DIY Watercolor Easel Update

     Sometime in 2014 when I was just starting my art journey, I've made a post regarding a DIY watercolor easel. It served me well for my purpose, and it is still being used up until now. 
     As preferences and style of working became clearer, I realized that it is still possible to make the setup lighter by getting rid of the plywood board and replacing it with something to hold my support board which in most cases I always bring. Let me share with you the updated version  of the ease

The old board was replaced with a wooden arm and the tray is made of aluminum sheet that is lighter and easier to remove.

16-Slot Plastic Palette with Gasket

     A friend recently gave me a plastic palette similar to Mijello palette. Though it doesn't come with a brand logo or a mark to indicate where it is from, the palette has a feel of good quality. I haven't used a similar palette before so I'm very curious about its unique feature, the gasket. The main selling point of these kind of palette is that there is less evaporation and it will keep the paint fresh longer. 

Light-fast Testing Shinhan Watercolors (PWC)

      I usually have watercolor paper trimmings lying around as leftover from making a sketchbook. Just for fun, I've decided to swatch my favorite color from Shinhan and do a light-fast test. I did this by painting a gradient wash on a strip of paper about 5" x 1.5"  then cut it lengthwise so that I have an identical strip. I then taped one strip on my window and kept the other one inside an envelope. A month has passed by and comparing the 2 strips, I was surprised that there is no difference. No fading, no discoloration. I'm aware that true light-fast testing takes a minimum of at least a year, but just the same I expected some result since my window is in direct sunlight from 11am to about 5pm.
     This encouraged me to do a test on all the Shinhan paints that I have so I made a swatch as seen below :

 Here is the swatch before it was cut and exposed. 7.5" x  5.5" 300g Arches CP

Hybrid Brushes from Mont Marte

    There is another type of watercolor brushes from Mont Marte in Fully Booked. I suspect it uses the same hair as the ones found on the Mont Marte Quills. First impressions suggest that this brush is a hybrid, though the handle says its round. It's a flat but has a belly a bit thicker than most flats of the same width, and the hairs are a bit longer. The edge form a rounded shape similar to a cats tongue/filbert.

Mont Marte brushes

Mont Marte Quill Brush

     If you have never tried Squirrel quill brushes before, I encourage you to get one and try. I mostly work on wet on wet washes so ever since I've experienced these brushes, they have been my tool of choice. A true squirrel quill is a bit pricey and hard to get hold of, unless, you have a friend going abroad, a relative or traveling yourself.
     Then there is Mont Marte and they are available here at Fully Booked.

These are currently available in sizes 0, 2, 4

Shinhan Pass Hybrid

      I've been meaning to learn how to paint with gouache, but this medium is not so popular nowadays that it is really hard to source unless you order online. I had but five tubes of basic colors I bought sometime ago, but to be of much use requires that I buy some more tubes of paint which I think is not so practical at the moment.

Shinhan Pass Hybrid

Learning to Control Watercolor (Part II)

     This post is long due. I have started this experiment right after the first part of this post, but I've become to busy painting that made me wonder if this is still relevant when someone can gain this knowledge through practice and observation. Just the same, I hope somebody might find it useful.
     One of the watercolor concepts that has always eluded my understanding is the "wet on wet technique" The are many tutorials online and most of them simply describes it as an application of  wet paint on still wet paint on paper or sometimes an application of wet paint on paper pre-wetted with water. I've also read about avoiding applying wet paint on damp paper since it will produce unwanted effects. Some text even mentioned to watch out for the shininess of the paper. The question still remains with me: how much wetness should the paper have? What should be the water to paint ratio in the brush? Is there any scale to measure paper wetness? With these questions I've set out to do an experiment in order to find out what I could measure, in order to at least, get consistent results we want when painting.
     This experiment is  to determine amount of dispersion the watercolor solution will do on wet paper. My initial thought on this is if I could "measure" the drying time of the paper then I would know when to apply the paint. I was wrong.

A- 10mins, B - 1 min., C- 3 mins.

