Blog 15 – 15/09/18

Yet another blog that started off life short, sweet and to the point but it grew a tad because I thought the ‘point’ was a bit too blunt.

If you no longer wish to receive these blogs (and I do promise there are going to be lots of shorter ones) please let me know and I will take you off the circulation list.

Website

Some of you already know, some don’t, but I now have a website, its called www.appleshackart.com . Please take a peep and let me know what you think.

Go-bags

When I go away for long weekends and holidays I like to take my painting stuff with me just in case I get some down time from potholing, white water kayaking, free fall parachuting, deep sea diving (without breathing apparatus) and bare knuckle boxing (the opponent being Teresa, my wife, who I have yet to beat).

The thing is, I spend ages wondering what I should take and even then I forget something, so I made a list. Someone saw my list and thought it might be useful to circulate it, so here it is. I also have a ‘go-bag’ which contains a duplicate of most of my art materials and I just pick it up and go.

I have created a ‘Quick- Look list’ of go-bag items without my comments/advice attached hitherto (my advice and comments are more for the benefit of beginner and improvers really), this can be found in the last paragraph of this email and could save you about four and a quarter hours of reading.

The list and the go-bag contains the following:

Paints: It is difficult to recommend what paints you should take as you would have developed your own palette and colour preference and producers too.

I generally go for Windsor and Newton ‘artist quality’ and some from the Daniel Smith range, but Windsor and Newton ‘student quality’ is good to use too along with other makes, its just a personal choice what you go for.

The colours I have in my paint box are all the regular colours recommended in paint books with some added ones including indigo, which is a cracking bluey, black, Payne’s grey colour.

The colours I have in my go-bag:

Cadmium Yellow, Alizarine red (don’t get this on your best frock, its a pig to get out), Ultra marine blue, cerulean blue (generally considered the blue of our skies), Hookers green, Yellow Ochre, White Gouache (pronounced ‘gwash’ so I’m told), Payne’s grey, Lemon yellow and neutral tint. I also like to take deep blue eye shadow and a pinky, cerise lipstick in case I go out!

Brushes: All the usual suspects including a tooth brush for doing the flicking technique, I find it best to take an old toothbrush rather than the one I am using at the time

Water container: I bet you can’s guess what this is for?

Palette: I like to use ceramic palettes, but if its a get up and go thing then plastic types are lighter.

Paper: Always try and use a good quality paper, its worth the extra money and it makes a big difference to your finished painting

Pencil.

Pencil sharpener: I use these to sharpen pencils.

Eraser.

Set square and ruler I know, there are those that feel these things are taboo in painting, but I like to get a straight line or right angle occasionally, just because I like to….. alright!

Mounts: Rather than paint a painting and then need to have a mount cut to size to fit it, consider painting to the size of off the shelf mounts and frames (usually sold together) and then you do not have to fuss of going somewhere to get a mount cut and a frame made which is quite expensive compared to buying off the shelf mounts and frames. I am talking the difference between £30 to £50 and more for bespoke frames with mount compared and £6 or £8 for off the shelf ones.

Glasses: I have got 731 pairs of Pound Shop glasses because I keep forgetting to take glasses with me. Oddly enough these glasses are £2 in the Pound Shop, how does that work??

Tracing paper: Yes I trace and so did Caravaggio, Renoir, Canaletto and few others and if its good enough for them its good enough for me!!!

Kitchen roll: Use this to mop up paint from your brush, lift out paint from your painting and clean your workspace surface. The kitchen roll also doubles up as a serviette when having a sneaky nibble of your crustless cheese and cucumber sandwich.

Scissors: To cut paper to the size of your mount and trimming your moustache. When cutting to size of mount always cut paper at least 1/2 inch bigger than the mount as it needs this extra bit to taper picture to mount.

Day-light lamp – sometimes places we stay only have limited light and a ‘day-light’ lamp will sort the light problem out for you. Good ones cost about £50 – £100 and perhaps more, worth it though, I think.

Stuff to create textures.

This ‘stuff’ includes cling film, salt, spray bottle and so on.

(I always write ‘so on’ or ‘etc’  if I can’t think of anything else to add to a list at the time I write it, which makes it look like I know there are other things to add but not got time to write them in rather than not knowing at all!!!).

Thats it for now.

Cheers

Jeff

‘Quick-Look list’ without my comments/advice attached hitherto: 

Paints

Brushes

Water container

Palette

Paper

Pencil

Pencil sharpener

Eraser

Set square & ruler

Mounts

Tracing Paper

Glasses

Kitchen roll

Scissors

Day-light’ lamp

Stuff to create textures

If you no longer wish to receive these blogs (and I do promise there are going to be lots of shorter ones) please let me know and I will take you off the circulation list. JM