new palette colors

Recently I watched a YouTube video from Natasha Newton of her current favorite art supplies, including the “Elements” palette of handmade watercolors from A. Gallo. I love the combination of colors but (a) I prefer using Art Toolkit magnetic palettes and (b) I already own so many tubes of paint!

So I put together this Folio palette with paints I already have. Six of the pans of color, I created by mixing two tubes of paint directly in the pans using a toothpick to stir. I can see that I needed more green gold in the warm green, more shire blue in the cool green (jadeite is a very strong pigment), and some blue in the cooler gray. But they’ll be fun to play with as is.

The birds were seen on our front porch, at one of the feeders and perched on the arm of a rocking chair. There was only one titmouse; I drew him in two poses.

This is the page of notes I jotted down, listing the original A. Gallo pigments plus which of my existing colors came closest in color match.

sometimes ya feel like a nut . . .

An early birthday present arrived this week: a second Sendak Nutshell from Peg & Awl. Why two?

My first one is loaded with watercolor, gouache, tiny colored pencil leads (and lead holder), a white pencil, an Inktense pencil in “bark”, masking pen, and a fine liner for tiny sketches. Plus some washy tape and a masking remover.

The new one is for monochromatic sketching, something I’d like to explore more: graphite pencil, a gray blue watercolor pencil, water-soluble graphite pencils, a fine liner, Elegant Writer pen, a brush pen, and a Demi palette holding only French ultramarine and burnt sienna watercolors. Plus sharpener, an extra eraser for the Blackwing pencil, and a bit of kneaded eraser.

I typically carry at least one fountain pen with me, attached to a small Traveler’s Notebook, so that would be included with either tool kit.

a mini Travelers Notebook

Last month I heard about Travelers Company issuing a card sized limited edition notebook . . . only to find it sold out. But a Japanese seller on eBay listed one at a reasonable price so I ordered it, and it finally arrived this week.

Years ago I bought one of the company’s regular notebooks but was never happy with its dimensions. Eventually it was passed on to a granddaughter and I replaced it with their passport size, which I love. But this even tinier one seems like just the right size for tiny sketches. It can also double as a wallet, having pockets for ID and credit cards and a zip pouch for cash. It came with four extra inserts but I plan to make my own out of watercolor paper. The page size allows for a single page sketch as big as 2 x 3.5” (plus margins) or two sketches per page approximately 1.5 x 2”.

transition

This past year has been a time of transition in many ways, not just art related. But I actually used my sketch journal as a thoughts journal this week. 🙀

I’ve been exploring muted palettes rather than bright pigments, as well as trying underdrawing with brush pens and adding colored pencils. As I’m nearing the end of this sketchbook and choosing a new one, I’ve slightly tweaked the paint colors and pencils carried in my Mini Sendak. The Pocket Palette holds granulating watercolors and the Demi Palette holds gouache.

Other transitional areas include learning to cope with my “new normal” diet changes following cancer and finding non-medicated ways of dealing with essential tremors in my hands. But as a Julien of Norwich quote I recently found in a Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery says, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well”.

teasing the Lumos Duo and Tom’s inks

Today I inked up my new Lumos Pro Duo pen to see what it can do. I definitely prefer the fiber brush nib! Maybe I’ll replace the chisel nib with the bullet nib. It’s extremely easy to switch out the nibs, cleaning the used one with just a bit of water.

Filling the reserve with ink couldn’t be easier! To change ink colors, you can insert a clean reserve (extras available from Tom’s Studio), storing the old one in a small bottle until needed. Or the reserve can be rinsed clean under tap water and refilled with the new ink color.

The ink colors I bought from Tom’s are only slightly water-resistant, the Dove Grey bleeding a bit more than the Peaches & Cream. Both colors can be deepened by layering a second or third layer of ink.

I especially like how colored pencils work over the Peaches & Cream ink. I think the pen will work great for my purpose: quickly getting down basic shapes to later add colored pencil details when away from home, leaving my Pitt Artist Brush pens for using when at home. Tom’s inks are water-based so I might try diluting the Dove Grey a bit with distilled water. Or maybe try my De Atramentis Document inks, diluted with that brand’s dilution liquid which I already have on my shelf.

As for how smooth the tips write? I’m seriously tempted to sometime order the Wren writing pen from Tom’s! 

By the way, the Lumos only comes with one end cap. I bought an extra one to have both tips available rather than having one stored inside the end of the other.

camping at Cagle

This week we have been once again camping in the Sam Houston National Forest. Not too hot, not too cold — just right for leisurely walks on nearby trails. There are several items we forgot to pack or didn’t think we’d need and wish we had, but it’s been a relaxing, enjoyable time. Today, lots of new campers are coming in for the weekend just as we are getting ready to head home. Being retired means not needing to plan around working hours!

