Having norovirus sapped my strength for a lot longer than I expected. For a week post… acute symptoms, i felt tired and lethargic. Generally crappy. I got behind on everything. I came home from work and crashed.

This past long weekend (I saw the Monday off weeks ago and decided to take the previous Friday off, not even realizing it was Valentines day*) really felt like I was back to my old self.

I hit record on a bunch of new videos and got editing them.

I hit a minor snag though- the mic picked up the high pitched hum of our pellet stove. It’s obnoxious. Apparently I still had 3 days left on my CapCut sub and used their software to clean it up. It’s too clean but whatever, it doesn’t have that hummmmm.

I’ve been working on a lot of things, despite feeling tired and run down for the last few weeks.

While I wait for the train I’ve been sketching cars and trucks in the parking lot. I’ve headed to the station a bit early to get in a few extra minutes of sketching time. Not today though. It’s under 20°F with a wind chill of who knows what. I’m going to cut it as close as I can to the time the train SHOULD arrive.

I’ve also decided to attempt a 100 people challenge. The challenge is usually set for March, I think, so I’m starting early. And I’m making blob and simplified forms. I find them vaguely unsettling. I’ve also been churning through the Gesture Drawing Party channel on Youtube. 

Anyway. I have many thoughts about what I’ve been learning as I make these vehicle sketches as well as the gesture drawings and blob people images. LOT’S OF THOUGHTS.

I’m learning a lot about processes and color and composition. 

*We aren’t big on celebrating Valentine’s Day. Working as a florist really ruined it for me. There’s nothing like seeing people be performative about love to sour you on a holiday about love. Back when I worked retail my coworker and I set up a Valentine’s Day display of red roses, condoms, and lube…  Our boss was not impressed and made us dismantle it. I enjoyed telling him that we had already made sales off of it and many customers had a good laugh.

I love spring but I hate the transition from winter to spring. Here in Mass it’s full of mud, trash emerging from gray brown snow piles, and dog poop. Seriously so many bags of dog poop, and unbagged.

Walking anywhere, is a slalom of avoiding stepping in and on dog poo.

It’s also the season where suddenly I want to spend all my time outside making art or riding my bike. Or a little of both.

This liminal space between winter and spring is a great time to prep for actual spring.

This week I have cut down several larger blocks of watercolor paper to the small size I prefer for plein air sketching- 4.5×6 inches. This gives me 4 sheets per 9×12 inch sheet of paper. I use inexpensive paper for my plein air sketching. I also have a quick way of ruling it out for these sketches. 

I have a small mask that I trace around with a pencil and it becomes similar in proportion to an oversized polaroid- not quite square but visually pleasing.

I ruled out around 30 of those, many of which I’ve filled with blob people. Then I remembered my inexpensive pack of paper and I chopped that down- roughly 100 little pieces of paper ready for blob people and en plein air sketching. 

I also found some damaged scrap matte board at work* and chopped that down to roughly 7×8 inches. I mounted the watercolor paper to this with low tack artist masking tape. These little sheets are ready for me to draw and paint on wherever I might like to. The board makes these loose sheets hard and stiff and able to be supported by a pochade box or easel, in other words ready for making art outside.

They are also light enough that I can dump 8 of them into a backpack or pannier and have more than enough sheets for painting and drawing in any session.

I’m also working on making a pochade box from a cigar box. I have a tea box that I might also attempt to turn into a pochade box.

*from a donation a few years back that I gathered in a house clear out. The roof had leaked near where the matte boards had been stored and some had damaged edges. I have used most of the board with the kids but had chopped off the water stained edges and now I’m using it to stretch the watercolor paper. If you’ve never had a chance to draw or paint on matte board, try it. If the matte board is good museum quality stuff it’s absolutely a dream to work on. Even cheaper matte board is great to work with.

I am a proponent of using the best materials that you can afford at that moment. Sometimes the best materials for the current job are an inexpensive sketchbook (CHEAP) from 5 Below. Sometimes it’s buying a single tube of Holbein watercolors or gouache at a time to build up a collection of the right materials for the job.

