Author Archives: leslie

Acorn Cap Ink- A First Round

Leave a reply

While I was at Zea Mays Printmaking for professional development I went camping. Specifically at the DAR Campground. My camp spot was ringed by a whole variety of trees but mainly by several tall straight oaks. During my third night there I could hear acorns dropping. I had looked for interesting rocks but neither my camp site or any of the trails I visited had anything that would work for making paint.

I decided to get acorn caps. Acorn caps hold a lot of tannins and have been using for dying and ink making for a very long time. They are often used as a source of tannins for gall based inks.

In my case I want to make a jug of acorn cap ink with and without iron.

I gathered roughly a pound of acorn caps- just the caps and no nuts. I put these into a black doggie doo bag and tied it shut. This stayed in my car for a few days. My thinking around this is that the heat would kill off any insects in the caps. I then left it in my studio for another few weeks.

The first step is to wash all dirt and insects away from the caps. This is easily done in a colander. It is important to NOT soak the caps lest some of the tannins soak away. I used cool water and agitation to remove all dirt and debris. I then spread my caps out in the sun to allow them to dry. 

After my caps were dry I started to break them up by hand. Many caps were very hard. I ended up putting the caps into a zipper bag and stomping on them to get more of the caps broken up. Once the caps were broken into smaller pieces I put some of them through am old hand crank coffee grinder. This worked well except for when it got jammed. I probably ground a third of my caps.

If I decide to make this again I will grind more of the caps. The ground caps leeched out the tannins substantially faster and more easily than the whole or just crushed caps. The coffee grinder was set to French Press grind size. In this instance a whirly grinder might be a better choice.

I used about 1.5l (6 ish cups of water) to cover the caps. I used a pan that will not be used with anything but ink making supplies. I brought this to a boil and then let it cool off then a boil again. I probably boiled and cooled the caps 4 times. 

When cool enough to handle I strained the caps through a kitchen towel. The caps held at least half of the water in them. I squeezed them out the best I could but not much additional squeezed out.

This was returned to a cleaned out pot and brought to a boil and then simmered until it was reduced to about 1/3rd of a cup. Through out the boil there are visual changes in viscosity- the mix goes from very thin to thicker and at the end it is not thick but it coats the bottom of the pan. This initial steeping resulted in a lovely warm golden tan that I am in love with. 

I added a small amount of gum arabic to help bind it to the page when used for sketching. I suspect one could also use some casein based binder. There are a lot of binders out there but I had gum arabic. It would be super traditional if I harvested some peach or plum gum and used it in the same way. I added maybe a teaspoon, I should have measured better. The amount of gum is enough that after 24 hours the ink coats the sides of the jar I’m using for storage.

For storage you want an airtight jar or bottle. I’m using a vinegar cruet I inherited from my grandma, she’d hate that I’m using it for a practical purpose and not for decoration. That said I wrapped the stopped with some paraffin film used for sealing bottles in the lab. This creates a really nice air and watertight seal. I wish I could remember who I learned this from- it was during an ink exchange a long time ago!

The ink does darken on the page with time. I read one account that claims it darkens more over a month, but I suspect that is for the iron blended version. 

Some things I noticed, after the initial strain I didn’t notice all that much in particulates, I’m wondering if the tannins gather together in heat? Did I extract some starches? Did I scorch it?

This smells amazing. The odor reminds me of walking through the woods on a hot August day and of a strong cup of tea. It’s got a vague hint of the Caran d’Ache SwissWood pencils but pleasant.* Sadly this odor is covered up by the essential oils I use for preservation.

I’m really glad I did this project outside, I got distracted once and boiled the batch over quite a bit. I lost a good amount of the extract. I’m a little annoyed by this.

​I have noticed that many people do a very long and hands off extraction technique- boil the water once and then let it steep for a month or more. At that point you strain and boil it down. I don’t have the attention span to do that and not let it dry out or get moldy so I’m using relatively fast extraction methods.

I’ll have more observations after the next batch.

Next up is gathering some black walnuts and making some walnut ink.

I would not using this in a fountain pen or nice brush pen, I’m going to put a few milliliters into a cheapie brush pen and see how it does, but I expect clogging. We’ll see.

