VSW: #2 Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco

Posted on October 5, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

The inspiration for this virtual walk came from a Preservation Leadership blog on
Early San Fransisco Parking Garages. I love funky old buildings, and these are anonymously designed (in some cases) and I don’t want them torn down!

As usual, you can use this map and images or
you can focus on your own version of the walk and see what you find.
I “walked” the path shown and looked for interesting buildings,
and the images below (screen-saved from Google) are what caught my eye,
and what I will be choosing from for my drawings.
We’ll do this for several weeks — until around the end of the first week in November.
Then I have some other short but fun surprises for our virtual sketching.

Based upon feedback from our first walk, I hear this was overwhelming for some of you.
Those of you who are Artist’s Journal Workshop members will understand that
I want our group to run comfortably, being a welcome place for you to experiment
in a sketchbook (with a bit more focus) drawing as if you are walking a place.
That means tackling what is comfortable for you — my suggestions are simply that!

Remember too that you don’t have to draw the whole scene.
Below are some that I edited to show you what will interest me.

Or maybe you find a car you love or a PALM tree (I see several I love) you love
or a small outdoor dining area that would be fun to draw.
Or you can choose full scenes like the ones below!

Here is my “walk” from roughly Haight and Schrader
to Frederick to the Richard Gamble Memorial Dog Park:

Enjoy! All images are from Google street maps.

I started a Facebook group page to allow everyone to comfortably post their virtual sketches, and also where we will, from time to time, take virtual sketch walks. If you want to know more about what a virtual sketchwalk is review my first post.

I also created an accompanying Flickr group!
Don’t forget you can also post your images on Flickr!

Come join us On Facebook if you are inclined!
There are a few more notes/pointers on our first walk through Laguna Beach, California.

Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
De Artramentis Document, Super5 and Noodler’s inks.

I agree to Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License, which you can learn more about by visiting the site, or,
visit my web page for a more user-friendly summary on my terms.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.

Posted in architecture, art journal, challenge, creativity, drawing, pen & ink, sketchbook, sketchcrawl, virtual sketching, watercolor | Tagged California, Haight-Ashbury, parking garages, San Francisco, virtual sketching, virtual sketchwalk | 4 Comments

Rob Sketcherman: The Old General Post Office, Hong Kong

Posted on October 3, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Rob Sketcherman takes an old DEMOLISHED building and speed
sketches it into existence — for a moment in time, anywho!

“This piece came about when I asked myself the question,
“What if we still had the Old General Post Office in Hong Kong?””

https://youtu.be/w-lGo2lYxaI

It doesn’t seem to be producing the video — so go to it on youtube — worth it.

Posted in art journal | Leave a comment

USk: Frank Ching, Gail Wong Workshop

Posted on October 1, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

I had the opportunity
to meet the
man who taught me more than most professors in college, and influenced my drawing style as a free-hand sketcher of the built environment:
Frank Ching. Architecture: Form Space and Order made sense out of the theoretical lectures the Princeton grad teachers (who never built) blathered on about.

When he signed my book (this and another), I made him make it out to the woman
I was then — Debra Beck, a world away, but still in here somewhere!

His class was review for me, mostly because USk had not asked for background or prerequisites. Most people did not know horizon lines, various perspectives, etc. When we were in the field I chose difficult buildings and really we had little time in the couple of hours we actually sketched. When he did his critiques, Frank caught little things I did not see moving so fast.

I find I do feel pushed in a group, time-wise. The difference between the sketch of the painted ladies on Glisan, above right, done alone from the corner across the street, and the row of buildings above left done in a lot less time, shows the difference. I don’t feel I have the time to really look/study, and then lay in guidelines. Possibly if I did more sketching in groups? Then there is the old debate, to use pencil or not to use pencil. I use!

Always something to learn, my takeaway from Frank this weekend was to ground the object in something nearby to give it a place in space and in relation to you. While I have done this with cars and trees next to buildings, he spoke to coming even closer,
and so, the difference in the sketches above and the one left, where I have placed the tree that was near me to give the sketch depth.

Gail Wong is an architect,
Urban Sketcher and water-colorist.
Again, Gail taught a lot which
is not new to me —
color theory using a color wheel (architectural and painting classes
taught me that, and I taught it as well) and mixing your travel palette.
I did that as a matter of course,
always do, see above — don’t most people who love color play with their paints? Gail brought her travel brushes; it was excellent to see brushes in person
I am thinking of buying.
She also spoke to values,
which I am working on, though in a different manner.