And maybe Holbein isn’t your favorite brand of watercolors, maybe you’re a  Winsor&Newton or Daniel Smith person. It’s not the brand it’s the quality of material we’re discussing here, and if you want to go on a deep dive of comparing brands and their quality there are many spaces to do that.

There are many spaces where you can get reviews (that aren’t sponsored) of materials to assess their quality and use. I have been quite skeptical of art material reviews over the last few years. Certain brands have flooded review spaces with free products and sponsored videos.

That is not what I’m writing about today.

I have been using oil pastels. I have been seeking out a more budget friendly alternative to Sennelier oil pastels. Because at about $5 a stick, I can’t afford that for myself or my groups. I have a generous budget, but not that generous. I spent some time diving deep on budget brand reviews.*

I found some quality alternatives and I’ve been using them and WHOA WHOA WHOA.

The key word to search for when buying oil pastels is soft- if you want that sennlier lipstick type feeling.

First up are the Mont Marte 48 pc set in a metal tin. I admit I purchased this for en plein air- the tin will stick to a pochade box. They are described as soft. The 48 color set is adequate for most sketching of portraits or landscapes. There aren’t quite enough greens but softer less garish greens can always be mixed.

Compared to Pentel or CrayPas or most of the budget brands I previously discussed, they are very soft. They are probably 2/3rd as soft as Sennelier. They are buttery and layer well and have nice vibrant colors. Think cold chapstick instead of lipstick.

I like them quite a bit. I like that I can get a nice thick layer and that as they warm up in use they really work into the page. The colors are nice and mix as expected. The ultramarine blue and burnt sienna mix to form a really nice dark gray. They are capable of nice impasto effects.

A downside is that they have a bit more crumble to them- in the same way as CrayPas, they have a tendency to snap.

They have a bit of a waxy odor, which I find pleasant.

The other budget brand, on the higher end of budget friendly is Paul Rubens. (look for sales on this one. When I bought my set they were a few dollars more) These sticks are warm butter soft and layer well. The slightest pressure applies a large amount of pastel to the canvas. They produce a wonderful impasto effect. The colors are vibrant and are reported to be mostly lightfast and the actual pigments are labeled. The sticks don’t break unless you want them to.

These are a smidge harder than Sennelier pastels. They feel very similar. Image produced as part of @emmablockillustration Patreon Art Hang

I really  really like these and will be using them a lot. I think a few sets of these along with more sets of the Mont Marte will be what I stock the group space with.Image produced as part of @emmablockillustration Patreon Art Hang

There is one big downside to the Paul Rubens and that is a very strong odor. It smells a bit like used motor oil, turps, and old school printing ink. It’s not unpleasant (to me) but I could see many folks finding it VERY unpleasant. It smells mostly like used motor oil to me. I also found that some of the sticks were oozing or weeping oil. This seemed to mostly happen with the dark purples and blues. It was easily wiped off and the tray wiped clean. From one of my own photos. I’ve drawn this one a few times.

I do have one additional set on the way- Lightwish. I’ve been heard (via a YouTube review) that Lightwish is the Paul Rubens’ more budget friendly brand. Lightwish and Paul Rubens are 2 brands I give the side eye to when it comes to reviews on YouTube.

Anyway, we’ll see how those perform and I’ll write more.

*In disclosure, these were purchased through my work budget and for my job. A perk of my job is purchasing testing supplies and then getting to use them to determine if they will be good for the kids I work with.

I recently got sucked into a clickbait title on YouTube. It was about community, well the title was about community. The actual video was a rebuttal about some toxic video a bully posted about another creator.

Part of me is relieved that this occurs in other online communities and not just the art journaling community. But a larger part of me was sad that jealous toxic behaviors seems to occur in other communities.

In these times community is so important. I learned while managing AJ Ning and therapeutic groups that toxic behavior must be dealt with ASAP for the health and safety of the community.

