Advent Calendar Day 10: Washi Dots

Today my advent calendar bestowed on me: washi dots! This is like washi tape, but precut into circle stickers. I got this because I often find myself cutting circles out of masking tape for moons and suns, and they’re never circular enough. The downside of precut circles is you can’t make them any size you … Read more

Advent Calendar Day 9: Platinum Plaisir

Today the advent calendar gave me: a fountain pen! For one of my first fountain pens, I opted for Platinum Plaisir on the recommendation of chat-friend Veronica. It’s a said to be a solid beginner pen with a lid that keeps the ink wet for a long time, which was important to me as a … Read more

Advent Calendar Day 8: Enpitsu

Today’s advent calendar item was non-watercolor: the Kokuyo Enpitsu mechanical pencil, which is notable for having really thick lead: 1.3mm. This is nearly twice as thick as the typical 0.7mm lead. I got this because I like thick lead. I usually favor 0.7mm lead over 0.5mm, because I don’t like breakage and prefer a less-fine … Read more

Advent Calendar Day 7: Quinacridone Gold

Quin Gold is a color that I go through cycles with: sometimes I use it a lot, sometimes I don’t use it for awhile. Every time I use it I’m like “This color’s great, how come I don’t use it more often?” Today I did a wetland painting in the style of Margaret Babbit, an … Read more

Advent Calendar Day 5: Raw Sienna

I drew a paint, finally! I got: Da Vinci Raw Sienna. I used to love this paint, but I’ve been painting with a lot more MANS lately, so now’s time to get re-acquainted.

I made a color chart, because I just felt like swatching. This compares Naples Yellow Deep, MANS, and DV Raw Sienna when combined with Pyrrol Scarlet, Naphthol Scarlet, or Quinacridone Coral.

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Monthly Retrospective: November 2024

I got my next painting area up and running quickly after moving. I painted less than in October because I actually had things to do, like starting a new job, but I managed to still do a lot, including participating in Magrish’s annual sky challenge and rejoining Claire Giordano’s Adventure Art Academy!

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Advent Calendar Day 4: Wide Washi Tape

Finally, a non-brush! I got a roll of wide washi tape with the thought that I could cut shapes out of it for masking. Of course, it’s midweek, so I’m too tired to really put in the work to do an intricate piece. I did two mini-pieces, fall leaves and a flower. Once the background … Read more

Advent Calender Day 3: Sword Liner

Another day, another brush! I swear I didn’t put that many in my advent calendar, but my randomizer (my partner) keeps pulling out the brushes. Today’s pick is a Rosemary Snowdrop synthetic sword liner, size 1/4″. I got it because I had heard that sword liners were as good as riggers for thin lines, but … Read more