I have a copy of the new DANIEL SMITH Art Supply Summer Sale Catalog (Whoo Hoo!) and I am going to share it with you…ummm, actually it’s more like a little tease…since I can only show you a teeny bit of what’s in our New Summer Sale new catalog, here goes…..

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Our Cover is a scene of an outdoor Gelati Cafe in Italy’s Cinque Terra.  This watercolor was done by a new Artist, Joel Patience, who has been painting just a few years.  Joel turned to watercolor painting after a debilitating accident as therapy, turning lemons into Lemon Yellow Watercolor!  Watch for an interview with Joel on the DANIEL SMITH Blog in a couple of weeks to read his story.

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Two New Mayan Watercolors are introduced on page 2.

 

What many of you are looking forward to finding out on page 3…. Four *New* Watercolors!

 

Also on page 3, Three New Watercolor Sticks, bringing our selection to 40 Watercolor Sticks!

 

Brand new “Inksmith” inspiring article for all Artists “A Quest for Expression” (page 27 ) by Artist Stella Canfield, who also has a new DVD (page 14).

 

New Summer colors and patterns for our Decorative Papers…check out the “Lokta” papers and more! (pages 80-81).

 

Very cool “How To” article “Image Transfer & Collage” with Ampersand Artist Dana Brown (page 86).

 

And of course, through out our Catalog  [ this is a Summer Sale Catalog after all! ]  are lots of great sale prices to save you money!  A few to highlight:

 

Lot of Summer Art Fun (and savings!) to be had with our new Summer Sale Catalog arriving soon!  Can I hear a Whoo Hoo!?!

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Update:  Here is the link to the DANIEL SMITH website to request a a DANIEL SMITH Catalog! 

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Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns

 

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Here is a *Sneak Peek* of our new DANIEL SMITH Art Supply 2010 Spring Sale Catalog! 

These are being mailed out now and should be “sprouting up” in your mailboxes any day now! 

Shhhh….let’s have a little *sneak peak* on what’s inside…. 

* We have 5 (YES, five!) new Watercolor Sticks, and 3 (YES, three!) of them are PrimaTek colors…our first ones offered in our Watercolor Sticks line.  Page 5. 

* Three new DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors, let’s just say they are all three in *warm* colors!  Page 2. 

* Something *HOT* and new!  Page 63. 

* Cool new Artist article….love her work!  Page 74. 

* And packed with Sales and Special Prices through out!  Too many pages to list! 

Okay, remember…..shhhhhhh……this is just between us!  :  )  

All will be revealed when you get your catalog, and when I post about the new catalog sometime next week…stay tuned! 

Want to receive your own copy of our

DANIEL SMITH Spring Sale Catalog?  

Just *click* here and request one!

Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns
 
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We have a lot of NICE things for you in our new Winter Sale Catalog, “Handmade for the Holidays” Art Projects AND the catalog is “Stuffed” with Great Sale Prices on lots of wonderful Art Supplies!  We’re talkin’ NICE Prices!  We also have new items debuting in this catalog….so you will have fun curling up and savoring our new Winter Sale Catalog.  I’d suggest making a nice cup of cocoa to enjoy while leafing through the catalog pages and marking your favorite things!

 

We have 13 New colors in our DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks bringing us to a total of 31 colors.  Three new DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors:  Azo Yellow, Roasted French Ochre and a PrimaTek, Mayan Blue Genuine.  We are also introducing our new DANIEL SMITH Masking Fluid, which comes with 5, fine-point tips.

 

To find all our Nice Prices, look for the light blue “Sale” symbol with the white snow dots outlined in red that you will find on many pages.  A few I can’t help but point out: Dan Smith Autograph Series 44-14 Kolinsky Sable Watercolor Round and Dan Smith Autograph Series 44-09 Kolinsky Sable Watercolor Brushes, Not only did some of these drop in price in our Reference Catalog last August, but they are also On Sale at new, even lower prices for this catalog.  Be sure to spend a little extra time in the brush section to discover all the Nice Price Sale Art Supplies.

