I FEEL A STORY COMING ON


I am driven to create a set of sprites, and their little houses and things.
Parallel to that is the desire to create a story.

This is the first of the series.
I sketched her on my most new favorite thing =
a Kilimanjaro 4X6 block of 140 lb. cold press paper.
10 to a block.

I love the size and the way the block is glued on all sides keeping the top page pretty protected from the next while I work.

Here is some info I got from Cheap Joe's.
In case you have not heard or worked with this item.

I like ordering from Cheap Joes, prices are good.

And I truly love looking through the catalog
I had mailed to me.

It's my dream book.


Artist Watercolor Blocks
by Cheap Joe

What is a watercolor block, you say? Why do you need one? Well for one, a watercolor block can make your watercolor painting experience much easier. Many watercolor students love blocks because they are great to put into a tote bag and take back and forth to class.

Here’s some information that may make you fall in love with a watercolor block. A watercolor block is really just like what it sound like, a block of watercolor paper that is attached together. The sheets of fine art paper are trimmed to some uniform size and stacked up. That stack of art paper is then attached to a backing board with a padding glue. This glue is applied to all four sides of the paper. If the glue is applied to just one side, that is called a watercolor pad. Because all four sides of the paper are glued into place, you don’t ever have to stretch your watercolor paper prior to painting. Just paint and go! If you are painting on a watercolor block made of 140lb. watercolor paper then you must wait until your painting dries completely before removing it from the block. If you are using a watercolor block that is made of 300lb paper, you obviously have great taste in your art supplies. Cheap Joe’s Kilimanjaro blocks are the only watercolor blocks available with a 300lb. paper. Paintings done on these watercolor blocks can be removed immediately and set aside to dry since the heavier watercolor paper will not buckle when wet.

But, what happens when you want to take your masterpiece off? How do you get to the sheets underneath that one? Just flip back the cover of your watercolor block and along the top edge you will see a space where the glue has not been applied. This space is probably only a couple of inches wide. Use a Cheap Joe’s "Unblocker" or even a plastic picnic knife to slide in between the sheets in that small space. Then, gently run the knife around the edges, Voila! Your painting is ready to frame for your gallery show and it your watercolor block is ready for you next creation!

So, that is a little tad of information about watercolor blocks. We hope that it helped you with understanding more about the selection of art supplies that we offer here at Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff. Educating yourself about your art supply choices is a great way to learn more about art and how to make a smart decision that suits your personal painting style.



O.K.......on to the project

You will notice that I am doing this sketch in ink
AFTER I did a light sketch in pencil.
I still need the 'erase factor'.


I also have another motive for doing the basic outline in ink.......but that I will not share yet as
I am still in the baby stages of THAT very exciting possibility.

Once I have her sketched in, I begin the watercolor addition.




She is an old soul named Ulie.
(pronounced you-lee)

So there you have it.

First in a series.

7 comments:

Sharon Tomlinson said...

You do them so well because you know them. I'm sure of it. Ulie is wonderful, probable a princess among her piers. I'll be watching for more and paint is my eraser factor.

dogfaeriex5 said...

you are magical, do you know that???
xox

~Red Tin Heart~ said...

Rella, she is beautiful! And this post was so informative..
I loved it.
xoxo Nita

Cindy Dean said...

You do such beautiful work! You go girl!

Jen Gabaldon said...

She is great! I can't wait to see what the next step looks like :)
Jen Gabaldon

WendyP said...

Ulie is amazing - as you are !!

many hugs and much love
xoxoxo

kecia deveney said...

ulie is pretty darn cute! nice job and love your water color work. i enjoy working with watercolors; they have such a tranquil look about them.
kecia