*I hate the smell of the swisswood pencil.

Master Wood Cut Work Shop

Leave a reply

Imposter syndrome is real and this past week I really struggled with it. I signed myself up for some professional development at Zea Mays Print Making in western Mass. The workshop was call something like Woodcut Masters Workshop. I had a moment of like, “Damn right, I’m a master at this.” then as the day to leave approached I was hit with waves of like, “No I’m not.”

When I arrived I was hit with, “Yeah, nope.” Then, “Well, maaaaybe?”

In the end working with the instructor and the other women I was able to break through that wall of feeling like an imposter and latch onto the idea that I actually really love wood cut. I have some great techniques to share that will work with a “real” press or with a craft press or other way of printing but also by hand. Very interesting stuff for sure.

One of my goals for this workshop was to tighten up my woodcut skills, learn more about nontoxic clean up, experiment with transparent colors and layers, and bring back some of these ideas for working with kids.

I left with some beautiful prints, loads of ideas, and a community of printmaking women.

I had hopes of doing more documentation of my week but holy hell, I always forget how deeply physical wood cut and printmaking is in general. I left the studio bone tired* and by the time I returned to my campsite each night I took a swim and then fell into my tent and passed out.**

I’m still processing everything and I suspect that I’ll be thinking deeply about everything for weeks if not months.

*night one and 2 were made difficult to sleep due to a family in the camping spot next to me practicing “cry it out” with their under 1 year old. It was not pleasant for anyone, I’m sure not for the child either.

**I was doubly stressed out because our “new” car was having issues and on the morning of day 3 in Western Mass I decided to just call AAA and have them check the battery. If it wasn’t the battery I needed to know and have them tow it to the dealer, if it was the battery I was going to have them replace it then and there. It WAS the battery and though I was almost $300 poorer I was ricker in relaxation and safety. I am going to have it out with the dealership on Monday. That is a post for somewhere else. When this is all over I’m reviving my Yelp account to leave a review of this place. I have a lot to say.

Fixative for Mixed Media

Leave a reply

Since I started including chalk pastels and colored pencils into my mixed media journey I have been in the market for a fixative. In my sketchbook I used some very inexpensive hairspray. For me this hearkens back to high school and the use of AquaNet to fix my drawings. We ONLY used fancy fixative outside and rarely. Likely due to cost.

Anyway, I picked up a small travel sized can of hairspray, but I used most of it up in just a few drawings. Hairspray will yellow over time but it is very effective and gentle on my wallet.

When that can was almost out I headed to my only remaining art supply store that is close- Michael’s. Here I searched for the fixative. Their website said they had 6 cans of it in stock. It wasn’t shelved where it should have been. It ended up being on the wrong side of the aisle. Anyway, Krylon Workable Fixative is about $17 a can at Michael’s but I got mine with a coupon and a reward voucher. So my can was about $6 with tax and everything. Nifty.

The can is standard spray paint can sized and not travel friendly> I attempted the old school graffiti refill a deoderant can trick, but i could not get the fixative into the hairspray can. Annoying but I also realized that I don’t want to be out in nature and smell nasty toxic fixative.

I finally purchased some SpectraFix. It’s been on my radar as a nontoxic (or less toxic depending on how you mix it) and nonaerosol fixative. there are several versions of this> I purchased their continuous spray bottle and a small bottle of concentrate.

The 2 ounce bottle of concentrate mixed with one 16 ounce bottle of alcohol. What sort of alcohol? They suggest something like Everclear or other grain alcohol. This is the most nontoxic* it gets. You can use any alcohol. I chose to use 70% ethyl alcohol from CVS. FWIW Ethyl Alcohol at CVS is essentially 140 proof grain alcohol with a bitterant added to it. Also non toxic but has a higher amount of water compared to Everclear.

Ethyl alcohol seems to be hard to find here in Massachusetts. It is impossible to find it at a higher than 70% content. I suspect this is due to our blue laws. Also Everclear is illegal in many states. I can’t even buy ethyl alcohol stove fuel in my state. That’s a whole other post.