I’ve been under-painting (grisaille) with buildups of inks (above) to provide
depth of color/value, thanks to tips from Steven Reddy’sCraftsy classes.
(Much more on great teachers — Marc Taro Holmes, Shari Blaukoft, et all —
on Craftsy, later: it is one of the best sites around!)

She pushed us to capture values in short ten-minute exercises, above. I take longer than that for most things, so doing it all fast was a challenge! The blue is watercolor,
the others I cheated and used diluted inks because that is where my interest lay.

We went to Director’s Park. Again I chose difficult scenes, this time a favorite
undulating wall, and this was more fun for me. I also don’t often use watercolor in the field, but tend to sketch then bring it back to my studio to add color. Cold weather made the whole experience not my favorite, but I was satisfied with results, for the most part! I admit I tweaked it a bit when back in the studio, below.

Below, more pictures of people! I only

B&W Sketches in an OE journal with a Platinum Carbon pen.
Watercolors in an Stillman & Birn Beta journal with a Platinum Carbon pen or Platinum Preppie pen and Noodler’s Ink or De Artramentis Document ink,
and Daniel Smith and Holbien watercolors.

Posted in architecture, art journal, class, drawing, journal, memory, pen & ink, sketchbook, urban sketchers, watercolor | Tagged 11th Avenue Portland, 8th Avenue Portland, Daniel Smith watercolors, De Atramentis Document ink, Director's Park Portland, Frank Ching, Gail Wong, Holbein, Noodlers ink, OE sketchbook, Pearl District Portland, Platinum Carbon pen, Platinum Preppy pen, Portland Oregon, Portland Urban Sketchers, Stillman & Birn, urban sketchers, USk | 6 Comments

My Secret Journal: Four, Shellac Tip-ins

Posted on September 26, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Note: I am writing a story/journal that I don’t want to show before it is published in full. These are some of the illustrated pages in the sketchbook for the story.

Because of the business
we are in we end up having “old” shellac left over.
It is old not because
it is unusable, but
because it won’t perform
well on antiques.
For antiques, shellac has
to be freshly made!

(Above, my first portrait, Mitchell. I was going for realism. It is not too bad.)

I don’t like waste, so I was thinking, “Hmmm, what can be done with the extra?”

PAPER!

And so, my tip-ins began. What to put on the shellacked paper was a mystery.
I still play, finding that some inks work, some don’t (have not figured the mystery of the inks yet). Pitt pens work, and I know oils work but I don’t want to do paint with oil.
As I worked, there are some inks gone wrong, but that is all part of the experiment. The two types of gold Pitt pens (above) worked oddly to create the gold on black lacquer of Marguerite McLoughlin’s Sewing Cabinet.

Ah well. The story is there.

Jai giving thanks for a heater, above.

For those of you who don’t know a tip-in is a page or piece you add to a journal,
a page you slip in with a bit of glue or tape or if you are a master book-maker
(not to be confused with bookie) you might sew tip-ins.

Mitchell at the end of a workday.

OE journal with shellacked pages used as tip-ins in my Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal. Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Pitt pens, Platinum Carbon pen, many inks,
the most obvious being De Atramentis Document, Super5 or Noodler’s inks.

Posted in art journal, furniture, india ink, journal, memory, painting, pen & ink, shellac, watercolor | Tagged De Atramentis Document ink, Noodlers ink, OE sketchbook, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Pitt pens, Platinum Carbon pen, shellac, Super5 ink | 10 Comments

My Secret Journal: Three

Posted on September 24, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Note: I am writing a story/journal that I don’t want to show before it is published in full. These are some of the illustrated pages in the sketchbook for the story.

Preparing pages to tell a hand-written story is a whole different process.
Colorful and splashy sets off the writing.
I also, how to unify the entire “book” is different from when I am simply using a journal.
So there is a design element involved.
I am enjoying this so much!

Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal with Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
Sheaffer calligraphy pen, Pilot Parallel pen, and Platinum Carbon pen, many inks,
the most obvious being De Atramentis Document, Super5 or Noodler’s inks,
Greenleaf & Blueberry, QoR, Holbein and and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Posted in art journal, creativity, journal, memory, pen & ink, watercolor, writing | Tagged art journal, clock, Daniel Smith watercolors, De Atramentis Document ink, Moleskin Watercolor journal, Noodlers ink, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Platinum Carbon pen, Sunflowers, Super5 ink, watercolor | 2 Comments

My Secret Journal: Two, Ganesha Chaturthi

Posted on September 21, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Note: I am writing a story/journal that I don’t want to show before it is published in full. These are some of the illustrated pages in the sketchbook for the story.

In honor of Ganesha Chaturthi, or Vinayaka Chaturthi,
our bronze Ganesha head adorned by Mitchell with red Indian beaded tassels.

Waiting for writing, this page is ink on shellacked paper.

OE journal with shellacked pages and De Atramentis Document and Super5 inks
to be used as a tip-ins in my Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal.

Posted in art journal, gods and goddesses, memory, pen & ink, sketchbook, virtual sketching | Tagged art journal, De Atramentis Document ink, Ganesha Chaturthi, Platinum Carbon pen, Super5 ink, Vinayaka Chaturthi | 12 Comments

My Secret Journal: One

Posted on September 19, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Well as my brother’s used to say, I AM blonde!

(Sssshhh, so are two of my brothers.)

I am writing a journal that I don’t want to show before it is published in full.
This is why I have not been posting much —
working on this story, not other things, and of course, working in our business!

At 3am (my most brilliant time of the day) I realized I can simply share some of the images without the writing, duh! SO, without further ado, here are a few blank pages!

Above, a lovely huge sunflower Mitchell brought to me.

Mitchell walking down the MPFC studio halls.

Our favorite weekly meal at the end of a work day:
a roast chicken; recipe WILL be attached (hint).

Sunset over the NW Portland hills.

The first time the cats were allowed into the offices, was as we were putting up the bookshelves before moving our offices into our studio.
So much space to run in before the office furniture arrived!
NO desks! No Computers!
(The cats are not allowed on the computer desks when they visit!)
And always, our eclectic space with Ganesha, Buddha, Hanuman,
and the infamous Red Chicken.

These pages are all Pitt pens on shellac — and all will be tip-ins to the moleskin.
For those who do not know what a tip-in is, it is a page that is added to the bound journal.

Posted in animals, art journal, drawing, india ink, journal, making a living, memory, pen & ink, process, shellac, sketchbook, virtual sketching | Tagged art journal, cats, De Atramentis Document ink, NW Portland, OE sketchbook, Pitt pens, roast chicken, shellac, studio, Sunflowers, tip-in | 5 Comments

Finally, a Travel Box

Posted on September 13, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

I have a couple of small travel boxes made from old tins, but none of them
have adequate mixing areas. I have been looking for a good travel box, and unfortunately, been unhappy with this or that — and this is with many that are $75-100.

I had the good fortune to be in my favorite local art store, Merriartist,
talking with Sally about travel palettes. I am going to digress here,
and talk about really good art stores and then, the chains.
It will be a rant about why you want to pay a few cents more
(literally a few cents more) to give business to the lovely stores
near you rather than shop chains — that is, Blicks, Michaels, et all.
It is not that chains are evil, but that in the long run they don’t serve us as well.
Small art stores have staff that are trained and know things.
Their employees actually paint, and usually employee turnover is not as high as the chains.
This means the college students know things too!
Most chains pay minimum wage and are not easy places to work.
Turnover among employees is HIGH. In our town, a chain bought not one
but two good art stores and let go of most of the old employees.
Every time I ask 99% of the staff anything, they begin to read the information
about the product — THE EXACT THING I ALREADY READ —
they don’t know a dang thing. And let’s talk product. The chains want you to buy what they want you to buy — not what is best nor what you might want.
Small stores listen to their customers. They can get you things you want!

I also mail order from Merriartist whenever I can as they have free shipping with $90 — and of course, you can easily add up to that if you save things in your order account!
Their online site is small, but I sometimes ask if they have what I want and often they do.

Not only did Sally have actual knowledge about many products I needed to discuss
(saving questions as Merriartist is 45 minutes away in McMinnville) but pulled out the two brushes I was trying to decide about to allow me to try them out with water on a stone.

She was able to tell me the difference between the two and in the end,
I went with the daVinci this time, and put the Escoda on my want list —
the two brushes are really quite different. She went the distance.
This kind of service and knowledge is simply not available at our local Blick’s.

