Saturday, December 19, 2009

Gouache on Terraskin stone paper


Morning Snow - Gouache on Terraskin 19.5 x 13.5cm

At the beginning of December Jeanette Jobson who blogs on Illustrated Life started testing various media on a new ground called Terraskin which is made from a crushed mineral powder held together with a non-toxic resin - effectively paper out of stone. Since Jeanette only has one tube of gouache I volunteerd to test the Terraskin as a ground for gouache.

We woke to snow this morning so I dashed out to the garden to take some photos and used one as a reference for the little painting above. The 'paper' has a beautiful soft, smooth, almost velvety surface and is quite heavy. It cuts beautifully but wouldn't tear easily. I noticed in the tests I did on a scrap that it is quite easy to lift highlights from painted areas but one has to be careful because the paint takes longer to dry than on watercolour paper and colours will run into semi dry areas. The gouache dries to a lovely smooth bright finish on this paper. I imagine it would be great for reproduction.

I'm trying very hard not to fall in love with Terraskin because I don't imagine I'm going to find it in Italy in the near future. Many, many thanks, Jeanette for your generosity in sharing some samples.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Gouache sketch, plus...


Neighbours' Washing
Gouache on Clairefontaine brown kraft paper

If you visit on Sunday night you are probably going to be offered leftovers. That's what this post is ... leftovers from a few days of experimenting.

That's a new Clairefontaine sketchbook above - I like the colour but it is very thin and the paint is inclined to collect on the ridges of the paper.

Another experiment - Pigma Micron 005 pen with watercolour wash on rough CP paper. It's a corner of my favourite Piazza in Florence, where I'm going to stay next weekend. So you could call this one Practice.


Hydrangea - Monotype
- Caran d'Ache Neocolor II watersoluble pastels on Japanese Ho Sho paper

Monotype - oil paint on Fabriano white paper

So, who said I have too many art supplies?!

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Persimmon Monotype Print


Persimmons -Monotype 20cm x 20cm Gouache on Fabriano Paper

This is a hand-rubbed monotype of gouache transferred from a glass plate.

Unfortunately with the gorgeous ripe persimmons of autumn comes the thick, grey fog that makes it very difficult to photograph prints and my scanner has dropped out too much detail.


Persimmon Tree decked with ripe fruit.

And another - they are all over the place.
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