Anyway, I used ethyl but if you can’t find it easily you can use isopropyl but it won’t be nontoxic, just mildly toxic.

Anyway. It’s not at all cheap. But more on that later.

I spent about $20 on the continuous spray bottle and another $12 on the concentrate. I think the ethyl alcohol at CVS was around $4. There is a spray bottle that they offer but it is generally regarded as a steaming pile of hot garbage.

I mixed my concentrate directly into my ethyl alcohol bottle after decanting enough to make room. I did notice that there was a little bit of particles in my concentrate. In the future I will strain mine with a fine mesh.

After it is mixed with the alcohol it’s good to use. I put mine into a small mist sprayer I swiped out of a travel kit. The sprayer was for facial toner.

In use, I have better results or less of a learning curve with the small toner sprayer than I have with the continuous mist sprayer. I think in part I know how to use the little mini sprayer a lot better. This makes it easier. It puts out a super fine mist and I press the sprayer and it’s one the paper. With the continuous mist sprayer I have to hold the bottle at least 18 inches from the paper and keep it moving. I have repeatedly put on too much from the continuous sprayer.

Eventually the continuous sprayer will feel like a usual thing to me but for now I struggle to get an even coat and the right amount. I also feel that I tend to over use and over spray with it, I’m wasting product because I don’t know how to use it yet.

I think the continuous sprayer will feel better with larger pastel pieces or other larger works.

How does it work? With one coat you get a workable coating you can still with effort remove some of the pastels or graphite. While it won’t smudge as much some will blend with another layer. With a second layer this is further reduced. With 3 layers it doesn’t move.

It does darken the pastels quite a bit. I have noticed that with pastels from cheaper brands the whites tend to disappear. This is an interesting phenomenon where the chalk filler melts into the fixative. With whites that are a higher quality, the white returns at a similar tonal value to what it was.

I have some white chalk pastels I used to add in highlights, and the color disappeared! The white was gone. The cheaper the pastel the more likely it is to disappear with fixative.

After 2 coats you can add in more layers of media and then add another coat or two of fixative.

Anyway, heavy layers of fixative cause the pastels and other media to run and bloom a lot like watercolors. Heavy layers can take a long time to dry. It’s key to do thin even layers and add more once it dries.

I have grown to really like the SpectraFix Fixative- both the concentrate and the continuous spray bottle. They work and work well, once you get the  hang of how to use and apply them. Three even coats keeps a matte finish and keeps everything from moving around, even in my sketchbooks. It claims to be good for a whole bunch of materials, I have not tested this yet but will.

There is a DIY option to create the concentrate and when it is time for me to make it I’ll definitely report back on how well it works or doesn’t work.

I found the best price through Jerry’s Art-a-rama. It is not sold by Amazon but on Amazon through Jerry’s and Blick. You are better off cutting off amazon and going directly to their sites since you will pay for shipping even if you have prime. You will also have shipping options which you won’t have at Amazon.

*If you have been foolish enough to do a shot of Everclear it feels like it will kill you or you will wish you were dead. The burn lasts seemingly forever. I don’t know how we got our hands on Everclear when I was in college- it’s always been illegal to sell in Maine.

I’m in Charge Here

Leave a reply

Vibes not realism is a mantra I take very seriously with my art. I want to capture the feel and the essence of a place. A ting I have realized is that part of that capture is moving bits and pieces around so that the feel of the image is right for how I felt in that place.

I stopped at Collin’s Cover and painted two pieces. I’ve been planning to stop and paint here for awhile, but the times I was getting out of work and low tide didn’t line up until yesterday. So I finally stopped.

I think this spot will be more interesting in morning light so I’m going to attempt it another time in the morning. The changing light really alters the vibe.

Collins Cove is an interesting spot. It’s a calm little cove where a conservation group is attempting to reclaim some of the beach grass area. It’s a gravely muddy beach that locals like and often is quite packed with people. It’s a common launching spot for kayaks and paddle boards. I’ve been told that there have been horseshoe crab sightings here in the past. Neat.

