Ampersand Aquabord

I had some Ampersand Aquabord that I purchased a while back lying around so I broke it out as a support for my Aunt Tran's painting.  I don't think Aquaboard is much different from the previously labeled Claybord, also by Ampersand.  That is...it is a hardboard coated with a thin layer of clay on one side.  It sounded promising enough - a durable watercolor support that didn't have to be protected behind glass, can mounted like canvas and able to withstand rigorous working over.  Alas, I was very disappointed.


Perhaps it was an inexperience with the material and the expectation that it would behave like watercolor paper (such as the promo described) but I was thoroughly frustrated with it.  Instead of absorbing the paint, washes merely laid on top of the board until dried.  This made washes nearly impossible for me.  Color gradations would run into each other and create a dirty mess.


Grazes (a staple for me) were out of the question as each successive layer attempt would just lift the color below it.  Pigments are more opaque on this support and does not dry to the intended delicate transparent hues.  The texture is grainy much like coarse sand paper thus lacking the usual watercolor paper finish.  This affected how granulating colors settled or not. The only positive thing I found is that colors tend to be bright and saturated if not overworked since they sit atop the support.


Overall, a disappointing trial.  I am not encouraged to continue with this product since I spent so much time working and reworking the art, never achieving a satisfactory finish.  One should probably consider that this negative impression is in relation to my style and technique.  I worked on a small canvas, no doubt affecting how much material I could put down and control.  A larger support would have been easier and probably resulted more favorably.  Also, I can see how Aquabord would complement gouache much better than watercolor.  Finally this support encourages bold purposeful movement and color.  It appears detrimental to be tentative or uncommitted.


Despite all that I've mentioned...I have seen some beautiful paintings by other artists painted on Aquaboard but even they admit their frustrations with it.  This makes me sad since I very much wanted a great painting of a much beloved Candie and was excited to be using some wonderful violets and gold on her.  It doesn't help that I forgot to get a decent scan either.  I will ultimately have to do a do-over on Candie.

Watercolor on Aquaboard, 5"x7"

Aquabord

Daniel Smith PrimaTek Watercolors

It's been a rough start getting back into the swing of things but I managed to finish another piece in September.  I've been using the Winsor & Cotman watercolors exclusively up until now and was satisfied enough, especially at this stage of my technical skillset.  Some peers have never the less encouraged me to sample better paints and after doing some research, I started eyeing Daniel Smith's brand of watercolors.  While not prohibitively exclusive like some other brands, Smith's paints are still on the upper tier of price range but they are raved as one of the best paint lines available. I found that buying them in sets will often halve the price yet I hesitated ordering due to the high shipping cost.  Freight usually would not have been so problematic but for the competition of Dick Blick (and their deep discount + free shipping) on my art budget.

The happy ending is that I generously received three sets of Daniel Smith triad sets from my MIL for my birthday this year.  I've heard from other artists that DS shipments take a little longer to arrive (another point for DB) but MIL ended up having to re-order as my shipment got lost.  My booty consisted of: Cadmium Orange Hue, Cobolt Violet, Cobalt Violet Deep, Isoindoline Yellow, Quinacridone Fuchsia, Terre Verte, Tiger's Eye Genuine, Sugilite Genuine and Mayan Blue Genuine. The majority is new to my palette with the last three within DS exclusive PrimaTek line (earth tones rendered from semi-precious stones and minerals). 


DS paints only come in tubes so I purchased another W&N travel set, emptied out the pans and refilled them with the DS paints.  Most of the colors were thick and buttery smooth except for the PrimaTek line which appeared lumpy and coarse.  Tiger's eye genuine had separated but I was able to blend it back together.  The synthetic colors didn't shrink too much overnight, however, the PrimaTek colors had dried to only about 1/3 the original volume...somewhat disappointing since this is generally an indicator of more fillers and less pigments.

My mother always complains that whenever Chris calls home, it's usually to ask about his dog which inspired me to test the new colors on a postcard of Rev.  As it turns out, I ended up solely using the PrimaTek hues supplemented by cotman yellow orche, ultramarine and burnt umber, which means I can't speak to the standard line of DS colors at this time.


Let's start with the positive.  Working previously from such a limited common palette, I was pleasurably entranced by the new colors in the Primatek line.  The Mayan Blue Genuine is an attractive deep turquoise hue.  The Sugilite Genuine has a lavender iridescent sheen...subtle but coyly enticing.  The Tiger's Eye Genuine is a very subdue brown, more yellow than burnt umber, not exciting but versatile.   It's probably a personal preference but because they're based on earth minerals, the hues are generally muted and incorporated well into my neutral aesthetic. They're rich without being vibrant, complex but not loud.  I didn't feel that I had to work at toning down the colors to achieve a natural likeness.  Conversely though, I felt that the pigment load was rather low. It took quite a bit of paint to achieve a strong tint.       