 

More Nice Prices to help you get ready for the Holidays, Strathmore Blank Cards, Decorative Papers (many other papers too) and selected Frames (pp 85 to 87) because who wouldn’t want a framed painting of yours as a Holiday Gift!  There are lots more wonderful things in our 2009-2010 Winter Sale Catalog, and I’ll let you have the fun of discovering your favorites.

 

We know you will celebrate all the cool, new Art Supplies, “Handmade for the Holidays” Art Projects, and Nice Prices that you will find in our New DANIEL SMITH 2009-2010 Winter Catalog…you will probably need a second cup of cocoa to thoroughly savor all the enticing Art Supplies! 

 

Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns
 
Follow DANIEL SMITH on Twitter
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“The Magnani paper mills are among the oldest in the world dating back to the 15th century, producing papers for a vast list of clients, including Napoleon, Picasso, Fontana, de Chirico, Salvatore Fiume, Annagoni, Morandi, Viani, Possenti, D’Annunzio and many others. Today the old tradition of craftsmanship continues and worldwide prestige is maintained with Magnani producing only the highest quality banknote, fine art, and deluxe limited edition papers to meet the demands of sophisticated and talented artists worldwide.”

This past last week of July in preparation for our new DANIEL SMITH 2009-2010 Reference Catalog, we had product training with Reps from Canson to show us their new Canson Infinity Papers: the “Best Paper now becomes the Best Inkjet Receptive Paper“.

 

These Canson Infinity Inkjet Fine Art and Photographic Papers have recently been developed (over a period of several years) for “Technical Excellence” in Archival Fine Art Reproductions.  Canson has developed these Digital Art Papers using their famous archival printmaking paper (Rives BFK & Etching Rag), watercolor papers (Arches Aquarelle & Montval Aquarelle), pastel paper (Mi-Teintes) and a new Photographic Rag paper as the base for their Inkjet papers.

 

It’s important to know that when you use these Digital Art papers you are using the SAME paper that Canson has been making for years, sometimes hundreds of years (the original company began making paper in 1492) for Artists.  So the Digital Arches Aquarelle Rag is the same as the watercolor paper and so on.  The Canson Infinity comes in:

There is even a variety pack called the Infinity Discovery Pack so you can try out all of the above types in 8.5×11. 

 

If you are making Digital Fine Art Reproductions of your original pastel painting, then it makes sense to use the Digital Canson Mi-Teintes paper, and so on for each of the different mediums.  The Canson Infinity website has very extensive information about these papers including an Ink Jet Printer compatibility chart.

 

Canson Infinity Digital papers are designed to provide Artists with proven, traditional archival papers to use when making Fine Art Reproductions.  We are happy to now have these available at DANIEL SMITH.

 

 

Like many artists, I am continuously looking for new and exciting materials to broaden my artistic horizons.  Although the staples in my studio always have their place, there is a unique inspiration that comes from trying a new technique of working in an entirely different medium.  Discoveries are made, new ways of seeing can develop and often the challenge is worth the reward of creating work that you might not otherwise have considered.  The new DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks are a great way for painters to get back in touch with drawing or for artists who typically sketch to add painterly color.

 

They really are unlike any artists’ material I have used.  These handmade sticks look similar to a pastel; however, they are very solid and dense (they would be difficult to break or cut).  The are wrapped in a plastic label that keeps the sticks neat and clean during watercolor techniques.  The weight of the sticks and their dark, rich color let me know right away that these sticks were loaded with pure pigment.  To experiment, I chose subjects I am familiar with.  I often paint birds and decided to try a pheasant and peacock – two birds with bold color and dramatic markings.

 

For the peacock study I liberated my brush and focused on making marks with the sticks, only using brushwork for the finishing details and touches.  I started with a sheet of hot pressed watercolor paper stretched on a board and damped with a spray bottle.  Hot pressed paper is a nice surface for drawing with the sticks as the smooth surface allows the lines to flow.  I started my “drawing” by tapping Sap Green, French Ultramarine and Quinacridone Burnt Orange sticks to the wet paper anywhere I wanted to add color and value. Example 1

 

Keeping the paper damp really draws out the pigment and I worked fast to create an impression of the peacock with dots and dashes of color, adding some yellow to the back and Burnt Umber to the wings.  Watercolor Sticks have a very high pigment load and my drawing quickly became saturated with bold color.  