Anyway, what draws me to it is that on week nights it’s pretty chill and doesn’t have a ton of people. The color of the retaining wall feels like it’s straight out of the 80s industrial paint bucket. When you are there it’s clear that a great deal of the infrastructure around the cove is old and has been somewhat maintained. But the color of the cement retaining wall is a warm tan that leans pinkish gold in the right light. A pale salmon-y peachy pinky tan. That sits atop a wall built of cool colored stones. It’s this contrast that drew me in.

At sunset the wall is in shadow and the areas where the light hits it glow warmly.

Did I perfectly capture the scene? Nope. Do I care that it’s not perfect? Nope.

I started out with a pencil drawing in both my sketchbook and on a piece of that kraft cardstock I wrote about here. I then added in Inktense pencils. I really like these because they let me REALLY layer in the color and on most paper they do not reactivate. I activate them with a large sized waterbrush. I then layer in watercolors and more Inktense. I add in some water soluble colored pencils and Neocolor2.

I’m not aiming for perfection here. I only have so many colors in my travel kit and while I can mix almost any color with my watercolors I often chose to keep it as simple as possible and not mix colors all that much.

I did two versions of this spot and I like both of them, but I’m also thinking about how I can tweak this composition in a more finished piece.

Each image works in it’s own right, however I like the composition of the second image in my sketchbook more than the first on the brown loose card. As for the composition itself? It’s far too centered for my liking. I used a tunnel style composition that is intended to draw the eye into the focal area, however it is dead center on both of these images.

to take these from sketch to finished image, I would extend the sky a lot. It’s nearing sunset here, so I can REALLY amp up the drama of the sky with warm shades and haze. I would also move the stairs out of the center line, I’d probably crop this so the stairs are more to the right of the image and reduce the contrast in that bottom right area.

Here’s a quick Notan sketch on pale purple toned paper. Notan made with pencil and white paint marker. On my screen it’s about life size- about 1.5×2 inches.

Pre-Work Sketching Sessions

Leave a reply

When I first started my health and wellness journey, I walked. I walked around my city. I walked around parks. I walked at the mall. But pretty often I stopped at Salem Willows. Frequently just called “The Willows” around here. I’d stop there and walk from the free parking lot around the Willows and sometimes around Winter Island. It’s beautiful and the history is pretty nifty.

As I work to rebuild my knee strength I need those easy walks again. So I decided to head back to the start. The Willows features some really beautiful scenery and safe paved walking paths. So I walk a bit and look for a spot to make some en plein air images.

I’ve been a bit obsessed with Dead Horse Beach for years. It’s the name but when I first visited the beach there were pieces of old stuff from around The Willows. That stuff- mostly weird poured concrete with rebar embedded in it has greatly worn down over the last 25 years.* But the interesting scenery remains.

The process for these images is pretty simple- walk, find a spot to draw and paint, look through the viewfinder, sketch with pencil, add watercolor, let it dry a bit, add pastels, colored pencils, etc…

The above images were the first in this series. I realized that I was pretty focused on realism here and not my usual vibes. I was getting frustrated that my watercolor travel palette has only 9 colors and that I only carry a handful of colored pencils. 

Again realistic colors, but a bit of a push for myself to use purple and dark blue in the shadows. I had to push myself to ignore watercolor advice I’d gotten over the years to build up layers. I leaned into adding in some teal colored pencil and white paint marker.

In this image I pushed myself more. The retaining wall (the curved piece that spans the page) is yellow ochre in real life, but I didn’t have yellow ochre on my palette. I did have yellow and blue and red oxide. I used what I had to get the value and shadows. It’s cool and shadowed and the tide line is darker. The trees have deep darks and bright yellow highlights. I used some pastels to add in some of the real colors. This one feels like I’m getting there, even if the sketch isn’t great.

This one I really pushed the colors of the watercolor sketch and then added in more soft pastel than I have previously. I’m really trying to get the vibes. More purple for the shadows and I like the layered sky. It feels the way the sky did that day- hazy with distant clouds.

This one feels more like vibes not realism. Yes it’s based in the reality of what is there, but I definitely mashed up what I saw into something that feels like the view. I’m not sure that makes total sense, but in this image I was really pushing the colors and the shadows. More purples in the shadows and more lighter lights. It took me a bit to get the correct colors for the distant tree line, but I feel like the green gray color is a good one to get that distant hazy look.

