Putting paint to paper

Peaches and Lemons on Arches paper

I was finally able to get out my paints and give the Arches watercolor paper a go. While it is a nice thick paper I really didn't think that it shaded that much better than the Canson paper.  I also think that it buckled a little more than the Canson.

Canson paper on the left, Arches on the right

I did treat myself to another pan of watercolors. I have been curious about Arteza brand. They are advertised everywhere. All of their paints are very affordable. I have watched a few youtube artist reviews and after watching one on the watercolors, I decided to give them a try. I received 10% off of my order, along with a small Ebates reward. The free shipping was also a plus.

So far I am happy with them. I know what their drawbacks are (too many browns and yellows) but for the price, I can deal with that. The set was a little less than $30 and there are 36 half pans.


... and to change the subject completely, I made this awesome vegetable bake the other night!

Zucchini and summer squash, sliced fresh tomato, garlic and onions. At the very end I topped it with a little parmesan and fresh mozzarella.. I can't wait to make it again when we have tomatoes from our garden. Yum!

Exploration

I have finally been able to squeeze in time to explore with alcohol inks. My first attempts were very abstract. I experimented with diluting colors as well as using them straight out of the bottle. What did I discover?

That these inks are hard to control and it takes a lot of practice! Youtube videos have been very helpful. There are so many techniques for this medium. I was really happy to learn that the back side photo paper is a good surface for the ink. I somehow accumulated a lot of it over the years. I rarely print photo so I am happy to put it to good use. The paper of choice for alcohol inks is Yupo, but it's very expensive. I don't want to waste what little I have purchased on practice work. The only downside of the photo paper is that all of mine has a light water mark scattered across the page. Some colors hide it, on light colors it does show through if you look carefully.

I am starting to gain a little control over the process. I actually made a small painting that looks like flowers!

Last night I tried my hand at a landscape. I didn't think it was too bad for a first attempt.  I used a microperm black marker to enhance the trees. The water on the left side is a little too dark. I might be able to lighten it but I am a little scared to ruin the whole thing by trying. I think I will leave this one alone and declare it done.

Right now I am working with limited color selection. Once I recover from the purchase of these, I will order a few more. If anyone has worked with alcohol inks and has some tips for me, please comment. I would love to hear from you.