So, back to the big issue, the with which I struggled.
I’d waited to buy until I arrived at Merriartist because I wanted to see the palettes.
We looked at many, and I bitched about this and that — as I deliberated.
Sally listened to what I wanted, and what I didn’t want.
Finally she pulled out this kids palette —
and BTW the Prang’s set is not on their site but they have them — they often have things not on the site, and this is a really inexpensive kids palette.
We looked at how all the pieces pop out. In fact, the round metal paint tins also pop out and can be refilled and used, and I may do this — but for now, I need a few more watercolors for a workshop coming up and so, what I am trying out is shown below.

I hold my teeny mini water-brush,
but not the larger water-bushes.
Oh Well. For $8.99 I will live with that!

Unfortunately, it is not quite deep enough for my new Greenleaf & Blueberry paints. They fill them too high!
But these can slip into my pocket until they are used enough to drop below the line!

I am now playing with the extra colors — the pop of crazy — I may want to take along. Primatek Turquoise?
Primatek Serpentine? QoR’s Bohemian? Primatek Hematite? Not sure yet!

$8.99 and ready to roll . . .

UPDATE!

I scrapped all the fuss and just emptied the Prang paints and filled them.
Gads artists are crazy people. So much fuss over a travel box.

Done!

Posted in color, painting, urban sketchers, waterbrush, watercolor | Tagged plein air, Prang, travel palette | 2 Comments

Gratitude Journal: Greenleaf and Blueberry Handmade Paints

Posted on September 7, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

I sell on Etsy and also try to buy from Etsy small business folks.
Recently I bought five paints from Greenleaf & Blueberry. They are lovely!
And they are only a few hours away in Bellingham, Washington.
When I saw the Mayan Red and Mayan Violet, I thought of anemones immediately!
(And see I did my dyslexic thang and reversed letters in my journal! Damn!)

The experience was like getting a present. I wish I photographed it but I wanted the goodies and so did not stop — but they came wrapped beautifully and thoughtfully.

I am grateful for color, grateful for watercolor, and
grateful for the jewelry sales that allowed me to purchase from this lovely shop!

Daniel Smith recently discontinued Cote d’Azur, a color I use a lot. G&B makes it, as you can see in the bottom wrapper and the color of the sand, below. Theirs is much grittier, like a DS Primatek, and so I may have to buy Windsor Newton’s as well, but this is delightful, and can use it for buildings and sandy beaches . . . Just not for skin tones.

I work with a lot of charcoal and hematite colors.
G&B has two that I bought and I am so happy with both of them.

The Magnetite is a dark clean charcoal color, as opposed to DS Hematite,
which I also love, but which has a slightly bloody tint to it.
I used it in the center of the flowers and the curve of the vase.

The Shungite is like painting with charcoal, smooth and oh so what I wanted!
I used it for the tiny dots around the center . . . I will use this constantly!

I hope they are okay with me stealing their photos off their etsy shop!
I highly recommend them. Handmade paints are different than commercial —
they have a bit more body is the only way I can describe it!

Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
A cheap office supply Sheaffer calligraphy pen, Pilot Parallel pen, and Platinum Carbon pen, Greenleaf & Blueberry and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Posted in art journal | Tagged Daniel Smith watercolors, Greenleaf & Blueberry Watercolors, Moleskin Watercolor journal, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Pilot Parallel pen, Platinum Carbon pen, Sheaffer calligraphy pen | 14 Comments

Gratitude Journal: Back to Studio Work!

Posted on September 4, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

It is good to be back in my finish studio working on paying conservation projects.

I have a NPS project due this month.
Historic Mason Monterey paper and iron “chandeliers” for the Chateau need to be reproduced. The original historic shades
are a century old — not bad for paper —
and covered in grease and accumulated filth from a lifetime of living in the old hotel.
You can see them in the background.

In the foreground is the test reproduction MPF Conservation (us) made to explore
how to reproduce the shades, sitting next to the next five shades due end of month!

Stepping back fully into my life, grateful for this opportunity!
The surgeon’s screw-up led me to even more weeks on my back — literally —
and so now I am woefully out of shape!
The older we are, that slower the climb out of slothfulness!
I have not painted anytime outside of the finish studio this week because f
rankly my arms and back and hands ached!

BTW, I have to say I am in love with this amazing shade of ink:
Diamine Ancient Copper. I only wish it were also waterproof!