At the campsite next to ours, we found an arrow made of pine cones, leading up to a hidden painted rock that someone left as a surprise. I took a photo and left it for the next person to find.

a bit of organizing

I haven’t been doing much sketching lately, but I did manage to straighten up some art supplies into a more workable arrangement. Partly because I just bought a rotating caddy that keeps tools easy to grab. (HERE).

Bill made me the taboret on casters years ago when I used a matching smaller oak desk. The large flat items in the back are held by a napkin holder one of our kids made in high school. A box holding inks once held my grandfather’s type for his antique printing presses.

I started a sunflower sketch in my sketchbook over a week ago — left it to allow paint to dry and haven’t gotten back to it yet.

while the wind blows

Here at the lake it became too cold and blustery to do much more than walk the dog halfway around the campsite. Interesting botanicals blew away; the herons, cranes, and pelicans flew for cover. So I sketched my Mini Sendak from Peg & Awl and tools. Which covers the first 2 challenges of Maria Cornell-Martin’s Nature Journaling challenge prompts. Not sure how many of them I will do but this one was fun — and my hands didn’t shake too much! (I have essential tremor which can make ink drawing wobbly.)

starting a new sketchbook journal

This week we are camping and I planned on beginning my new sketchbook when we arrived. But it was cold and Very Windy here next to the lake, so I sat inside the RV and painted this. (It’s supposed to warm up the rest of the week.) These pebbles are a combination of watercolor and gouache. I’ve been watching Natasha Newton swatching her colors in pebble form on YouTube — Love her style! 

This sketchbook is a Seawhite Travel Journal with 200 gsm cold-press watercolor paper that I pulled from my shelf. It’s been there so long that the elastic band was stretched out (how curious!) so I cut it off. Instead, I have a heavy stretch band that holds a pencil or pen. Don’t remember where it came from.

tweaked again!

And of course, I have tweaked my new combo palette! I missed the lovely Ash Blue gouache. And living in this sunny climate, a brighter yellow might be needed — Titanium Gold Ochre is still muted, sort of like Naples Yellow. I removed the Sepia watercolor, as I can achieve its granulating brown by mixing “Random Grey” watercolor with Smoked Bamboo gouache. 

I also moved all the “browns” to one side of the mixing pan and all of the “greys” to the other — though Zoisite Genuine watercolor is more of a dark green.

Random Grey was my attempt at copying Schmincke’s one-time issue of a random grey that was a mixture of unknown pigments that will not be repeated. I stirred together Ultramarine Blue, Transparent Red Oxide, and Burnt Umber for its brownish grey tone. A spot of a cool red might have improved it.

The “Pale Green” should be a bit greener in color. I made it by stirring a bit of Perylene Black (which is a dark cool green) into Titanium White. My mixture of “Jane’s Grey” (or Payne’s Grey) could use a bit more Ultramarine to it.

By the way, the R20 short flat travel brush from Rosemary & Co has become one of my favorite brushes. My other favorites are the R13 #8 sable blend round, the R19 #12 pointed round, and a funny little flat brush from Herend.

art stuff in my bag

To go along with yesterday’s quick ink sketch, these are the current art tools in my small bag — aimed at doing tiny sketches. Sort of going along with Leslie Stroz’ “100 Tiny Treasures” challenge for 2025; I’m doing 50 instead of 100.

The short colored pencils are a recent addition in case I want to add a bit of detail on top of simple watercolor washes. There’s a brown, a white, and a soft blue-gray watercolor pencil. (My favorite well-used Blackwing pencil is a bit wonky!) 

 

just a quick line . . .

I’ve been doing some tiny sketches, so my daily ink sketch is a continuous line of the supplies. I “cheated” a bit by doing a loose layout pencil sketch first — working on such a small page, I wanted to make sure it all fit in.

daily tools

I was asked about the tools seen in the background of yesterday’s posted photo, so I sketched my current tools today. The toolkit is an older version of the pocket sized kit from arttoolkit.com — I have it loaded with everything needed for doing tiny sketches or a daily ink-only sketch.

On the left side are a Mono Zero stick eraser, a Kuretaki very fine brush pen, a white Gelly Roll pen, a tiny mechanical pencil, my Pilot Namiki Falcon fountain pen filled with water-soluble ink, a #2 round paintbrush, a short Aquash waterbrush with a small brush tip, and a small binder clip. Underneath, there is a discarded cap holding different sizes of tape, a plastic viewfinder, and a handful of precut pieces of paper for mini sketches.

On the right side are a tiny water spray bottle, three Kaweco Liliput fountain pens filled with brown, green, and black waterproof inks, a bit of kneaded eraser in a small plastic container, and a Demi palette filled with warm & cool primaries, a green, and several neutrals. Underneath is a sweatband to wear on my wrist for wiping brushes — this one is unused; the dirty one has been tossed in the laundry. Just now I see that I forgot to add the layer of transparent red oxide to the copper Liliput — oops!

