Artistic Insider May 2017 Edition

Artistic Insider May 2017 Edition Prescott AZ Art Store

Promotions & Deals ~ Classes ~ Contact Us ~ Services ~ Shop Online


Hi true believers and Art Friends! Welcome to the May edition of Artistic Insider – the one and only blog from the Art Store in Prescott. Find out the latest happenings at the Art Store, from new materials, travel tips, art classes and workshops, art related community events, and so much more!


Earth day is near! Love your Mother… do some art using recycled materials, with paint, papers and brushes from the Art Store!

Check out our Earthy handmade paper selection! These gorgeous papers are made with renewable mulberry fiber and marbled in gorgeous earthy colors. Use them to paint on, to create paper sculptures, with colored pencil, in collage or even for window coverings or lampshades! The uses of our handmade papers are endless. Come on by and take a look at our seasonal varieties today.

Volcano handmade marbled paper

Mesa handmade marbled paper

Forest handmade marbled paper

Tsunami handmade paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


We love this idea from the blog Carrots are Orange!

The Egg Carton Challenge: Make a globe out of old egg cartons

recycle old egg cartons into art with glue and paint from the Art Store

Simply grab some inexpensive brushes and acrylic craft paints (We carry those!), some scissors and glue, and make a globe out of egg carton sections. Instructions HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

Go for a hike, gather some deadfall sticks or branches, and paint them up. They’d look awesome in a vase at home, or placed in your garden outside!

 

 

More painted sticks… Golden acrylics would work great to paint these!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Check out our May class schedule!

Come take an art class with us. Collage, Watercolor, Pastels or Drawing… unleash your inner artist!

Pastels with Don Rantz, beginners to advanced, four sessions

May 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd  @ 2:00 PM5:00 PM

May’s Exploring Mixed Media Collage Class – Experience! – Series 1 with Debra Owen, four sessions

May 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th @ 10:00 AM1:00 PM

May’s Basic Drawing Class, four sessions

May 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th @ 10:00 AM12:00 PM

May’s Basics of Watercolor

May 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th @ 1:00 PM4:00 PM

Click on the Monthly Scheduler button below to view our calendar and register!


 

 

We have a whole new display of Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens… WOO HOO! LOOK AT THOSE COLORS!

These glorious pens come in a full range of colors, plus brush and regular tips.

Made with India ink, these pens have a great lightfastness rating and the colors are brilliant. Metallics too!

Come check out the full range of colors, in open stock, kits and sets right here at The Art Store. Need paper or coloring books to go with your Pitt pens? We have those too 🙂

Great for drawing, calligraphy and coloring books!

A rendering of Faber Castell’s logo, created with Pitt pens by Alexander Vethers

 


Chalk it Up! Prescott is coming! This weekend… Get your art on.

Did you know? The Art Store is a chalk sponsor for this event! Go get your free box of chalk, it’s on us 🙂

Chalk It Up! Prescott is a FREE, family-friendly and community-centered event intended to cultivate and support the creativity in people of all ages and abilities, while raising awareness and funds for the mental health, crisis intervention, and substance use treatment services supported by the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic Foundation. This annual Prescott event needs you! Gather your friends, fire up your imagination and grab a box of chalk – the chalk is free!  Artists like you will create a temporary museum of pavement chalk art on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 201 N. Montezuma Street – in the National Bank of Arizona’s parking lot.


Prescott Farmer’s Market chose a winning design by an Art Store customer!

20th Anniversary Design Contest

The winner of the contest was Art Store customer and fabulous artist Jennifer of JennyT designs!

Here is Jennifer’s winning design! Look for it on Prescott Farmer’s Market shirts, totes, and more.

From the Farmer’s Market: “We are excited to share the winning design for our 20th Anniversary T-shirt Design Contest. We received 16 entries and are so grateful to all those who submitted. The favorite design by a landslide came from local artist Jenny T. Designs.