Working with this lovely hand-made Japanese paper is a treat.
Sheets of 60×72 inches made by two Japanese men “when they feel like it”
has been a challenge for the NPS to wrap their minds around!
We waited two months to have the paper arrive.
And each batch is different, which is why I have to test the batches.
I am working with organic ingredients — lac flakes, hemp, kozo, human beings!

And I am off after posting, to apply more shellac,
this time to a table! The paper for the lamps has to cure ten days,
then I can wax and fashion it into the lampshade and deliver it JUST IN TIME!

Listen to me: Wear your mask and get a GOOD one.
Not from the local paint store — they often don’t do the job!
It may save your life!

Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
A cheap office supply Sheaffer calligraphy pen and an expensive Lamy Safari pen,
Diamine Ancient Copper Ink and De Artramentis Black Document ink,
and Holbien and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Posted in art journal, furniture, handmade paper, making a living, paper, pastel, process, shellac, sketchbook, urban sketchers, watercolor | Tagged De Atramentis Document ink, Diamine Ancient Copper Ink, hemp, Holbein, kochi mashi paper, Kozo, lampshades, Lamy Safari pen, Mason Monterey, Moleskin Watercolor journal, MPF Conservation, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Sheaffer calligraphy pen, Urban Sketchers Portland | 28 Comments

Sketchpack Project: Week Four

Posted on August 31, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

ABOUT SKETCHPACK: The project began in 2011. The original idea was to get folks to draw daily. The Sketchpack is a small zigzag journal with two usable sides, allowing one to sketch on both sides of 15 ‘pages’ to complete the month of August. There was much enthusiasm and the project is now repeated yearly in August, with a Facebook page for us to share as we go along. (The page is closed once the sketching begins, so if you would like to do it next year you need to check out the pages in June or July.) There is an Exhibition held in October filling all four windows of the Artsauce Studio in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa of mostly locals Sketchpacks!

THIS MONTH AND THE SKETCHPACK PROJECT
ARE COMING TO AN END.

I’ve really had fun with it, working so small
(the images on your screen are bigger than the little accordion journal)
and yes, it is time to say bye to the Sketchpack!
I have new directions I am ready to go in
and as I move there you will be taken along for that ride!

Leather strap fence and cutter, bought for the project below, Crater Lake NP, leather strapping for many Imperial “Monterey” woven leather chairs!.

I love the “parrot” pincers —
I see a parrot every time Mitchell uses them!

The “parrot” pincers were used below to pull nails
from the Oregon Caves Mason Monterey chairs.

The “Slow Sony” is a dying camera, and I grieve it and will miss it.
I am not thrilled with our new Sony. Dufus designers. . .
Me with Slow Sony below . . .

Lie-Nielsen is one of Mitchell’s favorite tools company’s, but since the company
made the decision not to stock with good woodworking stores but only sell online, he
has stopped buying them. It is too much work to shop online, then have it shipped
several days at great expense; often he finds a need he has to fulfill NOW.

Borrowing tools from other venues;
some of Mitchell’s favorite tools have disappeared from our kitchen!

Had to try this again. MUCH happier with the results!

BEEP-BEEP!

I get a hit of roadrunner and the coyote every time I see this anvil!

And for the last, kitchen tools stolen for use in the studio.
Pan scrapers, Pyrex® Mixing cups (they take heat), nice handled scrubby brushes.
I put my foot down the day he wanted my good mixer.
Now when we go to the kitchen store we buy them for the studio too!

THIS HAS BEEN A TOTAL PLEASURE!
THANK YOU ARTSAUCE!

I get to post this whole Sketchpack over on our biz blog too!

Drawn on an unknown paper itty-bitty folding journal with (mostly)
the fine point Platinum Carbon pen and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Posted in art journal, challenge, drawing, making a living, painting, pen & ink, series, watercolor | Tagged anvil, art journal, Daniel Smith watercolors, De Atramentis Document ink, Dritz, Houles Tassel, leather strap cutter, Lie-Nielsen, Noodlers ink, pincer, Platinum Carbon pen, Sketchpack Project, sony camra, Super5 ink, watercolor | 8 Comments

Commission: Dan

Posted on August 29, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

I was commissioned to create a portrait for a local man, Dan, who has been a
great friend to many, going beyond the call of duty, and has a sweet soul.
His friend (and mine) wanted it as a retirement gift.
Delighted, I gave it a go in watercolor and inks!

