Can we geek out about art supplies for a second?
Things I'm loving, things I'm meh about, and a lot of drawing
*not that it matters, but I wrote most of this a little a couple weeks ago and the old bits of this feel like old news to me. But I’m leaving those old bits in and, hey, you would’ve never known had I just kept my big mouth shut and yet I insist on being transparent*
First, lemme start with some markers I’m utterly in love with and so obsessed that one day I may need an intervention: Sakura Solid Paint Markers!
The super pigmented florescent colors make my eyes happy and that pink goes BAM! and kicks my serotonin levels up to notches unknown! (also, it’s about time we bring back Emeril LIVE! that show was good times!)
I’ve also discovered a love for the Stabillo All pencil. Oh my word, it’s super dark black tone and drawing capabilities are magical!
is the one who turned me onto it and I am in love. It’s so amazing at drawing on top of literally EVERYTHING. It’s witchcraft, I tell you. My only beef is that it can be quite smudgey and acts a bit like charcoal. And when wet, and it’ll spread far and wide across your sketchbook page. Oh well, it can’t be perfect, I guess. But if you’re curious to try it and don’t mind the smudge or are willing to do a quick spray of hairspray or proper fixative you can check it out here in my list of favorite art supplies (it’s an affiliate link that won’t charge anything extra, but tosses a couple pennies my way for recommending it to you)What’s an art supply that you’re absolutely loving these days?
I caught one of Charlotte Hamilton’a (aka"A World of Colour") youtube livestreams and the topic of this fine pencil came up. She had been doing a bit of line drawing on top of her watercolors had mentioned that she loves the Faber Castel 14 B pencil. It’s great for drawing on top of watercolor even while still damp. And I witnessed this to be true because she was using it during this stream. I immediately added it to the cart and was excited to try it. Welp, I don’t love it nearly as much as the Stabillo All only because it’s not as rich and dark and it didn’t go over waxier mediums such as a Caran D’Dache Neocolor IIs and on my neon Sakura solid paint markers and as well as I would’ve liked. But it doesn’t smudge when you turn the page and draw on the other side (no need for smelly fixatives!) and it won’t spread and smear when wet. So it has its pros, too!
If I could get the Stabillo All and the FC 14B to marry and make a waterproof pencil baby that draws on everything with a dark sturdy line? Oooooh! That would be perfect pencil for me!
On the left page, you’ll see that I compared the two pencils on top of a sloppy tulip doodle made of tempura paint sticks and neocolor IIs. See how much nicer the Stabillo pops off the page? But yeah, it’ll smudge if you don’t spray a fixative. You can really see the smudging happen in my Draw Weird Things with Me pages and a Art Hang Party Funny Animal Videos Livestream below.
One photo up and on the right, I swatched a set of 36 dual tip alcohol markers I got a TJ Maxx for $12.99 at Christmastime and this was the first time I cracked open the box. Why’d it take me so long?? I don’t know. But…
I’ve come to realize I just don’t like them. They weren’t nearly as fun as advertised, well at least not for me. I’d heard they’re super blendable and I’ve seen so many artist create amazing pieces with them. But after using up about 8-10 pages in my sketchbook making a mess, I was wondering what I was doing wrong. These were cheap, not Copic, maybe that’s why they didn’t blend like a dream? But usually the cheap versions give you an idea of the more expensive ones will be like. I feel like an oddball for not falling in love with them. Why don’t I like these? I feel like Tombows (or the Artist Loft Tombow dupes just as fantastic at a fraction of the price) are far more blendable and as a plus, they don’t bleed through. I fully expected the bleed through with alcohol markers but they went further to leave marks on the next clean page front and back in my Talens Art Creations white paper sketchbook. So the back of a page is an expected sacrifice, but I wasn’t planning on the following page became a splotchy mess, too. Oh well, it’s just a sketchbook. I’ll be putting those buggers aside and either donating them or start collecting arty bits and bobs that I don’t use and make a art supplies care package or trade with someone who can put them to better use than me!
Speaking of the Talens Art Creations white paper sketchbook, I’m not entirely sure I like it. I was SO stoked that they finally had a sketchbook with white paper because I prefer to work on it. The colors PoP off the pages and I love to work with really bright pigmented materials. Bright colors and shiny things are my jam and jelly, baby. But the paper in this sketchbook is a little different than in the standard cream color paper books. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s as though it’s drier? It’s not a smooth? I can’t put my finger on it. Katie Moody had made a wonderful video comparing the sketchbooks side by side and it’s what helped me just finally buy it to try it. (it was $19 compared to $10-$14 that I usually spend on a TAC and to took longer to ship because I think they’re only in the UK)
It really feels like I’m drawing and painting on printer paper that’s just a little thicker. I found there was a little bit of bleed through with my Pentel brush pen if I got a little heavy handed with my doodles. I only have 10 spreads left of this sketchbook and have already ordered another Talens, but it’s the regular old cream paper. All in all, it was worth a try because I know my curiosity would have had a hold on me to get it in the end. And hey, I had 160 pages to take my time and try lots of materials on it to know whether I really liked it or not.
Live drawing sessions I participated in and hosted:
I attended a couple of ART HANG PARTY! with Melissa Martin livestreams and had so much fun doing the “Build a Retro Dinner Party Scene”. I was accidentally about 15 min late and had to rewind, scribble like mad, and then when I finally caught up I was having good time! Such a fun theme, so much glorious 50s-70s fashion, and great faces to sketch. I really recommend giving this cute drawing session a go!
I also attended a Sketch & Draw zoom with Char Hamilton & Melissa Martin that was a photographic love letter to Toronto. Melissa provided really beautiful shots of the city to use for references:
And as for my own livestreams, I’ve hosted 5 already! They’ve all been good, silly fun and filling my sketchbooks with lots of weird imagery! And I even had a “Co Create with Me” coworking style livestream. It was just chill, relaxing one where I got to chat with some friends about all sorts of things, like nicknames, strange things people’s dogs eat, and and I painted some mushrooms without any time constraints.
The first livestream was definitely my first rodeo and even with a few hiccups, it went really well thanks to the kind support of about 15-20 art friends that joined (wow, can’t believe that many came!) and kept me company and drew along! I just chose random weird photos from my Pinterest boards (some provided by my lovely patrons) and the last 3 streams were themed Medieval Mayhem and used a bunch of hilarious Medieval marginalia references:
And I have a great news!
and I are cohosting a new live drawing session on Saturday, September 7th at 11:00 AM called Free Draw Friendzy! It’s totally FREE, we do it on Google Meet (just like zoom but you don’t need to download any apps) and you can sign up for it here to save your spot! We’re going with the theme of silly Seinfeld Scenes because we are both super fans and constantly making references to the 90s sitcom so it was bound to happen! And the best part is everyone can talk and see each other (if you’re feeling social enough to have your camera on! No pressure, of course!) And if you can’t make it, don’t worry, we’ll post the replay up on our youtube channels!
Ok, now I have to buy the Stabilo All pencil! It looks deliciously black and I’m not at all disturbed by any potential smudging. What do you fix it with though, hairspray or regular fixative like you’d use with charcoal?
Oh I love a good art supply critique! I am an art supply ‘hoarder’ and have quite a few marker sets and sketchbooks that don’t always meet my expectations.