[ Sorry, this *Limited Time* Special ended July 21, 2010 ]

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

 

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We’re sweet on our DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks, and have created a Special 5 piece (*plus*) Watercolor Stick set because we want you to “Fall in Love” with them too!

 

Our DANIEL SMITH  Fall in Love with Watercolor Sticks Set contains:

5 DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks

 

 

*PLUS* the set includes:

This is a great primary set of colors to get started with and begin your Love Affair with our Watercolor Sticks! 

To celebrate our Fall in Love with Watercolor Sticks Set we are having a Valentine’s Themed Card Contest, our “Fall in Love with Watercolor Sticks“ Contest!

 

One winner will win 2 DANIEL SMITH $100 Gift Certificates (one for you and one for your sweetheart!)

 

This past weekend we had a Special, FREE “Hands On” Art Event, our DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolors and DS Extra Fine Watercolor Stick Extravaganza! 

 

Instead of our regular FREE “How To” Weekend Art demos at our Seattle Store and Bellevue DANIEL SMITH Stores this past weekend, we offered one of our Special “Hands On” Art Events.  These “Hands On” Events allow everyone who attends the opportunity to try out the Art Supplies featured at the Event. 

 

The Seattle Store had Annie Van Engelen in the Gallery/Demo room demonstrating, answering questions and encouraging everyone to paint using the PrimaTek Watercolors and the Watercolor Sticks on various watercolor papers:  Yupo paper, UArt Sanded Pastel Paper (wasn’t out but you could use the Wallis Archival Sanded Pastel [mulit media] Papers) and Fredrix Archival Watercolor Canvas Pad.

 

The Bellevue Store had Artists Sales Associates Craig on Saturday, and Joe on Sunday, demonstrating and answering questions at the “Try It” table set up near the front of the store while customers tried out our DS PrimaTek Watercolors and DS Watercolor Sticks for themselves.

 

Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns
 
Follow DANIEL SMITH on Twitter
Become a DANIEL SMITH Fan on Facebook

 

We will have our “Try It” tables set up so you can try our DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolors and our DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks.  This is a fun way to find out more about our PrimaTek and Watercolor Sticks…by using them!  We will have one of our Artist Sales Associates available to answer questions and offer guidance while you try them out during the times posted below.

 

Saturday, December 26th at 11am to 1:45pm Hands On Fun!

Sunday, December 27th from 12 to 2pm Hands On Fun!
PRIMATEK & WATERCOLOR STICK EXTRAVAGANZA
Join the store staff to learn how to add these unique colors and products to your palette

 

 

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

 

 

 

We also are having two Workshopsthis weekend at the Bellevue Store:

 

If you haven’t tried Watercolor Sticks, this is the perfect opportunity. Che gives you step-by-step instruction on new ways to paint in the studio or on location. Materials required for the expanded section.
001 900 220
$50 per day
2pm to 5pm
artofche.com

 

Learn to add texture and interest to your paintings by letting the colors show through with Gary’s unique building of pastel layers. A process that will enliven your under-painting adding dimension to your work. Materials required for the expanded section
Please register early, as class sizes are limited to 12 students
001 900 218
$50 per day
1pm to 4pm
beginningartist.com 

 

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
Become a DANIEL SMITH Fan on Facebook

Artists’ Mailboxes the past few days have been a source of delight as Artists have discovered their new DANIEL SMITH 2009-2010 Reference Catalog amongst ordinary mail.  Our new DS Catalog will continue to be arriving in the mailboxes of everyone who is on our mailing list, so have You Got Yours Yet?  If it’s because you are not yet on our mailing list, then you can request a catalog on our website. 

• Grand Prize: “Travelers” by Barbara Wilson
• Second Place: “Benny” by Carol Peterson
• Third Place: “Morning Flight” by Mary Shea
• Employees’ Choice: is “Head Over Heels” by Mimi Williams. 

1. Six (!) new colors in the DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks…including our new Lunar Black Watercolor Stick!  We had a lot of customer requests for a black watercolor stick and now we have it for you.
2. Acrylique:  Sennelier’s new Extra-Fine Acrylic paints.  Sennelier has worked for a long time on perfecting their new acrylic paints and now you can get them at DANIEL SMITH…we are the first to have them in stock for you!
3. Revere Printmaking Paper from Cartiera Magnani: Magnani Revere.  There is a lot of “Buzz” for this “New” paper in printmaking world, and we are thrilled to have it available to all you print-makers out there!
4. Fabriano Ingres Cover Heavyweight paper.  Fabriano bought the recipe for the Ingre Cover Heavyweight paper so it is now being manufactured again.
5. Canson Infinity Inkjet Fine Art and Photographic Papers.  These Digital Art papers are made with the same Canson Archival Art Papers: Arches, Montval, BFK Rives, Etching Rag, Mi-Teintes that have been used for many (some for hundreds of) years by Artists.
6. Ampersand in 3 new BIG Sizes!  2 inch deep Gessobord: 30″x40″, 36″x36″ and 36″x48″ and 2 inch deep Claybord: 30″x40″, 36″x36″ and 36″x48″.  Just think of what you can create with these larger sizes!  We had a lot of requests for these and now have them available to order in packs of two, they are packed by Ampersand in special packaging in twos and we leave them that way for safer shipping to you. 

Psst, can you keep a secret?  We are introducing 6 (SIX!) new colors in the DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Sticks in our new 2009-2010 DANIEL SMITH Reference Catalog!

 

This Special offer* is a great way for you to try two beautiful colors in the DS Watercolor Sticks for the price of one and FREE shipping in the US and Canada….so are you up for some fun, creative experimentation?

 

 

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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