material: my thoughts

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A week so or so ago Dawn Sokol of  d’blogala wrote a post about materials and
how you don’t need name brand materials to create a great art journal. She was
afraid it would offend. Artists are like Coke VS Pepsi drinkers in their rabid
love of their particular brand of materials. Let’s face it, it takes a long
time to find #1 a brand you like #2 a brand you trust and finally #3 a brand
you love to use. Once you get past that search you become devoted to your
brand.

For instance, I’m not a fan of Golden brand acrylics. I’ve
tried them a few times and I found no real discernable difference between them
and Liquatex. I’ve been using Liquatex since college. I know them, know how
they will respond to my brushes and how I can get the effects I’m seeking. This
doesn’t stop me from buying other brands if they are on sale and testing them
out.  I have a tool box full of various
brands of acrylics that I’ve purchased over time. I like to buy those sample
sets of small tubes when I find them on sale. They always have a color I’m
looking for and I get to test out how they mix, colors I can get and see how
they respond in my art journal.*

You’ve read/heard me harp on here many times about buying
those sample sets, about 6 to 8 tubes of paint that retail anywhere from $12 to
$40. These sets are worth it. You get 6 to 8 tubes of paint that tend to mix
colors well and you can try out a range of colors in a brand’s range. You also
don’t need to commit to large tubes of color, so if you don’t like a color, you
only have a small tube to worry about.

You’ve also heard/read me suggest that if you’ve never tried
acrylics to buy a cheap box of student acrylics. There are many brands and
places like Michael’s have a store brand but also carry a brand like Reeves, which
is manufactured by Grumbacher. These student grade acrylics do have a lot of
filler and the pigment is thin. These can be a great way to learn if you like
acrylics or not. The price tag for a set of 12 colors is always under $20.

While we’re at this discussion, I’m going to reiterate what
I’ve always said. Buy what you can afford. If you can’t afford anything but a
set of Crayola watercolors and a black ink pen; go ahead and journal with that.
Art journaling shouldn’t break the bank it should be fun and you shouldn’t
stress over the materials that you are using to journal. Art journaling is about thinking and working out ideas so you should use what you like. I met paper maker Richard Lee** back in 1998 (subsequently I saw him again in 2002) all of his journaling and sketchbooks are done with an ultra fine point sharpie, color added with watercolor. He has traveled the world learning about paper but all his journals and sketchbooks are done in Sharpie. I asked him if he worried about the migration of the ink and the color fading. He shrugged and said "no. It's about the moment. I like them becuase they are cheap and I can find them anywhere. They are immediate and I can use watercolor on them immediately after I draw."

I’ll also reiterate my hate for craft acrylics here. Craft
acrylics tend to change colors over time, stick together and will peel off the
page over time.

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Art, and Art Journaling Out of Security

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One of the things I wrote about in my last blog post was
that summer that I grew up in 2002 and I spent a good part of my time making
art and selling art. What a glorious summer that was. Part of that glorious
feeling, other than my waking at 6am to go to the beach to draw and paint was
that I was actively selling my art. I was pursuing something I loved. So this
summer I’m going to try and recreate that summer of glory.

The real question is how I shall go about doing such a
thing. I’ll need a plan. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do a daily drawing or
painting. But I may be able to set a goal for myself of 3 per week. These will
be in addition to my art journal/sketchbook. Real artworks completed outside of
a sketchbook. Small, as I like to work. Price based on size, and inexpensive. It’s
just sort of an idea I have as I look at the tons of paper I have stored up and
the loads of art supplies I have on hand… Maybe some landscapes and some mixed
media…  I’m still in the thinking it over
stage of things.

I’ve had an idea of creating a “support group” of sorts on artjournaling.ning
for people who want to work in their art journals in coffee shops, parks, en
plein air, in their cars or just outside of their home. I’m struggling with
naming it. I was thinking of calling it “Art Journaling Anywhere but Home” or “Get
out of the House and Make Art” or “Art Outside.” Anyone out there have any
brilliant names?