Supplies while sketching/journaling - version 2

[Helen]

Thank you all for your advice about the journals. I've ordered the Hand Journal and a couple other brands I found at Dick Blick. I probably should have added that I like having one that I can carry in my purse and all those I ordered look much thicker than what I'm use to carrying but I'm going to give them a try anyway.

[jmb57]

for those living in australia, i did order a couple of the S&B sketchbooks here.
this is the contact i got from michael. it was last year, so not sure if it still available....anyway, worth a try and maybe when they register the amount of interest the books will be more readily available....good luck
janine

Pamela Fitz-Gibbon
Managing Director
National Art Materials
4 Brunsdon St,
Bayswater, 3153, VIC.
Tel: (61 3) 9720 3322
Fax: (61 3) 9720 2280
pamf@nationalart.com.au

[Studio-1-F]

Originally Posted by RebeccaJFleming

If there's a Tragic Art Supply Addict Award, I'd definitely be in the running, I reckon

Not to worry, Rebecca! You are not alone. (Although you are clearly very deeply into pencils. . . ) You certainly found the right thread. Enablers, we certainly are.

Not to one-up you, but I am afraid that if I laid all my stuff out like that, the only camera with a wide enough lens capable of getting it all in on one frame would be one mounted in a satellite. [SIGH]

Jan

[RebeccaJFleming]

Originally Posted by pompy

Your condition is not too severe....
i have a whole room in the house that contains some of my art materials... the living room and the bedroom and the car provide extra storage place...

i have almost no time at all to do everything i want (work takes up most of my day and then there is cooking, cleaning, sleeping....)

we should start an AA group (Art supply Addicts)

I would totally join such a group The only reason I don't have even more art stuff than I do is a) it's expensive and up until last year I was a student, and therefore perpetually poor, and b) I'm still living at home and have limited space to store all my goodies. But once I have my own house, every wall will be covered in shelves of books and art supplies. MWAHAHA!

Originally Posted by Studio-1-F

Not to worry, Rebecca! You are not alone. (Although you are clearly very deeply into pencils. . . ) You certainly found the right thread. Enablers, we certainly are.

I've always loved coloured pencils, even if I don't use them as much as I'd like... There's just something about the way they look all neat and organised in their tins... I know, I'm sad haha I think my most used pencils are the Inktense, Graphitint, the Coloursofts and the Watercolour ones (more the Derwent than the Faber Castells). My watercolour paints (both the Sakura and the W&N) are getting more use lately, and I've also done a bit of experimenting with the Atelier paints (first time I've used acrylics since I was about 14, so I'm having to relearn a bit hehe).

To be honest, the markers (PITT pens and Copic markers) are rarely touched, and I don't think I've even sharpened any of my Prismacolors (waiting til I get better at coloured pencil in general). I want to get into pastels, but I'd like to get some blocks, which is a bit hard at the moment for financial reasons. But I did recently get my Artbars, and they are good fun.

@Miatagrrl: What's the difference between the Delta and the Alpha paper in the S&B books? I'm guessing 'Rough' is rough, as it sort of speaks for itself, but how does the vellum surface compare? I'll check out the contact details provided for an Aus supplier and hopefully will be able to get some.

Just for a laugh, here's a pic of my 'studio', with my helpful dog looking on with his critical eye:


I actually have a nice big desk but only really use it for drawing; when I'm painting, I prefer this set up on the floor, as it lets me spread everything out wherever I like. This causes my dad (who built me the desk) no end of annoyance

[DrDebby]

Ah, Rebecca, not to worry. You are not alone. There was a thread over in the Colored Pencil forum a while back about how many pencils you own. There was one person who posted a full Prismacolor store display box, full of Prismacolors. The count got into the thousands in some cases. And annoying dad's is part of what children do.

[Dragoon]

Here you go, Rebecca!

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=432

Scroll down to the Art Supply Addicts thread for this year. Its been going for a few years now...you can look up last years via the Search box. Make sure you have refreshments and a comfy seat...
Cheers,
D.

[Miatagrrl]

Rebecca, you are in the right place... what an incredible stash! And a colored pencil freak!

I've always loved coloured pencils, even if I don't use them as much as I'd like... There's just something about the way they look all neat and organised in their tins...

A woman after my own heart! I have a few "all colors available" sets, too (120 each of Albrecht Durer, Polychromos and Caran d'Ache Supracolor). If I laid my entire stash out, I might not need a camera mounted on a satallite like Jan, but it would probably be out on the neighbor's rooftop, at least.

Here's the link to info about Stillman & Birn sketchbooks. Alpha and Gamma (white/ivory respectively) are both lighter weight than Beta and Delta (white/ivory respectively). I was told that the Alpha would take a "light wash," and it does that well, but what I don't like about it is that it can be seen through quite easily.

Helen, I'll look forward to hearing how you like the Hand Books. I carry around the 5.5" square size easily in my (not-too-oversized) everyday purse, and it's only about 3/4" thick. It's a great versatile format because when it opens up, the horizontal spread works for both landscapes and interiors.

I can't wait to get over to that Art Addicts thread!

[vhere]

I too have a zillion cps!

Just before Christmas I was given the entire Derwent range - full sets of everything! not long after I'd won (never normally win anything) a full set of Lyra in the wooden box. Prior to that I had quite a few Polychromos and various bits and bobs in pencil cases.

I do generally prefer combining them with watercolour or the water soluble pencils (Inktense, Artbars included) for my own work.