Look for commemorative shirts and bags at the opening day of the Prescott summer market on May 6! You can find Jenny T. Designs on Facebook and Instagram.”

Congratulations, Jenny T! We look forward to seeing your art about town.


Daniel Smith’s Gold Gesso is back in stock!

 

Oops! We ran out… We didn’t realize how popular this would be! Once we announced we had it, we promptly ran out due to demand. Well, it’s back, and it’s still awesome. Come get some!

After years of this product being discontinued from the market due to the lack of affordable ingredients, Daniel Smith has re-released their popular Gold Gesso.

Gold Gesso is both an acrylic ground and a water based paint that can be used with watercolor, oil and acrylic. Used as a ground, it creates a glow reminiscent of Renaissance-era work. In addition the gesso makes the paper tougher. It becomes easier to lift the watercolor off the paper. 300 lb (640 gm/m 2) cold press or rough papers work best.

This product is now available on our sales floor as well as our webstore.

 

 

 


It’s that time of year, the weather’s great, adventure is calling! Gamblin Oil Colors has some helpful tips on travelling with art materials. Happy trails, and we hope you get to keep your seat!

Artistic Insider May 2017 Edition Prescott AZ Art Store

“Tofu Flying” by Matto the Hun

Tips for Traveling with Artists’ Materials

Many artists contact me with questions about the best ways to take art materials on aircraft. I have been flying with oil painting materials for 25 years. I have logged about 400,000 miles with my paints. Here are some suggestions.

Artists’ oil colors contain no solvents so they are not hazardous.

When security asks, “What are these?” never say oil paints. The word “PAINT” is a hot button issue with them. (I have even heard of acrylics and watercolors not allowed on airplanes because they were described as “paints.”) Tell them that they are“artists’ colors made from vegetable oil.” Nowhere on our products or in the literature does the word “paint” appear.

  1. The US Department of Transportation defines “flammable liquids” as those with a flash point 140 degrees F or below. All art materials manufacturers can provide you with a materials safety data sheet (SDS) on their products. You can download and print SDS for all Gamblin Artists’ materials from our web site. Product descriptions and SDS are located in the Artists Materials section of the web site. Click on the SDS link below the product description.

If you do not know the flash point of your mediums or solvent, do not plan to take any on board.

Check to see if you can purchase mediums and solvents at your destination. If not, ship art materials ahead by ground transportation. Using the US Postal Service, artists can ship materials anywhere in the world. Remember to specify “ground transportation” service. Insure the package and pay for a delivery receipt.

  1. Artists grade oil colors are based on vegetable oil with a flash point above 550 degrees F. THEY ARE NOT HAZARDOUS.
  2. Be ready to show the SDS to prove the flash point if required. Do not travel with solvents and mediums. Gamsol has a flash point of 146 degrees F so it can fly with you if you have a copy of the SDS.
  3. Do not carry your palette knives on board. Put them in your suitcase and check your luggage.

Keep your cool—don’t hassle security. Show them the SDS and explain that you are going on a painting holiday.

Drying Time
Oil painting materials are products of the natural world so they are tremendously responsive to temperature and humidity. In fact, you may find that the set of materials you have been working with successfully during the cool months will not work for you during warmer weather.

Oil colors dry faster in warm weather. Solvents and the solvent in painting mediums evaporate more quickly. A great advantage for those who want to speed up the painting process, heat may be a disadvantage for those who are used to a longer open time.

If you need more working time, and you are using a quick drying medium like Galkyd or Galkyd Lite then switch to a slower drying medium.

If you use a low viscosity medium like Galkyd Lite, try Galkyd Slow Dry. If this still does not give you enough working time, try the slowest of slow dry mediums: mix Gamsol and Poppy oil in equal parts.

If you prefer a higher viscosity medium like Galkyd, add 10% Stand oil to Galkyd to increase the working time. If this is still not enough working time, as above, make a medium by mixing Gamsol and Stand oil in equal parts.

