Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Paint Box


















I have a number of paint boxes that I use. This one is a heavy metal black enamel version made by Winsor & Newton. It comes with a built-in water container and a metal water cup that attaches to the side. The lid acts as a small mixing area.

I have modified it in a couple of ways: First, I removed the metal brackets that go between the paint rows. I had a friend make some metal spacer bars to take up the extra room. (After a while, paint and water spilling out beyond the pans acts as an adhesive to keep the pans in place.)

The next modification was to take out the half pans that come with the set and put in my own paint. I use Holbein tube paint. I squirt it into the now empty half pans and let it dry for a few hours. My colors are as follows: Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Yellow Orange, Gamboge Nova, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Greenish Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Colbalt Turquoise Light, Marine Blue and Ultramarine Deep.

It is a perfect small paint set and suitable for doing casual sketches as well as large paintings.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Art and Life

















This is my first post. I will be writing about art and life. My sketchbooks will play a large part in this blog because it is where I put my ideas, photos and narratives of my little adventures.

I use many things to document my life: I have a Letts yearly diary where I keep all of my appointments, along with little sketches, hand drawn maps and photos; I have a Moleskine pocket sketchbook where I write, draw and paste small photos; I have a series of larger sketchbooks that I use for art adventures; and finally I keep a journal on my laptop.

On my desk at work I have a small Winsor & Newton paint box, where I can sometimes squeeze in a sketch or two on my lunch hour. A Moleskine sketchbook sits nearby, shown here with a sketch almost completed. There are few things as relaxing in the middle of a busy workday as taking a few minutes to draw and write.