The other problem that I experienced was that the PrimaTek colors tend to lift fairly easy making glazing a difficult task.  This is probably due to the rather large particles of natural minerals vs. the microscopic particles of synthetic compounds.  I don't think this should be a deterrent from using the line, but the artist should be aware and adjust his technique accordingly else risk some annoyance as I did at first.


My overall impression is that Daniel Smith's PrimaTek line is worth sampling but it's probably not the best bang for your buck.  The low tinting strength and higher cost makes it economically unattractive especially when you consider that most of the hues can be replicated.  In essence, you're getting a little paint for a lot of money.  Now how much mileage you get from selling paintings created with semiprecious lapis lazuli, garnet and turquoise is another matter.  It seems like the PrimaTek line, as with a lot of commercially successful art, benefits from good marketing. 

Watercolor on Paper, 4"x6"

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Pan Set

I needed a watercolor pan set for plein-air painting and sketchbook journaling.  Most of the artist sets were priced higher than I wanted to pay considering I didn't want a double investment in both tube and pan colors.  The opposite end of the spectrum just didn't pass muster so I was happy when I came across Winsor & Newton Cotman colors.  WB artist line is highly popular with watercolor professionals and the student line is reputed to be quite good.  The variety of palettes, from compact cases to all in one field boxes, also attracted me - in the instance, it was their sketcher pocket box set.

Winsor & Newton Sketcher Pocket Box Set

This particular set consist of 12 half pans with most of the essential hues and a collapsable brush.  At around 2"x4", it fits nicely in a pocket or purse.  The case is made of sturdy plastic and although perhaps not as attractive as metal tins, certainly is more robust for the field.  However, unlike traditional sets that clip into rails, the pans sit in the molded wells of the case which causes them to rattle and sometime fall askew when transported.

While it can be observed that some of the colors were not as intense when compared to the best artist colors, it was nevertheless highly satisfactory and better, with many single pigment colors, than most any other student set.  The discrepancy was mostly found in the 'hues' that were used to replace some of the more costly colors although they do also make real cadmiums and cobolt colors (none were in this set).  

Overall - the price, quality and size were perfect for my intended purpose.  Have a handy waterbrush loaded and this set is perfect on the go.  My only complaint was the lack of black in this pallet on an outing to the Arboretum last weekend, but in the future, I intend to refill the empty pans with my choice of artist tube colors.

I tested the set out on an illustration of my brother.

Ink and Watercolor on Paper, 5"x8"

Moleskine Watercolor Notebook

I think from time to time I will try to do a product review because I like to experiment with different products and from my experience found that there's a scarcity of comprehensive information readily accessible.  My inaugural review will cover the Moleskine watercolor notebook. The Tombows that I have been using were adequate in the Moleskine classic but they neither blended well as watercolors on the paper nor was the nib fine enough for my inking taste.  I was therefore impressed to try the watercolor notebook as most enthusiast recommend it for journaling and field studies. 

Moeskine Watercolor Notebook

The books come in a pocket sized 3.5" x 5.5" and a larger but still extremely portable 5" x 8" landscape. With 60 and 72 pages respectively, there's an ample amount of creamy, thick 200gsm, 25% cotton cold pressed paper and unlike some other thread bound sketchbooks, I like that the pages lay flat for use when open.  The cover has an elegant yet professional leather texture with an elastic closure similar to the classic series. 


I purchased my large notebook from the University Co-op art store for $19.99 but subsequently found them for much less from online vendors such as Dick Blick.  Tragically, a quick assessment of my art cache revealed a shortage of any decent watercolors paints so for this demonstration, I was relegated to using the Tombows ABT duel brush pens and some Fiber-Castell watercolor pencils. 


Voila! A quick study of barn owls.

Mix Media on Paper, 5"x8"

The owl on the left side was painted using the pencils while the pair on the right, a combination the brush pens and micron.  I primarily used a #5 Royal Aqualon round that I purchased in a variety 3pk on clearance for $0.01.  For that price, I couldn't resist trying them out and found them quite favorable at least for this application.  The watercolor pencils are a scholastic grade so it was hard to get the intensity and pigmentation to do proper gradation and blending.  I found this frustrating to the point of turning me off to watercolor pencils but I will definitely try a better grade and see how I fair.

The versatility of the brush pens became more apparent when using the proper paper.  I was able to easily blend using the colorless blending pen or a brush, control the intensity of color by dipping the tip in water and building up hues by glazing.  I liked them enough that I ordered a set of 10 beyond my usual shader colors.

The paper held up extremely well even with heavy washes with no bleeding whatsoever.  There was only minimal warping and doubtful any with lighter applications.  The slight tooth of the paper is also ideal for techniques with other media such as charcoal, graphite, and pastels that cannot be achieved with the classic smooth paper.  Needless to say, I am extremely pleased thus far with this notebook and suggest it as an companion to those who already love the classic Moleskine.

On a related note, I just ordered my first Kolinsky sable brushes and of course some artist quality watercolors.  I am beyond giddy.