Up until this image all the images have been 6x9inches this one is 8.5×11 inches. FOr this one I didn’t intend to add pastel I meant to leave it just black and white. I started off with a black water soluble gel crayon and a water brush. I added in white with chalk. Simple. Pretty effective. Then I wanted to add in some blue for the sky so I added in Neocolor 2s  and used water to blend them. I liked how the color worked with the brown paper** so I decided to add in pastels. I REALLY like this one.

Each morning when I go out to walk and make art I feel like I’m hitting a new milestone with how I’m capturing the scene.

*I just realized it’s been 25 years.

** I’ve got to do a whole post on this paper.

More Studio Clean Up

Leave a reply

The studio clean up stalled last week because of my knee situation.* But I’m moving better and was back at it today.

I have lost count of the number of trash bags I have taken out of the basement. A lot, we’ll go with that. Many. I have been able to keep track of the recycling because well, the sanitation workers are still on strike, so recycling is still not being picked up.**

It’s a LOT of recycling.

Not all the recycling is coming out of the art studio, as I’ve mentioned previously, I’m also cleaning out some other hobby supplies on the other side of the basement, mainly beer and wine and mead brewing supplies. 5 gallon carboys take up a lot of space. I have gotten all the wine bottles out and onto the curb where people may or may not take them.

We had under utilized the space under the stairs and I cleaned that out completely and now have 5 of the 6 larger totes stashed there. 3 of the 5 have paper in them. I might need to evaluate my paper situation.

I also went through my plastic drawers and consolidated a lot of stuff into a few of the drawers. I was then able to move some stuff like small sketchbooks and en plein air supplies into 2 of the drawers.

I discovered that on one of my large shelves I have shipping supplies stashed, in sizes that I no longer use or will find useful. These will get moved off the shelf so that my cardboard drying rack can have a home as well as a few other supplies in totes. I have the dehumidifier running and I’m moving an air filter down there to help with the basement smell.

The bench top is getting more and more clear. I can see the bench in some sections. On more than one occasion I have looked at the stuff on there and thought, I could toss all that. But I won’t because some of it is still good stuff.

At this point i think I need one or two more weekends of work to get the studio to a actual workable set up. Probably 2 week ends before it’s more organized than not.

It’s going to take a lot longer to get the tool situation of the other side of the basement taken care of. Also we are now selling the VW Rabbit and that needs some love before it can be sold, namely, I have to fix the rear hatch lock issue. It’s a fiddly bit of annoying electrical nonsense, and honestly, I’m one step away from buying a whole new rear wiring harness and calling it good.

That said, despite my knee I’m making progress on both sides of the studio and feeling pretty hopeful that I can use it for art making soon.

The idea is that each bin houses only one art method’s supplies. So bookbinding stuff goes in one bin, paint making in another bin, acrylic markers in another, watercolor in another, and so on…
I am really looking forward to getting fully set up in the studio and making some art. Continue reading →

The Pochade Box

Leave a reply

I recently inherited a lovely little 6x8inch pochade box. It was hand built in 2014 by a dude named Douglas Smith.

The box is compact and has been used sparingly. The artist tended to work much larger than 5×8, but if you’ve been here a minute you know I LOVE working around that size.

The box arrived well built and in great barely used condition.

But if you’ve been here a minute you know I’m not going to use anything straight out of the box. I made a few changes.

First I attached a swiss arca tripod mount. (Similar to this one.) 

Then I used 2 friction hinges to update the hinge situation. It arrived with 2 cute brass hinges and an arm that holds the easel section upright. I wanted more versatility in angles. They were easy to install and look okay. They aren’t as pretty as the original brass hinges. I probably could have installed just one hinge in the middle and left the original brass hinges, but through that would look funny. The friction hinges have mixed reviews. They are perfect for this kind of install- they aren’t hidden so they don’t need to fold back flat on themselves and the friction is adjustable. Yes they are plastic and metal would be better, but these were cheap for a lot of them.