[RebeccaJFleming]

So far I haven't really used my Moleskines apart from doing a few colour charts. I'm about to try doing an actual watercolour painting in one. Does anyone else get that nervous feeling when they're about to use a 'good/expensive' aart supply for the first time? lol

[Studio-1-F]

Originally Posted by RebeccaJFleming

Does anyone else get that nervous feeling when they're about to use a 'good/expensive' art supply for the first time? lol

Of course! But I just grit my teeth and scribble something. If it's a new journal that's scary, you can "prep" some blank white pages with a wash of diluted watercolor or acrylic. Just as a way to break the ice. (BTW, my experience with materials that are designated "student grade" has been dismal and depressing and frustrating. I much prefer to save up for the good stuff. Why waste time struggling with crappy paper? Or with junky paints? Stick with the "good" stuff, is my motto.)

Anyway! Okay!! I have decided to take Roz's advice and get out the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and use it exclusively this weekend and all next week.

Question #1 -----> Has anyone refilled the Pentel cartridge with any other inks? I am especially thinking about the Platinum Carbon ink and am wondering if it'll destroy/damage the pen by gooping up the bristles.

Question #2 ---------> Has anyone tried to fit a converter into it? (Jetpens doesn't show any converters as "accessories" for it.) Which converter fit, if any did? I don't imagine "regular" fp ink would bother the pen. Anyone with any advice and/or experience on this?

RE: the Silver Bristlon 1903 filbert brushes for gouache -- I tried them a few weeks ago (on Roz's rec) and I want to praise and re-recommend them. These are great with the gouache! You can scrub and scrub to re-constitute a dollop of dried paint and the bristles stay springy, stay in shape, and don't get demolished. These are really sturdy workmanlike brushes.

RE: new semi-fav watercolor color --> DSmith Blue Apatite. I am really liking this color and how it granulates like crazy. It's a very soothing, very reassuring color.

Jan

[RainySea]

Originally Posted by Studio-1-F

Anyway! Okay!! I have decided to take Roz's advice and get out the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and use it exclusively this weekend and all next week.

Question #1 -----> Has anyone refilled the Pentel cartridge with any other inks? I am especially thinking about the Platinum Carbon ink and am wondering if it'll destroy/damage the pen by gooping up the bristles.

Question #2 ---------> Has anyone tried to fit a converter into it? (Jetpens doesn't show any converters as "accessories" for it.) Which converter fit, if any did? I don't imagine "regular" fp ink would bother the pen. Anyone with any advice and/or experience on this?

Jan

How funny, Jan, as I was just reading Roz's latest post before I clicked over to this forum

I have not done either of the things you asked about with the Pentel pocket brush but I have used a bunch of inks with the Kuretake brush and the Noodler's brush. I wonder if the Pentel one could be all that different? Main reason I've never tried other inks with that one is that I have yet to finish using the first cartridge that came with it Which just goes to show how little I've used it and that I should follow suit with you and try Roz's advice!

[Miatagrrl]

Jan, I haven't done either of those things with my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, either. Are you asking out of curiosity or future reference? Or do you not like the ink that comes with the pen? I haven't made a concentrated effort to get to know it, but so far, I like the ink in it. (I haven't used up the original cartridge either, RainySea!)

Thanks for the pointer to Roz's blog! What a great resource -- and the Project Friday idea is great! I am especially interested in her review of the Pentel Color Brushes, as I'm in the process of comparing them to the Kuretake Brush Writers I just got.

Roz, have you (or anyone?) done a comparison of the Pentel Pocket with the Kuretake Fountain Hair Brush Pen? As with the Pentel, I haven't used the Kuretake enough to really get to know it, but I prefer the brush hairs on the Kuretake; they seem slightly more sensitive and flexible. The inks seem about the same, from my cursory experiments.

[Miatagrrl]

Originally Posted by RebeccaJFleming

Does anyone else get that nervous feeling when they're about to use a 'good/expensive' aart supply for the first time? lol

Rebecca, I think of a new sketchbook, expensive paper, etc. like a new car... just put the first ding in it right away, and then you can relax and enjoy it. Here's my blog post about this very subject. And I agree completely with Jan... no point in wasting time and effort on low-quality art materials that just cause aggravation.

[Miatagrrl]

Originally Posted by vhere

I too have a zillion cps!

Just before Christmas I was given the entire Derwent range - full sets of everything! not long after I'd won (never normally win anything) a full set of Lyra in the wooden box. Prior to that I had quite a few Polychromos and various bits and bobs in pencil cases.

I do generally prefer combining them with watercolour or the water soluble pencils (Inktense, Artbars included) for my own work.

(Sorry for the multiple posts... I keep remembering things I meant to say!)

Last summer I went on a total colored pencil binge... that's when I acquired most of my full collections (and this was all before I even met all of you enablers on this thread ). I spent several months experimenting but not feeling happy about anything I was doing, so I slowed down. Then a few weeks ago I picked them up again, and I'm feeling better this time around... maybe it just took a while of practicing basic drawing skills. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting back into them.

And this was the reason for this post, addressed mainly to Rebecca: Now that you have AMASSED most of the best European colored pencil brands, if you need yet another one to AMASS, take a look at the Tombow Irojiten collection from Japan! These only just recently came to my attention, and my AMASS-ing mouse finger is a-twitchin'! I don't know how these escaped my attention earlier! (Also available at Amazon, Dick Blick and probably other retailers.) The only other Japanese colored pencil I'd heard of was made by Mitsubishi -- apparently 240 colors, but not available open stock. The Tombows are available open stock, so that makes AMASS-ing them a bit more flexible.

[jacquip]

Tina just had a look at those coloured pencils, just being nosey. OMG I want them. I just love the packaging idea. How cool, how clever, how awesome. They would look stunning on my shelf. Pity I'm not really a coloured pencil person... but I could learn to be.