For me this means carefully curating my online interactions to only dealing with people who are respectful. I don’t mind disagreement or critique so long as it’s respectful. careful curation means that the minute I get a whiff of disrespect I block them. I have learned to value my time and energy and to protect it. a sketchbook page in Krita, yes those are my Comix Me.

I have learned that I no longer need to give disrespectful toxic people my energy. I don’t need to try and correct them or try to teach them to be better. I simply label their behavior and leave the room/online space. A heard learned lesson is to not think about it. To not let the toxic behavior live rent free in my head.

I recently wrote about my experience watching “Join or Die” a film about the need for joining clubs and groups in your community. It made me want to recreate AJ Ning in some form or another. But I know I do not have time nor the energy (right now) to do the work that a community like that needs on a day to day basis. Instead I need to concentrate on getting my channel back up and running. I need to focus on my art making and learning.

For now I’ll link to this great substack from Wendy Mcnaughton about emotional support and filling your cup.

Honestly I had hoped against my better judgement that this election would turn out differently. As soon as the dems announced Kamala I told my wife, “We’re screwed. If Hilary couldn’t get elected why do they think we can get a black woman elected?” But still I hoped that things would be different.

I always assume that people will know and understand that I’m a very liberal person but I’ve learned that things are very very complicated. A friend told me that his mom an immigrant BIPOC lesbian voted for Tangerine Mussolini. Why? She’s a citizen now so she’s safe.

I just can’t.

I’ve been making images as a way to process the weight of my disappointment in America. I’m muting and blocking hate from social media but watching the news to keep up. I feel muted, dull and a whole lot of anger. Anger is like any emotion, it needs to be sat with and processed. I do this best with my art journal and now my written journal. 

As I processed during the creation of my “Sit With your Rage” page I realized I need to double down on my beliefs and also on my art. Art is even more important that ever. I need to push through that dull muted feeling and allow myself to feel my disappointed rage and channel that feeling into art.

Freud* called this sublimation. I hope to sublimate a whole lot of art.

I’ve been thinking and planning a whole lot of stuff behind the scenes. One of these many things is to create more downloadable products that have a pay what you can structure as well as a series of items with a more normal pay structure. I want to make sure that a lot of my art journaling content is accessible to as many people as possible but also somethings just require a whole lot more effort.

With the news that Bezos funneled a whole lot of dollars to the Tangerine Mussolini I’m considering quitting Amazon as a whole despite it being where I make most of my content related revenue. Am I cutting my nose off to spite my face? Is it worse to get an affiliate contract going with AliExpress? Am I just trading a deal with one corrupt greedy billionaire with another? I need to think on it some more.

As for doubling down, I started to make high quality scans of some of my background pages, which I’m then bringing into Krita or Adobe, editing the image to the right size, and then making a high quality PDF good for printing on 8.5×11 inch paper. These have been a lot of fun to create and I’m enjoying the process.

I also started the process of hand lettering and inking an art journaling zine. Hence the learning how to get a good scan.

I have been looking at learning to ink digitally for months. I have been wavering between an iPad and a digital tablet. I was about to ask if I could borrow one from work to make a decision. Then I looked at the cost of an iPad and the fact I’m still playing off my new laptop.

The choice was made- a digital tablet is significantly less and I don’t have to learn a new OS. So I bought a very budget friendly Wacom clone and I’ve been trying to learn how to make it work for inking.

There is a steep learning curve. It feels weird and awkward. Last night as I was about to toss the tablet across the room I realized that learning to use this damn thing is a lot like learning to use any new pen and paper combination, hard. So I did a things I do with all my new tools, I set up some sketching pages and started to ham fist my way through learning. I learn best through doing and this is no exception. I feel awkward and lost and frustrated.

I made myself crank through the first part of a scribble page, and it sucks. I sketched and inked my characters and it also sucks.

But I’m learning.

And learning is good.

*yeah, he’s good for a quote, but honestly his methods are suspect.

every now and then I discover something ridiculous that grabs ahold of my brain and won’t let go. I’ve tried, but Chicken San still holds a piece of my brain. Part of what makes Chicken San great is that he takes familiar tunes and matches the singing up with a rubber chicken. I don’t care who you are, but rubber chickens are always funny. If you don’t at least crack a smile at a rubber chicken, red flag.