The box arrived with a simple and nice enough handle. It’s got brass attachment points and a plastic handle that moves. I will be replacing this with a small strip of nice heavy duty leather in a dark brown shade. 

I immediately cut down some chipboard to fit into the wet panel and painting area of the box. It will hold 6 pieces of chipboard with watercolor taped to the center area. In my case I’m attaching watercolor postcards. After all I still have 200+ cards. I suspect I could tape up to both sides of the panels and double the number of painting surfaces. In the end i went with one card per board since I will be working mixed media and don’t want to take a chance that I damage any of the images I’ll be making.

In packing the pochade box I’m figuring out what mixed media I want to include in the box itself and what i want in a separate pack that I can easily bundle with the pochade box. Currently I have 2 different watercolor palettes and a handful of colored pencils. I think I need to add in some oil and chalk pastels. I’m also bundling up a sketchbook pack that I’ll detail here soon.

Thumbnails and Studies

Leave a reply

During one of my last few videos I mentioned thumbnail sketches and how they are useful for developing a final art piece. Today I went to the beach and since my knee is still in a brace and I am hobbling around* I decided to park my butt on a beach blanket** and make some thumbnails.

I decided to do several different types of thumbnails or studies:

Notan– A thumbnail that ONLY looks at black and white. That is the darkest darks of the scene. You can sketch all the darker areas in black if you want.Not the greatest Notan ever, but got an idea of the bands of dark and where the lightest lights are.I added a few too many details for this to be a true Notan thumbnail.

Value– These have a range of shades of gray PLUS black and white. Value thumbnails can also be done larger in what is called a study.I used dark and light green to get different lights and darks.

Color– a color thumbnail looks at a range of colors in the scene. It may or may not take value and tones into consideration. These can also be done as a study. This color study captures some of the colors here.

It is important to differentiate between a thumbnail and a study. A thumbnail should be small, not much larger and 2 or 3 inches on the longest edge. While a study may be much larger. Some folx who work very large might make several larger studies at 8×10 inches or even larger. A study is almost always smaller than the final piece.This is a mixed media color study. 

It is important to make your thumbnails and studies in the same aspect ratio as the final piece. I have had several images that I’ve created the thumbnail and sketches in a 3×4 ration while I’ve ended up making the piece closer to 2×3 or 1×1. The image never quite works properly when I try to translate the image from one ratio to another. It can be done but I like to keep those ratios close to the final piece.

Materials used in these:

  • Blackwing Pencil and Muji 2mm Clutch Pencil
  • Black water soluble gel crayon
  • Various watercolor boxes
  • Colored pencils
  • Chalk Pencils
  • Neocolor1
  • Sketchbook
  • Pochade Box
  • Watercolor postcards

A few things I realized here- I’m sticking to attempting to capture “real” landscape colors which is not my favorite. I really need to get back to “my” color sense when it comes to landscapes. I like the mixed media the most on cold pressed and rough watercolor paper.

The thumbnails are especially helpful when I am not sticking to fully depicting reality. They help me organize what is there to something more interesting on the page.

Thumbnails– help me explore the scene and start figuring out the composition in a quick way that doesn’t waste a lot of paper. To me, it is thinking on paper. These are done on cheap paper because I make a lot of them. I fit 4 to a page but I might make 8 or 12 of them before I find a composition I like.

Studies– solidify that thinking into what might be what the final piece looks like but might be discarded. They further evolve the value and colors and composition of the piece. The color and value interact to move the eye around the image. When I make a study I can decide if I want to go further with the image or not.

I’m talking about these in the sense of a painting but I use a similar set of thumbnails and studies when I’m making prints. Especially if I’m doing layers of color. So even though I’m discussing painting I’m using painting as a general fill in for other forms of art making.

*I screwed up my knee on a eBoard that wasn’t even turned on. I’m feeling a lot better. Range of motion is better but still painful and stiff. I’m several weeks out from riding my bike and will likely need to wear a brace for the rest of the summer. I have a referral with an orthopedist at the sports med place associated with my DR office.

