Journey Art Supplies Blog
Tips, Tricks, Thoughts, and inspiration from across the art spectrum.
Group Art Ideas to Inspire and Challenge
Sometimes at Cheap Joe's, we love tackling unique group art ideas. We also understand that coming up with those group art ideas can be challenging whether you are an art teacher, student, or simply encouraging creativity around you. You might have noticed that I've been absent lately, and I apologize for that! We've been busy working hard here at Cheap Joes, but now that I have a moment, I have something exciting to share that might inspire you! For the past month, we've also been working on a group art idea centered around the beautiful painting, A Wheatfield with Cypresses, by Vincent Van Gogh. Our group art idea was to re-imagine this gorgeous classic painting into a collaborative project done between 36 different artists, and it's finally finished! So how did we do it, and how can you do something similar? 1. PlanningFirst, we chose a famous painting. In this case, A Wheatfield with Cypresses, by Vincent Van Gogh. Next, one of our talented Graphic Designers, Erin, collected the names of all the artists interested in participating and divided the painting into equivalent sections. You can see the divided section of the artwork that I chose, circled below. 2. SectioningOnce every artist was assigned a section, we sent each of them an 11"x14" Joe's Prime Cradled Painting Panel along with a printout of their section, and then the painting as a whole for further reference. We chose to-scale printouts of each section to help us ensure that our edges would line up as seamlessly as possible without a mess of crooked designs. Here's Erin, hard at work, distributing panels and printouts for all the artists. And below, here's one of our fantastic Marketing Assistants, Lori, providing much-needed group art support and unique flare. 3. Create!This part of the process is, in my opinion, the most fun. Each artist is free to recreate their painting section in their style or medium of choice. In my case, I decided that I wanted to make sure my panel lined up with its neighbors as much as possible, so I grabbed a piece of Saral Wax-Free Transfer Paper. Next, I placed the transfer paper between the panel and my printout to trace the major lines to get a good basic shape, paying attention to the bars along the edges the most. Though you can't really see it well in the image above due to the angle, the lines came out perfectly crisp, which is excellent. I've got a solid base down and am ready to choose paints. I decided to go with acrylic paints and grabbed an assortment of our Joe's Prime Really Good Lightfast Acrylic colors that mostly matched the colors I saw in my panel. (I say mostly because I knew to match better, I needed to mix colors for the perfect shades I wanted.) I mixed a combination of Bright Aqua Green, Light Blue Violent, and Titanium white to create the shades I felt matched best. I began with an even layer of a mixture of teal, and while it was wet, I quickly added a few dollops of Titanium White for blending. I chose to add white within the teal so that I could mimic the almost chunky, 3D, and heavy strokes found in the painting, something that Van Gough is most famous for, and I wanted to emulate that as closely as I could. I mixed up some purple clouds for my finishing touches and added the very top corner of the cypress tree that I had in my section. I wanted to give my panel a bit more of a personal touch, something in my own style, so I considered doodling over the basic outlines of my panel. I wasn't sure yet, so I decided to test my idea without ruining the panel to prevent making a mistake I couldn't return from. I decided to tape a sheet of 11"x14" Polyester Film over my panel and began doodling on that instead. I began by just lining the major shapes of my brush stroke texture, and I really enjoyed that effect on its own. But I decided to try and take it a step further and began to doodle lines in some of the corner sections. I eventually realized that I felt as if the little circles were so close together that they began blocking out entire sections of the painting underneath. I tried a second attempt at circles on a larger scale with a different shape, and I thought it looked much better. I was still experimenting, so I continued this process until I mainly had one corner covered where I could take a break, stand back, and gauge my feelings on what I had done so far. I ultimately decided that the doodling of shapes made it far too busy and scrapped my polyester sheet. I did, however, learn that I really loved the way everything looked by being lined in a simple black. So I took my black brush-tip Pitt Artist Pen and decided to go over my lines, but this time directly on my painting. Above is the finished, lined image of my section of the painting and all that was left was to wait to see what the other artists in our group did with their pieces before putting it all together. Here's how it turned out! As you can see, everything lined up so well! I am really impressed with the talent and different interpretations and artist styles on each of our separate panels having turned into a cohesive and natural-looking finished group art piece. It's incredible to see one of our inspiring group art ideas being hung up and displayed as part of an exhibition in the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum. If you get the chance, drop by the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum today to experience fantastic art!Collaborative art ideas are a great way to promote and foster community and learn new group art skills, so we highly encourage you to take a group art idea and run with it!
Group Art Ideas to Inspire and Challenge
Sometimes at Cheap Joe's, we love tackling unique group art ideas. We also understand that coming up with those group art ideas can be challenging whether you are an art...
