Linen Liners and A Nifty Quote

Framed with Linen Liners

For a long time I have been wanting to post about my linen liners and framing process. Maggie Price has done it for me.


Via Lloyd's Art Info, comes this quote I hadn't seen before.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." Vincent Van Gogh.

Thumbs

Drawings for some recent landscapes.

Screenshots

If you must have some tips this weekend, I recommend my comments section for Expressive Plein Air Work, where David, Brian and I are yakking about how to post a screenshot. Bloggers will benefit from knowing how to get an image that is relevant and topical for their link posts.

Out of Pocket

Sorry, no tips today. I'll be out of pocket for the weekend.

Expressive Plein Air Work

daviddrawsandpaints

In my quest to get back to nature in my drawing and pastels, I have been posting about my Plein Air Project, and over at The Colorist, the Wolf Kahn (drawing) Project. Continued snow, and other frictions are keeping things slow, but I do plan on posting a display of some of my recent works that have evolved because of these projects.

The work of David Cornelius of Scotland has been hitting the nail directly on the head. So free and loose are his plein air pastel drawings, that I will be looking in on his work at the same time that I look at Wolf Kahn's for lessons in how to stay loose. Don't miss his posts here and here, where he shows off his new works and his lightweight outdoor kit.

Six Unisons Only

Deer Lake Cabins
@6" x 8"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

It may be hard to believe that one can be happy doing a pastel on-site with only six Unisons. Here's the proof that it can work, with some creative blending. I did this work by the lake about two years ago, using my French easel and standing on the deck at the cabin.

If I did it over, I would vary the tree heights a bit. Otherwise, it was an old effort at plein-air that has never been posted.

Also, if you are visiting here for the first time, greetings. Enjoy this blog about my pastel work and the broader world of the pastel medium. You would also love my blog: The Colorist, a blog about art process and New School Color.

Tips for Friday

Art supply shopping. Don't laugh. I was in the retail profession for much of over twenty-five years. Here are some salient tips for stretching that sawbuck when shopping the expensive world of art equipment and supplies.

1. It doesn't hurt to price shop the expensive items. I went away from my favorite retailer to order an easel from an outfit in California that I had never heard of before, but who had a $75 - $90 item at $50.
2. If ordering an unusually well priced item from an unknown source, call during business hours to check availability. It can be frustrating to e-order or mail order something and be put into "back order" status. Sometimes, you don't know you've been placed in such a limbo, and the product never comes.
3. All of the art catalogers I've dealt with have been happy to either re-send or discount damaged goods. Call them.
   
4. Go third party. That means buy from a resource other than the specialty art retailers. Cigar boxes are an example. I recently got a hunter's umbrella that cost a third of what the art umbrella's cost (and it works better). I consider Michael's a third party source, since their bailiwick is crafts. They sell some cheap but nice art supplies.
5. Order paper in bulk. That means wherever the bulk quantity price-break kicks in. Sometimes the quantity break begins at 5, sometimes 10. I go with my second favorite art retailer for paper, because I price shop paper more than any other art supply.

What are your tips for art supply shopping?