The debate about whether brush quality makes a difference to your painting continues. Something along the lines of the amateur blames his tools if the work is not good enough.
Malcolm Dewey tests the New KUM Black Line Memory Point Brushes
Category: Fine Art Blogs
Welcome to Inktober 2019!
Inktober is upon us, folks! What better way to start this auspicious occasion than with the release of our very own Artsavingsclub exclusive Inktober Art Box! We are so excited to be releasing this box filled with amazing inking art supplies, perfect for Inktober and professional work alike. We’ll be touching on a few of the items included in the box throughout October, and how to get the most out of them. Now, we understand that not everyone knows what Inktober is all about, so allow us to explain…
Making Waves in the World of Watercolour – IWSSA
Somerset West was the setting for the biggest international art event in South African history. The IWSSA (International Watercolor Society of South Africa) recently hosted the 1st International Watermedia Festival, Colors of the Rainbow Nation, which featured 150 artists from 26 different countries. The exhibition itself took place from the 4-16 September at the Art Curator Gallery, Lourensford Wine Estate, but that was certainly not the only element of interest surrounding this event.
Blending Coloured Pencil – Techniques
Coloured Pencil seems like a medium anyone should be able to master quite easily. It is – aside from crayons – most probably one of the first mediums you were introduced to as a child. It’s simple right – buy a set of 120 colours (how many can one possibly need anyway), get a good quality paper and TADA! You are all set to be a coloured pencil genius.
Masking Fluid – Friend or Foe
What makes watercolour such a challenging medium is that you can’t cover up mistakes as you can in other painting mediums. As watercolour is translucent and requires that you work from lightest to darkest values, it is extremely important to preserve your whites. In some cases, you can just paint around the shapes but when it comes to more complex or very small areas it becomes nearly impossible. This is where the masking fluid comes in. Essentially masking fluid is liquid latex which you can paint onto areas you want to preserve and protect from paint – and once it’s dry it can be peeled off, revealing the untouched whites below. It’s a bit like magic!
Get the Most out of Your Pastels with Canson Mi-Teintes Paper (Pastel Pads and Touch Pads)
Pastels are a wonderful medium to work with. You only need to look at Degas’s sublime use of pastels in his ballerina paintings. You can work them delicately or with boldness and the colour is always powerful. The pure pigment in artist’s quality pastels is a pleasure to behold. It is a pity then to use poor quality paper on which to paint. I have tried many papers over the years of varying quality. Recently I tried out two pastel pads from Canson. Their Mi-Teintes pastel paper pads and Touch pads.
Fight the Fur-Fear: Tips for Short Fur in Pastel Pencil
It’s probably the scariest three-letter word out there if you are just starting out in drawing realistic animals. I remember looking at fur and thinking it couldn’t be too hard. Just a bunch of lines right?
How to Mix Green – A Essential Skill for Every Artist to Learn
This may seem self-evident, but many beginners try to avoid this learning curve. Often tube colours are used without adjusting them very much. This can lead to unfortunate colour choices in your paintings.
Caran D’Ache – Pastel Pencil Luxury
We all have our Achilles heel and I’ll admit that art supplies are mine. It’s therefore quite fair to admit that I probably didn’t need the Caran D’Ache Pastel Pencil set I bought. Well, that is until I had used them. It is now quite fair to admit that I pretty much cannot do without them!
Versatile Inking: Pigma Micron PN
Newly stocked, and quite a new product in South Africa in general, the Sakura Pigma Micron PN differs slightly from the standard, beloved Micron range.