**It’s really a polyester tarp IMO. There are dozens of these sorts of super lightweight tarps all over Amazon sold as “beach blankets.” But when you get them they are polyester tarps. This is the one we were using today and I liked it well enough. This is the one I keep in my bike bag when I’m on longer rides and know I’ll be stopping for a snack or coffee outside.

Studio Clean Up

Leave a reply

I’ve been posting about this on Threads and BlueSky, but it needs a whole post.

We bought our house almost 20 years ago. One of the things I decided I wanted in any place we’d buy was a studio space. We fell in love with this house and a section of the basement was divided off from the rest of the basement, it even had a workbench and shelves. Perfect.

I used it, and it appeared regularly in my videos, daily. Up until I went to grad school. Then I was too busy to use it. Though it still was used to stash my supplies. Then I started my new career and it was used less and less.

It became a dumping ground for all things art supplies and tools. Over the last few years it’s really piled up. We also had a pipe burst on the other side of the basement. Continue reading →

Brown Paper or Chipboard and Drawing on Trash

Leave a reply

I really delight in drawing on things that are worthless. One of my favorite surfaces for drawing is the kraft paper that many companies use for packaging. Amazon’s kraft paper is wonderful for drawing on. It’s thin and rough and holds a LOT of charcoal or graphite or whatever else I throw at it.

That said most of that stuff isn’t acid free or archival in anyway.

Now I’m not super hardcore about making sure that all my work is on acid free or archival materials. In my opinion, my sketches don’t need to last forever, just long enough for me to use them. The difficult part is that I often find myself wanting to make more final art on paper that has the same characteristics as that trash paper.

I recently discovered the Guerilla Painter Cartón panels. These panels are essentially a special archival version of carton cardboard. Fun!

But damn, expensive. Six sheets for $12, $2 a sheet. That’s a lost cheaper than a wood or canvas panel but feels super pricey for sketches that might not ever be used for anything. I can get similarly sized canvas wrapped panels on Amazon for $1 a panel.

I also use kraft colored paper with kids- it’s a great sketching tool. They add the darkest darks with black ink or charcoal and the lights with white charcoal or gouache. 

So I need cheap but okay quality.

The chipboard I ended up ordering is available (as of this writing) in 100 sheet packages, boasts being acid free, made in the USA of recycled materials, and is 22point in weight. It’s roughly 20 cents per sheet! The one downside to it is that it arrives packaged in clear plastic but with a hard plastic band around the stack. The band damages a few edges. I used the damaged sheets anyway.

I would estimate the weight of this paper to be about 120lb. Apparently cardboard and chipboard are measured by thickness not weight like paper. Which makes total sense given how it is used. They compare 22point to being the equivalent thickness of 6 sheets of standard copy paper.

This chipboard is not fully rigid. It’s a bit soft and flexible much like 140lb watercolor paper. Since I’m working with a clipboard this works for me. However if I were planning to work without my clipboard I’d pick up a package of 50 or 80 point. While still affordable, the cost does increase substantially. While the 22point is around 20 cents a sheet the 80 point is 90 cents a sheet. The 50 point is about 50 cents a sheet.

Why switch it up? Why not just use the kraft paper I get in packages? Well, when it comes to making art for myself or in sketchbooks I’m fine with drawing on trash and if it doesn’t last. However when I make art with the hopes of selling it or gifting it, I want it to last. That kraft paper is going to start to break down pretty quickly. The color will change when exposed to light and the paper will turn crispy and crumble fast.

I’m really loving this kinda rough pulpy chipboard and think it’s a decent alternative to the board that Guerilla Painter offers. However I would say that if you are planning on using chipboard for oils, oil pastels, or even acrylic paint it will need to be sealed with gesso or something like Golden’s GAC200. For oil pastels and even chalk pastels you can increase the amount of tooth with some Liquitex Clear Gesso.

Oils from oil paint and pastels will eventually eat away the fibers and break down even acid free paper. While the absorbency of the paper will make acrylics difficult to move around the paper until a layer of acrylic is built up and the paper is sealed.

Another thing to note for ordering chipboard, a lot of the offerings have additional sizes. These sizes do no correspond to typical art sizes. The card is used in manufacturing and packaging. The sizes available correspond to envelope and packaging sizes, no our more traditional art sizes.