     My first test shows that even on the same area size, the time it took to lose the shininess (indication that there is water on the paper surface) varies from 1 minute to as much as 10 minutes.

Trying to read the paper wetness in stages I can identify

Sketch Kit Mark V

     For the techniques that I want to achieve, the Canson 200gsm watercolor paper wasn't doing it for me. Well, actually its not that bad. I was able to get pretty decent sketches with it until I've tried Saunders Waterford! Where have you been all this time? My watercolor life has never been the same again. The cold-pressed 300gsm paper is everything my usual paper is not. Unfortunately it was the last block available from NBS. Upon contacting the importer in Binondo I was informed that they no longer import that paper. That is sad news.

Saunders Waterford 300gsm CP

    

First painting with a 300gsm paper, Saunders Waterford

      Desperate for more 300gsm goodness I’ve inspected two more store’s inventory, The Oil Paint Store and Deovir Art supplies. Deovir carries Hahnemühle watercolor papers but the variety of their product line requires much exploration. I’ve tried the Britannia and the Multimedia bamboo. They are not so bad but the behavior I’m looking does not come close to the Waterford. Maybe I’ll try the Tiepolo and Cezanne next time. The Oil Paint Store carries Arches paper which I reluctantly tried since “rough” is the only available texture at the moment. I was also offered to try the Stonehenge brand which was a little cheaper than the Arches.The Stonehenge is not bad. As much as it readily absorbs the first wash creating hard edges, smooth washes are not impossible to achieve. It just requires a little experimentation and timing.I think its more suitable for other media such as gouache or acrylics. Still not the one I’m looking for. Finally I’ve come to test the Arches. Hmm…well..yes. this is it! I’ll let the sample wash speak for itself.

      I’m still looking for the Saunders experience. Probably it was just the first impression. probably it was just me. :) So its decided. My new sketchbook will be filled with arches paper. Its easy to source, cheaper than a similar sized Moleskine, performs better and is handmade by me!

How the paper was divided to yield 2 signatures with 4 folios. the dotted lines represent the fold and the final sketchbooks measures 5.5”x 7.5”

A single section is made up of four pages.

      Again as with my previous sketch book the sections were coptic stitched and inserted into the new leather cover. The leather that I bought was quite ugly so I distressed it with sandpaper and alcohol and dyed the raw edges with ink. Ideally it should be 4 sections per booklet but since I only bought one sheet for testing I was only able to complete 3 sections.

I've made the new watercolor notebook bigger than the precious one

     I thought that the quest for tiny watercolor box has come to an end. Until my office mate presented me with a super thin, enamel coated card case from Fullybooked.

Size Comparison

The new tin card case slides open with the interior already painted white

New toys from Jackson's Art Supply

          I believe in “buy the best materials you can afford”. But the best materials are very difficult to source if not impossible. When it comes to watercolor, most art supply stores which are  few mainly stock student grade supplies. I’m not sure if there are lots of people who share my frustration, though I’m still glad that the variety and quality of the stocks has improved through the years.
     One of the tools that are very difficult to acquire here are kolinsky sable brushes. Specifically the one with collapsible handles use in plein air painting. It has to be sourced somewhere else. Outside. Unfortunately at the time I’m making my order, brushes like these are not available neither from DickBlick nor Cheap Joe’s. So I checked on the other side of the globe, Jackson's Art supply in UK. It took about one month for them to arrive.

The brushes are works of art in itself. Such beauties are worth the wait.

 

From left: Jackson's squirrel Flat, Escoda Reserva travel brush sizes 4 and 8, Pro Arte flat travel brush, Pro Arte synthetics 2,4,6, and da Vinci Maestro size 6. 

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Sketch Kit Mark IV!

     Here it is. The new and improved sketch kit!

Addition of  MDF board from a clipboard, binder clips, and a piece of magnet.

An elastic band with velcro holds everything in place.

Mark IV in action. The MDF provides a sturdy backing and makes everything comfortable to hold. The magnet attached to the clip holds the watercolor tin in place.