Pencils - Online Drawing Lessons
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