As it is surprise, I could not take photographs of him myself,
but found excellent images of him online.
The sheep were images of my friend’s pet sheep!

Outside my comfort zone, both in forms and in mediums, I enjoyed doing it!
I’ve done commissioned work before, in acrylic, which is very forgiving!
This was done in inks and watercolors.
Also, I am NOT a portraitist by nature, but
used to making up images in my crazy style. It was a challenge.

I created several sketches before I found a way to catch his sweet smile.
I also wanted to catch the slightly annoyed look on the sheep. . .

PS I confess to taking images before I was completely finished.
I tweaked it just a bit, adding color to his lips!
Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Super5 ink and Danial Smith watercolors.

Posted in animals, making a living, painting, process, watercolor | Tagged commission, Daniel Smith watercolors, De Atramentis Document ink, Holbein, Noodlers ink, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Portland Oregon, portrait, QoR watercolors, sheep, Super5 ink, watercolor | 12 Comments

Travel Sketching in Mixed Media Live Today! Lesson Sneak Peek!

Posted on August 26, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Originally posted on Citizen Sketcher:
The new video course is live for registrations as of this morning! Super exciting for me – I’ve been planning this for months now, and am very pleased to see people already signing up! Thanks…

More Galleries | 3 Comments

VSW: Laguna Beach, California from Lifeguard Tower to Wyland’s

Posted on August 25, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Note: To see the images I drew from, click here.

This was all about things not going well and forging ahead.

And the difference between what you want to do (personal goals)
and what happens when you are not looking!

Okay, first off, personal goals were I wanted a loose style. NOT.
(So “NOT” I want to do the entire walk over again.)
I wanted to experiment more with inks. YES, okay.

Then there was the amazingly lovely Noodler’s Baystate Blue ink,
which is supposed to be permanent. NOT.
(Fortunately I only bought a sample which just goes to show it is a
good idea to buy samples to play with. . . it IS a pretty blue!)
How this effected me was I could not do washes across the entire, let’s say,
Hotel Laguna, unless I wanted a blue hotel. And the good news is I found out
with the Lifeguard Tower and map so blue running was no big deal. . . or a small one!

I wanted to bag it and start over, but there it is in my moleskin journal and I am not interested in loosing the front page to the journal by cutting this page out, sooooo . . .

I forged on. I learned a lot more from the problems.
It is not bad, just not what I wanted.

On top of it all I went to grab a Pitt pen to do my lettering and the pen was flat!
No point! Oh well . . .

Bitch bitch, moan, groan . . . home home home . . . .

Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
De Artramentis Document, Super5 and Noodler’s inks.

Posted in architecture, art journal, drawing, pen & ink, sketchbook, virtual sketching, watercolor | Tagged art journal, California, De Atramentis Document ink, home, Hotel Laguna, Laguna Beach, Lifeguard Tower, Moleskin Watercolor journal, Noodlers ink, PCH, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Platinum Preppy, Platinum Preppy pen, Super5 ink, urban sketchers, virtual sketchwalk, watercolor, Wyland's | 8 Comments

VSW: Volterra, Italy, A Bit Further!

Posted on August 22, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

My virtual sketchwalk through the ancient town
of Volterra, Italy began HERE. . .

This virtual walk was a group walk with sketching friends from around the world!
There were a couple of routes suggested, and I sketched the one from the
Piazza XX Settembre to the Piazza Del Priori.

But then just before the Palazza del Priori I also took a turn to the left and went down Via Gusto Turazza to another plaza with two lovely churches, the Battistero di San Giovanni Batista and the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. And a great view of the valley.

THIS IS WHAT I SAW:

My challenge in these sketches was to use layers of ink, no watercolor.
This limited my palette as I don’t have a lot of inks.

Yet.

I am loving painting with inks!

Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
De Artramentis Document inks, Noodlers inks, and Super5 inks.

All my International Fake Journal Month posting are copyrighted.
It is unusual for me to not do Creative Commons but there is a reason.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.

Posted in architecture, art journal, challenge, drawing, graphite, pen & ink, sketchbook, virtual sketching | Tagged architecture, art journal, Battistero di San Giovanni Batista, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, creativity, De Atramentis Document ink, drawing, graphite, Italy, Moleskin Watercolor journal, Noodlers ink, Palazzo dei Priori, pen & ink, pencil, Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Piazza Del Priori, Piazza XX Settembre, sketchbook, Super5 ink, Via Gusto Turazza, virtual sketching, virtual sketchwalk, Volterra | 22 Comments

Refilling non-refillable pens!