After finishing this illustration in my sketchbook, I went ahead and drew the closed toolkit and my passport sized Traveler’s Notebook for my daily ink sketch. From a photo, since my daily ink sketches are _in_ the Traveler’s Notebook.

a mini sketchkit

Due to an unknown low-grade fever, Bill is still in the hospital. He is walking well and feeling pretty good considering he just had major surgery. This delay is frustrating, but they don’t want to send him home just to have him return. I drive in each day, then home to deal with animals.

This morning before heading out, I threw together a kit for some tiny sketching while I wait with him. A zipper case holds tools, and the tiny clipboard from Bluestar Crafts (HERE) holds my pre-cut pieces of paper. More pieces of paper are taped to a plastic sheet from Travelers Company USA. I keep bits of skinny tape wrapped around a discarded plastic cap because it takes up less room than a washi tape roll. I usually do quick sketches with the clipboard, and tiny paintings with a border on the plastic sheet.

So while Bill snoozes, maybe I’ll do some sketching . . . 

packing essentials

Today we have been loading the RV for another week of camping, this time heading back to a site along the shore of Lake Conroe. I drew the art tools I planned to pack but it did not turn out as I had planned. Oh, well . . .

After gathering everything together, I thought “why carry both pocket palette and demi palette when all would fit in that empty folio palette?” So I temporarily moved all the paint into the folio for this trip.

Here’s a close up of the paints from the demi palette for those curious. This is what I currently carry in my bag for tiny sketches.

revisiting an old palette

Recently I pulled out a sketchbook from 5 years ago, intrigued that I had actually stayed with the same limited palette and 2 ink colors throughout the entire book. I could not replicate the colors exactly, as I no longer have a couple of them, but I put together a similar palette for this muted color chart in my current sketchbook.

The thin sketchbook of 140 lb. 100% cotton watercolor paper was a dream to work on! I began it on my birthday; including turquoise was influenced by the turquoise elastic band that came with the book. If I remember right, I even stuck with exactly the supplies shown on the first page!

which ink color for Cream?

I am back to using my old favorites, Lamy fountain pens. They work better on the rough watercolor paper I filled this sketchbook with.

I love matching pens with the same color inks. These Lamy LX pens in Marron and Ruthenium are perfect for brown and gray inks. But my favorite Cream Lamy Safari pen, a gift from grandson Quen, has long puzzled me. What color ink? At first, I tried samples of pearlescent and shimmering inks from Goulet Pens — sort of reminds me of Quen’s personality. But when they began to stain the pen, I quickly flushed them out.

I drew the cream pen with J. Herbin Lie De The ink (a light brown ink) which is slightly water-soluble, giving sketches an antique look. Maybe that would be a good match?

I sometimes give my pens names. Our first Maine Coon cat was originally named Cream (his brother had been named Coffee) though we called him Kippy. Obviously, I call this fountain pen Cream.

having a cuppa

The weather is finally cooling and I am reaching for hot beverages more often throughout the day. Years ago, Australian artist Liz Steel told me how much better loose-leaf tea is than tea bags and I absolutely agree! She also introduced me to Taylor’s of Harrowgate, which is my favorite brand.

The white bone china mug with Scotties dancing on it was a gift once chosen by our granddaughter Mikala, who knew I love Scottish Terriers. I keep it just for cocoa, an instant blend that I mix up myself.

An extra benefit I’ve found to using the Pentel Milky White brush marker: you can paint over it! After loosely placing some tiny words on the tea tin label, I went over some of the white with metallic gold watercolor.

trying new things

This new sketchbook of mine is made up of Arches 140# rough watercolor paper, which I have never worked on before. The fine nib fountain pens that I usually use (Pilot Falcon and Kaweco Liliput fountain pens) don't work very well on this rough paper; neither do my fine-tip Gelly Roll white gel pens.

A new sketchbook with new-to-me rough paper, a few new colors never tried before in my emerald green folio palette (instead of my normal regular sized Pocket Palettes) . . . I might as well use new pens as well. Testing has shown that the Mahjohn Q1 bent nib eyedropper pen works well, as does Pentel's Pocketbrush and Milky Brush pens and my Wancher Puchico Mini with turquoise ink. Normally I use dagger travel brushes; I decided to switch to round brushes this time in large and small sizes. 

The quote is taken from a longer post of Belgium artist and architect Barbara Luel that I read on Sunday. She often draws her tools so I did some of mine after jotting down the partial quote. Her post included a gorgeous sketch of 6 delicately stacked tea cups -- beautiful!

heading home

We are now on our way home, but I thought I’d post a sketch of my art tool bag: a Delfonics bag insert, size M, that I added a carrying strap to (I chose black so it would look more purse-like and hide dirt, forgetting how red-gold corgi hair would adhere to it!). Having much more room than my Art Toolkit, it holds plenty of supplies as well as regular “purse” stuff for longer trips. The cross-body strap holds tools where they can be easily grabbed even if I am standing up.