Use the Gamblin Interactive Painting Mediums Guide to determine the combination of mediums that is right for you. More information on painting mediums can be found in:Painting Mediums and Working with Oil Painting Mediums. Information on painting mediums is also available in the brochure “Gamblin Guide to Oil Painting Mediums.”
If you want a copy, please send me an email with your mailing address to:RobertGamblin@gamblincolors.com. All Gamblin Oil Painting Mediums are sold in 2 fl oz bottles so you can try to find the one or combination that is best for your painting style.

Summer Heat
Another issue is the effect of summer heat on oil colors. Many of us travel in cars and leave our paints and supplies in the oven-like trunks. The viscosity of oil colors is much lower (paints are more fluid) when they get hot. Artists’ oil colors traditionally throw a little oil over the life of the tube. But storing oil colors in hot cars and trunks will increase the stress on the paints and can cause more oil to separate from the pigment. Keep your paints as cool as possible to reduce separation.

I do not recommend you mix the separated oil back into the paint. Rather blot it up. If the paint feels too dry, add your favorite painting mediums to increase the flow (decrease viscosity).

Shipping Art Work
Travelling with art supplies is one challenge. Shipping fresh oil paintings is another. Here are a few suggestions.

A “fresh painting” is one that has skinned over. Dry to the touch, you can easily smear it with your finger if you press too hard. A fresh painting needs careful handling. Place your paintings face to face with wax paper or with non-stick baking paper between them. You can also place plastic push-pins at each corner of one of the paintings to put some additional space between the paintings. Unpack the paintings as soon as they get to their destination.

If your paintings are larger and you prefer to roll them for shipping

  • Roll the paintings with the face of the painting facing out
  • Roll the paintings over the largest core you can, 3″ minimum. Rule for rolling paintings: the older the painting, the larger the core you need for rolling. Paintings should bend as little as possible. Fresh paintings are more flexible than older paintings.
  • Interleave the paintings with a non-stick material if you are rolling more than one together.
  • Unroll them as soon as possible.

Ship vanished paintings with nothing touching the surface.

Regularly I get calls from artists asking what to do when their gallery shipped a varnished painting with sheet plastic or bubble-wrap directly on the face of the painting. This is a bad technique because the varnish heats up under the bubble wrap and softens while in transit. Then the pattern of the bubble wrap is pressed on to the surface.

If you varnished the painting with Gamvar, remove the varnish with Gamsol and re-varnish. If the painting is varnished with dammar, it is much more difficult to fix. To remove dammar varnish, you need stronger solvents. Strong solvents can damage paintings. To see if you can remove dammar varnish, dip a q-tip in turpentine. Apply solvent to small area in one corner. If your q-tip turns slightly yellow (the color of dammar varnish), you can lift the varnish. If not, you cannot. Stop immediately if you lift any color.

New Magazine
If you are an enthusiast of outdoor painting then there is a new magazine for you: Plein Air Magazine. The first issue was just published this June.

If you have any further questions about tips for traveling with oil painting materials,
please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,
Robert Gamblin signature
Robert Gamblin


Live out of town? It’s midnight? It’s Sunday?  No excuses… shop online with us!

 


 

Did you know that if you spend $30 on supplies you get a coupon with NO EXPIRATION DATE to use on your next purchase?  That’s right, you can make your own perpetual sale with our register coupons! Cool.  Watch for our regular coupon specials in America’s coupon mailer every month, and be sure to head on down and enjoy our great prices on all kinds of art supplies every day.


Toot our horn!

We contributed gift certificates for art supplies to the Prescott Center for the Arts scholarship competition winners again this year. Congratulations to the High School art scholarship winners! We hope you enjoy your art supplies!

 


One of our favorite tumblr pages is Artist Problems. Here’s problem #1000… What’s YOUR problem as an artist?

 

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