i’ve been spending…
August 21st, 2004
..quite a bit on “things” of late. Mostly things to draw with and on. When I was painting I didn’t give much thought to equipment. Apart from paint (which I usually bought the best I could afford) I used to use cheap equipment - decorating brushes to paint with, paper bought in bulk and folded into simple sketchbooks, the cheapest biros to draw and often disposable cameras. I used to love the cheapness and vigour of working with charcoal and generally stretched my own canvases, making the frames out of wood I’d collected or had found it’s way to me. I liked the idea that making paintings was reasonable cheap and therefore accessible to most people if they wanted to give it a try.
I haven’t really changed my mind too much but all of a sudden I feel terribly seduced by materials and equipment. Perhaps it’s because I’m still finding out about all the different things that are out there for obsessed drawers to play with. It’s all still very new to me. Perhaps also working on a small scale means I can afford to be a bit more generous with myself. When I was painting “small” really meant two foot square, now small means an A6 sketchbook that only cost a few pounds.
My problem is that now I’ve suddenly got a bewildering amount of new things to play with. A pile of half finished sketchbooks and a drawing table covered in pots of pens, paints, watercolours and brushes I don’t really know how to work. I’ve a feeling I need to simplify again. Pack a few things and carry them with me. Stick with one (or two) sketchbooks. Finish one before I start another. Find a new working routine, not head into the art shop every time I go past…
August 21st, 2004 at 1:11 pm
Love the drawings! Your cat reminds me of our cat Toonces. The way I see it..your drawings are so well done…and if you’ve been doing those with inexpensive materials it just goes to show how talented you are. You can make the inexpensive materials work–you can do that, well you can do anything.
Like you say, there is so much out there to buy. Enjoy all your new tools and let us know how they work out for you. Lots of times, I don’t know what these things are that people are talking about so hope you’ll give us reviews if you feel like it. Have a good one Michael!
August 21st, 2004 at 6:06 pm
Michael,
One can’t buy too many supplies if it makes you happy and excited to try new things.
I see you got a bottle of RotRing Ink what pen do you use to draw your ink lines?
Frederick
August 22nd, 2004 at 9:57 pm
Hi Frederick - I’ve just bought myself a fine nibbed Art pen to use with the ink - I’m liking it so far.
Pat - after writing the above entry I took myself to town and bought the very last Rotring Rapidoliner (0.7 nib) on display in my local art shop (I think they’re not made anymore). No willpower! Time to sort through all the pens I’ve acquired and make some decisions about what to use. I’ll certainly post what I decide.
August 23rd, 2004 at 12:53 pm
Michael–Ooooo…I’ve been thinking about getting one of those. Are they very expensive? Congrats on getting one! And thank you for the link!
August 23rd, 2004 at 2:33 pm
I have to stay away from art shops, I keep buying things, (latest obsession - chunky propel pencils with four mm leads, already got four) then end up doing most of my work on the pc. one can never have too much paper and yummy drawing imlements though (I hate my art pen, can’t put indian ink in it, maybe I’ll just do it and hang the consequences)
August 25th, 2004 at 8:00 am
Pat - the Art Pen was about £12. Not too expensive.
Madge - I seem to remember reading on Danny Gregory’s blog recently that he’d had a chat with someone in a pen shop about using indian ink in his Art Pen and the guy said it would be okay as long as he flushed it out regulalrly. Maybe I dreamt all that….
I’ve got some indian ink but not tried it in the pen. What are the advantages of using it over the Rotring stuff?
August 25th, 2004 at 5:17 pm
I loved that entry on Danny Gregory’s blog. I believe it is “Flocking Together”/July 25, 2004. And I love your website and your beautiful drawings. Thank you for sharing them.
August 25th, 2004 at 9:25 pm
I must have missed that post. thanks michael. I’m going off right now to give it a try.
September 1st, 2004 at 5:38 pm
ArtPen by Rotring. I have been using them for years. The Rotring ink cartridges are water based ink and if you get the ink wet they run and change color. If you use India Ink, which is permanent and has a varnish or lacquer base, can ruin the pen if it drys out in it, simply clogging it up. So,you can use it but make sure you also keep the pen washed out. I have one of those special inserts that goes inside the ARTPEN by Rotring that allows you to use any ink you want as long as you keep it clean.
Frederick
September 4th, 2004 at 2:26 pm
Plenty of comments about pens, but what about the pile of sketchbooks? I too suffer from Incomplete Sketchbook Syndrome. Have you figured out yet how to finish one before buying another?
September 6th, 2004 at 8:29 am
I seem to have cracked the Incomplete Sketchbook Syndrome - at least for now. Not quite sure how actually. I’ve found one a like a lot, cloth covered, A6 (so it fits in my pocket). I suppose I’ve made a commitment to myself to just use it until it’s finished.
Now, if only I could be as definite about pens…