The latest and possibly the greatest thing too grab my brain is Wheelie Yellow. What a terrific spoof on #vanlife ever. The dry British humor gets me and I found myself not only chuckling but burning through my whole lunch break watching all of the Wheelie Yellow videos.

Yes, Wheelie Yellow is a stuffed yellow thing with an animated mouth, that “drives” around an RC #vanlife van while narrating the videos with a dry humor that not all will find funny.
The absolute commitment to the bit is astounding. The videos are shot with many many perspectives. Meaning the person making the videos has to stop and reset the cameras and take another shot. From a filmmaking perspective, this is insane, and dedication. In a single sequence there may be an interior shot of the van, a front view, a side view, a distance shot, and several others. It’s ridiculously complicated and it works so very well. Then there’s the perspective of the Vlog angle of the stuffie.

Like, WHAT!?!?! Banana!

Anyway, enjoy Wheelie Yellow:

I might’ve decided to support Wheelie Yellow through purchasing a t-shirt… As a belated birthday gift to myself. Totally worth it.

Re-post from my Ko-Fi page, get my posts much earlier there.

I posted a few new videos to my YouTube channel. There is one longer video where I draw teabags from life in 4 different materials and test out 2 different types of non-photo blue pencil. It was a lot of fun to draw.

Another is about repairing a stretched out elastic on and old Molekskine.

I also set up a calendar in an attempt to make myself more organized. Or at the very least feel more organized.

I’ve got more videos planned and I’m getting ready to record them.

I have long had a fascination with budget friendly art materials. I have always liked getting the best bang for my buck.

I reviewed the Royal & Langnickel FlipKit. Which I now and forever will call the flippy floppy watercolors. The Flippy Floppy is a set that I continue to reach for despite the fact that I hate the flippiness of it. The flip out pans are annoying and when wet, smear paint on the bottom of the Flippy Floppy set up and then all over my hands. Annoying. Yet the colors are nice- they rewet easily and are vibrant and act as watercolors should.

Now the Flippy Floppy kit is a white labeled set up from a factory in China. And as such if you look for other brands that look like this set, you’ll find a variety of prices and options. Buy the best priced option.

White label factories make an item and rebrand or repackage that item for whoever orders them. An example. The place where I used to work had white label ice cream. Customers used to complain that this company was ripping off Ben & Jerry’s because the flavors were literally the same. What they didn’t know was that B&J made that company’s store brand ice cream. They contracted with B&J to make the ice cream but with few inclusions. So less banana, less chocolate chunks, and even less chocolate covered cherries. You get the picture.

Another reviewer on YouTube called up a bunch of the companies and found that these are all made in the same factory in China. Better brands have more pigment and fewer fillers.

Anyway, you can find the video review of the Flippy Floppy set up here:

I just put up a review of the Mei Liang 48 color watercolor set. Mine was in the purple box and came bundled with a water brush. 12 of the 48 colors are shimmery or metallic. These colors are nice but I will never use them except for art journaling and on occasion. The other 36 colors are standard colors for a set of that size.

I see the usefulness of a large watercolor set as mainly for beginners. Especially those who are interested in en plein air or urban sketching. This lets you test out 36 colors on the go and see which colors are right for you. You can figure out what you can mix wit what colors and which colors you are drawn to.

This is also a great set of colors for art journaling- the colors are vibrant and easy to use, they give you a huge range of colors that let you really decide what colors are going to be perfect in your art journal.

These colors are nice too, vibrant and very little filler. They move as each of the colors should on the page.

The tin is thin and easily dented but sturdy enough to protect the colors.

Anyway, check out my video on them here:

There are some well known brands that likely use the same factories for their watercolors. A way to tell (though not definitively) is to look at the molded plastic pieces and how the paint is presented. A well known art journaler brand has clearly switched to a new factory. the reviews on their new colors are much less favorable than their old version.