Posted on August 22, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

This is a great video. I’ve moved on to fountain pens largely because of the waste, and now I have to say I love them — but this is a great video for the times I want one of these pens! Now I can refill! Yay!

Posted in pen & ink, tools | 3 Comments

Sketchpack Project: Week Three

Posted on August 21, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

ABOUT SKETCHPACK: The project began in 2011. The original idea was to get folks to draw daily. The Sketchpack is a small zigzag journal with two usable sides, allowing one to sketch on both sides of 15 ‘pages’ to complete the month of August. There was much enthusiasm and the project is now repeated yearly in August, with a Facebook page for us to share as we go along. (The page is closed once the sketching begins, so if you would like to do it next year you need to check out the pages in June or July.) There is an Exhibition held in October filling all four windows of the Artsauce Studio in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa of mostly locals Sketchpacks!

My Sketchpack was flipped over and the last half of the month began!

WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THIS TWINE!

One of Mitchell’s favorite twines from the 20’s to the 50’s: for some strange reason the boxes are collectible without the twine! Go figure. Every so often I find a box for him.
We work with many different twines, most often Italian or French.

A seriously wicked leather knife that slices through leather like butter,
and leather sewing tool for hand stitching.

This is the tack remover I see Mitchell use most often; maybe it is the gentle curve that allows it to roll against the furniture just so and not mar the frame easily.

Mitchell uses the Osbourne webbing stretcher all the time.
The rubber that acts like a sticky yoga mat and protects the furniture can be replaced as needed. The big tines push into the webbing and assist them in being stretched to the proper tension, while Mitchell spits tacks. YOU HEARD ME. Spits tacks.

REAL MEN SPIT TACKS!

I have to do these two days together too . . .
The pretty, sweet, funny pincushions (he has several, above) versus the workhorse magnetic kind. You can pick up 100 pins when you spill them on the floor!
They save my bare feet — and I am always kicking off my shoes.
Once a beachgurl, always a beachgurl!

Drawn on an unknown paper itty-bitty folding journal with (mostly)
the fine point Platinum Carbom pen and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Posted in art journal, challenge, drawing, painting, pen & ink, sketchbook, tools, watercolor | Tagged Daniel Smith watercolors, MPF Conservation, pincushion, Platinum Carbon pen, Sketchpack Project | 3 Comments

Gratitude Journal: My New Chop

Posted on August 20, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Last week was tough, for reasons I’ll not discuss. . . . Leave it behind!

I give thanks for the little and not so little things.

Mitchell. A not so little thing!

And the sunflowers Mitchell brought me, so gorgeous and fresh they are still
hanging about my studio desk, dropping petals and looking beautiful.
They sit in one of my favorite emerald green folded envelope vases.
All that happy color!

Feng Zhou of Chinese Seal made my new chop.
I could have spent less, but when I saw Quan Yin I knew I had to have her/him.
Beautiful tools are so nice to hold.

Quan Yin: God/dess of Compassion

Quan Yin is also commonly spelled Kuan Yin, and the name is short for Kuan-shi-yin.
HE originally was a manifestation of the male deity Avalokiteshvara, a.k.a. Chenrezig,
and from the 10th century on has taken on a feminine aspect in the far east,
beginning with a white robed version believed to be akin to White Tara.
SHE (really, either way!) is said to answer all pleas for help.
S/he is often depicted on clouds or waves, holding a lotus blossom
and/or a vial containing the nectar of immortality.

I have beaded several necklaces of her and wear her often.

My first tries with my chop were not so good. Feng Zhou sent me info on how to use it, and now, after cleaning it and doing it properly, it is working much better
(though my try below was before I asked him!):
“If there is too much ink on it now, please clean it with a piece of dry cloth first. Do not need water. Dip the seal into the ink slightly several times to get the ink. Remember you are using the stone to dip out the ink, not putting the stone into the ink. When you print it, it is better to put a book or a piece of rubber mat under the paper. (I am using a piece of yoga mat.) When you press the seal, use strength evenly to each direction.”

The strip of pattern to the side is the fabric on the outside of my chop box.