 

 

To add depth I applied Sap Green and French Ultramarine on the top of the tail, and then used my brush to draw down a more subtle wash of color toward the bottom.  I added detail to the head and beak by touching a wet brush to the stick and painting, similar to using a pan of watercolor.  A daub of white gouache finished the head and eye on this quick study.

 

 

I glazed the entire body with the light wash and went back into the dark areas with the sticks of Burnt Umber and French Ultramarine while the wash was still wet.  I finished the head by using the Quinacricdone Coral and Hansa Yellow Medium sticks with a brush.  Example 5.  White gouache  was applied for highlights on the face and feathers.

 

I made some unexpected, yet pleasant observations at the completion of my studies.  My water jar was nearly clear, the Watercolor Sticks still looked brand new and there was no messy palette to contend with.  My use of a paintbrush was kept to a minimum so the pigment went directly to the paper and stayed there – a convenient and economical way to achieve great results.  The new DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks are a pleasure to work with and will easily find their way into my studio and travel kit.

 

DANIEL SMITH Summer Sale Catalog 2009 Article

 

Thank you Natalie!

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Darlene told us that painting on Ampersand Claybord is currently her passion because its’ surface allows her a lot of freedom to work in many different ways.  She likes the smooth surface, it’s like hot press watercolor paper, and it has a durable surface that she can manipulate to express her ideas.  She will also sometimes use the more traditional for watercolor, Ampersand Aquabord with its’ more textured surface

 

She incorporates not only watercolor paint, but adds collage elements with decorative paper , rice paper, bits of watercolor painting cut up and ”pasted” to the surface with Matte Medium and occasionally pressed leaves or flowers.  She also will scratch into the Claybord surface with different tools which causes the watercolor to collect in the crevices and she will scratch into dried paint to expose the white of the claybord for other effects.  Darlene showed us how she might add depth and different interest by adding Molding Paste, both light and regular depending on the effects she wants.

 

Because Darlene’s art is about layering, the watercolor is the base to which she adds the other layers and acrylic paint.  Watercolor has luminous qualities and dries with wonderful effects that enriches her paintings in ways acrylic paint cannot.  When she is done with her watercolor, she sprays it with fixative to prevent the watercolor from dissolving or running when other wet applications are added.  She may go back and add another layer of watercolor and sprays it again to “lock” the color.  Darlene told me that she sometimes mixes her watercolor with acrylic paint (or acrylic medium ) to get watercolor effects with arcylics’ permanence. 

 

When Darlene begins a painting she wants’ to know “what is my concept?”  Darlene told us that she is currently very interested in Astronomy, the cosmos, atomic particles and more, and finds inspiration when she reads about them.  One sentence that inspired her for today’s’ demo is; “…a particle can take on mixtures of velocities…” and she applied that as her concept for the painting using flowers as the subject.  Okay, I don’t really understand how she does it, but Darlene makes it all come together as Her Art Expression!

 Darlene also told us about the importance of “good junk” (everyone laughed at that!) to see what kinds of effects you can get, she likes to play and experiment with using lots of different things to see what kind of visual effects she can get.

• She has found that laminating her copy of the DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors chart helps her with selecting the watercolors for a particular painting and a good reference for knowing the transparency and granulation characteristics of the different colors.
• And Darlene told us that she punches 3 holes in the DANIEL SMITH Catalogs to keep them in a binder, and said:

Tom talked about his painting philosophy, his creative process, shared with us some of his watercolor “sketches” from his travels in Mexico and painted a watercolor street scene from one of the sketches. It was especially interesting to listen to Tom talk about watercolor painting because one of his street scene paintings is on the cover of our new DANIEL SMITH Summer Sale Catalog.

Some of Toms’ tips for the attendees were that for him it’s about “what not to paint” that painting is a process of editing out everything but the essential visual keys. He later added that he “prefers to leave something for me [the viewer] to add to the piece”.

He also described it as kind of like a horizontal “graph” or timeline….

Photo (too much info) <—-> An artists balancing (”how little can you do and still tell the story”) <—-> sketch (too little info)