Documenting Art Supplies

This week at Artful Journeys we are recommending that you give it a "go" at documenting all or some of your art supplies. Maybe, like me, you have documented many of your supplies already in journals, on index cards or as a separate reference.  I have done all of these at one time or another. Perhaps you want to just designate one page for the prompt and choose to document a specific set of inks, pens, markers, or genre of paint for this prompt.  Maybe you love having references and create a whole journal devoted just for this purpose.  However you choose to proceed is great. There is no right or wrong.

Documenting your supplies can serve multiple purposes. Having a specific medium on one page lets you see at a glance the color ranges available to you in that specific medium.  You are able to compare various hues and shades of one color for a specific project you are working on.  I have even documented all one color family from every available medium I have onto one page.  This is fun, and I use these pages the most frequently of all of my documented supply pages.  At a glance I can know instantly which specific shade of a color family I want to use in project.

For our Artful Journeys Pre-Launch Prompt #2

I have documented a set of Prang watercolors that I have never documented before anywhere.  I applied this cool grid stamp (Northwoods Rubber Stamps, Inc.) into my 9x12" mixed media journal and stamped it the appropriate number of times to use as the base and then applied each color from each pan to an individual box.  Since the colors are not named or numbered, I didn't give them either.  The edges of my blocks are filled in with Prang watercolor in black.  I gave the whole thing a light wash in a cerulean blue.

Since I always enjoy this type of documentation, and since I purchased a full set of Gelatos a few weeks ago, I decided to document those as well.  For this page, I made it a little more complicated.  I prepared the background first with  green & teal Derwent Inktense blocks and a baby wipe, then added some dots with Dr. Phil's Bombay Ink in white using just the dropper tip.  I used an oval punch and cut out the appropriate number of ovals out of 90 pound cold press watercolor paper to the number of gelatos in my set.  Using a broad tip Uniball Signo pen in black, I outlined the ovals and drew a center line, then applied the Gelato colors to each oval.  Then, I used my finger to "schmear" one side "dry" and used a #6 pointed round watercolor brush to the other half so that I would know the color intensity both wet and dry.  Each oval was glued to the page in the order my set is laid out in the box.








A close-up view of the bottom few rows of the Gelato documentation.

The paintbrush was sketched with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen in black, then colorized using the Prang watercolors.

Ta-daaaaaaaa.  Another handy reference is complete!

In case you'd like to see some of the other "documentations" I have done, here is a quick little peek.

Color mixing documentation

 

Koi Field Watercolor Kit            Single color family documentation

                   


 
Documentation of my set of Portfolio Oil Pastels

                        


























This little "flip chart" documents all my colored pens on high grade 100% rag cardstock. I did a water test on each brand to determine whether or not they were waterfast and permanent as stated, or not.

 

Great Scores!

This week I have had two of the most fabulous (and fruitful) shopping experiences -- ever!  First, a friend came to  visit her son in a nearby town and we got together to go to my newly found paper paradise, also in a small, rural town nearby. This place is the mecca for vintage papers, books, vintage photographs and other ephemera, totally necessary for journaling. We thrive on this stuff.  We swoon with ecstasy at the smell of a warehose full of paper and musty smells.  The angels sing and we go on sensory overload.  Long story short, I made the paper haul of a lifetime.....and plan to go back.  Hey, you can only sneak in so much without the hubs having a conniption fit.  LOL

I picked up a bunch of different vintage photographs, magazine tear sheets from the 40's and 50's for use in my art journaling, along with a good assortment of vintage postcards and maps.


There was all sorts of paper to be found, from printed lists, old calendars, old real estate and business documents, more maps, expanding folders. So much wonderful paper goodness it was difficult to decide what to select...but I surely managed to make some great selections.


After some rigorous digging, I found a small stash of art supplies, and some rare educational stamps from the 50's.  I was tickled to death to find these and can't wait to use them!  Included in my stash I also brought home a big stack of vintage books, some old textbooks, poetry books, a couple of atlases and some children's books.  I was giddy with excitement to find quite a bit of vintage advertising and the holy grail....... we found a complete set of 1954 advertising tear sheets from the Meyer Both Advertising Company.  My friend and I split the set (it was huge, and pretty costly).  I am hunting somewhere locally or in Dallas that can scan these huge sheets so we don't have to cut them up. It would be a shame to damage or alter them as they are in pristine condition.


So, all in all that was a fantastic day.  I am still cataloging all my finds and trying to find a place to keep it all until it is needed and can be used.  Some will get shared out to my arty friends for their use.  We must always share the love.
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Now, for the other great thing.  Today, a flea market shopping trip.  While my initial outlay of cash seemed a princely sum at a flea market ($255.00) ...The Copic markers more than made up for that. The sheer joy of getting all these cannot be explained to a non-arty friend, or a husband.

I scored 125 Copic Markers that normally retail for $6.49 each, most of which had never been used, a dozen Copic Inks;  a huge assortment of cling, unmounted and mounted rubber stamps, scads and scads of scrapbooking papers, 25 stamp pads, a full set of Prismacolor colored pencils and watercolor pencils; a set of Stampin Up watercolor crayons (48 pcs + an 8 pc gray set), a nice selection of paper punches and quite a bit of other assorted ephemera and art supplies.   I could barely get it all in the back of my car.  And the hubs doesn't understand my giddiness.  I can't wait to put it all to great use creating art. Creating fun. Creating excitement in someone else's life.  The smile will be on my face for many days to come.

Want to come go shopping with me sometime???????  

The color

The paper & storage

Cling and unmounted stamps

Mounted stamps

Punches