Getting Started With Watercolors: The Basics
Have you ever found yourself fascinated with watercolors' delicate and luminous nature? There's beautiful transparency and freshness to it that isn't as easily duplicated through mediums such as oil or acrylic. Watercolor painting is an incredibly versatile medium that can provide a subtle effect that can accent or create elaborate, bold colors and patterns for a painting that has head-turning appeal. However, it is also a painting medium that has long been associated with difficulty. You might hear that it is a medium challenging to master, as it can be known to be unforgiving and unpredictable. Mistakes may be difficult to correct at first, and learning to control the water on your brush or paper can be the most complex challenge to overcome. Nevertheless, if you've been considering trying watercolors, you shouldn't be discouraged. Half the fun of watercolors is their unpredictability and how unexpected moments can turn into something unique and beautiful. The most complex decision you may be facing is figuring out where to begin. What do you need when getting started with watercolors? How much is too much? What paints are the best quality, and which paints are the best and most affordable? What paper works and what doesn't? Do brushes matter? If you find yourself at a loss for where to start, take a deep breath in and join us as we go over everything you need when getting started with watercolors. The Basics There are only 5 most basic art supplies you need to begin with watercolors. 1. Paper 2. Brush 3. Watercolor paints 4. Water 5. Mixing palette Anyone can begin watercolor painting with these items on hand. However, not all of these items are created equally. What does that mean? Paper Matters What's in a paper? Any old piece of paper will do, won't it? Unfortunately, your paper does matter when it comes to practicing and learning. Have you ever played with watercolor paints as a child—or watched a child paint with them using, for example, generic printer paper or paper in a notebook meant for writing? If you have, or even if you haven't, trying to paint with watercolors on paper not meant to handle water soon becomes a very frustrating mess. What happens when you watercolor paint on 20lb paper or paper for writing? • Water on writing or cheap paper will immediately buckle or warp. Buckling and warping create an uneven, wrinkled surface where your paints will run or pool. • Paper not meant for watercolors will become extremely weak when wet, meaning something as simple as a brushstroke, or going over a place twice with your brush will create paper piling (rolling up) or worse—tear. When it comes to your journey in learning watercolors, one of the important choices is ensuring your paper has been created specifically for watercolor. What are the best watercolor papers? The Best Affordable Watercolor Paper: What is important when looking for the right watercolor paper is its weight. For instance, generic printer paper is roughly 20lbs or 75 gsm (Grams per Square Meter.) A paper that is weighted between 20lbs/75 gsm to roughly under or at 100lb/270 gsm is generally not hardy enough to handle the water you will use for painting. The ideal paperweight you will be looking for is 140lb or 300 – 360 gsm. Which brands of watercolor paper at this weight are the most affordable for a beginner? • Canson XL Watercolor • Canson Montval Watercolor • Fluid Watercolor Paper • Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor • Cheap Joe's Cardmaker Watercolor Paper Killamanjaro 140lb The Best High-End Watercolor Paper: If you can purchase the best, high-end watercolor paper, you'll notice that these papers occasionally come in weights higher than 140lb, and some are made from 100% cotton. What is fantastic about cotton, or high-weight watercolor paper, is that it can take more significant amounts of water without issue. The stronger the paper, the more they allow you as an artist to play with various effects such as wet washes or wet-in-wet painting, and a more remarkable ability to layer when working on underpainting and watercolor blooms. Some of the best high-end watercolor paper on the market today are: • Saunders Waterford 200lb cold-pressed watercolor paper • Saunders Waterford Watercolor 300lb Rough sheets of paper • Arches 300lb watercolor • Arches 300lb Bright White cold-pressed watercolor paper As a beginner, if you are worried about wasting paper as you learn, it's perfectly acceptable to go with a more affordable option for practice. The Brushes Does it matter what brush you use with watercolors? What about what the brush materials are? Most importantly, it is critical to use brushes specially marked for and made for watercolors? Why? • Watercolors, acrylics, and oil paints all have different chemical compositions that interact differently with different brushes. • A watercolor brush's construction and shape are also different from that of other brushes specific to other mediums. • Acrylic brushes are designed to deal with the viscosity and drying time of acrylic paints, and the rougher handling acrylic brushes tend to go through. • Watercolor brushes are optimized to work with the fluidity of water and delicacy of both the watercolor paints and the techniques used to paint them. Synthetic or Natural Hair Brushes? As a beginner, whether you choose synthetic or natural typically comes down to your budget. Synthetics are fantastic to start with to get the feel of a brush and practice techniques. Naturals brushes (kolinsky sable, red sable, fox, squirrel, ox, and goat) use real hair from the animal that have natural ridges and scales within the hair strand which makes a natural hair brush hold more water better than smooth synthetics. If it is feasible and within your budget, we recommend purchasing natural hair watercolor bristles because natural means you spend less time having to re-wet and work with your brushes. Which Brush Shape? The best shape for your watercolor brushes as a beginner will be round brushes. Round brushes are the most versatile as their shape makes them suitable for tiny details, delicate lines, and broad, bolder strokes and washes. Which Size Brushes? When buying your first brushes, we highly recommend three-round brushes. One small (size 2-3), one medium (5-6), and one large (10-12). Because of how adaptable round brushes are, they are genuinely the only three sizes you will need to learn in the beginning. The Paints As a beginner, there's no rush to run out and purchase the most expensive watercolor paints. You will undoubtedly be using too much or too little as you learn on your journey toward the perfect balance between water and paint, how to mix it, and what works best. However, that doesn't mean you should be using any old set from the bargain basket. There are fantastic watercolor paints that are bright, well-pigmented, and at a perfect price not to break the bank while you experiment. It's possible to have quality pigmented watercolors at affordable prices without compromising or worrying about muddy colors. For the best of both worlds (color, performance, and cost) we highly recommend your first set of paints come from: • Winsor & Newton • Cheap Joe's Sketchmaker • American Journey We also advise starting with a smaller pan of mostly primary colors to help you learn about color mixing and color theory and how watercolors react to one another when layered. Having too many colors to choose from can often feel overwhelming as a beginner. The most important aspect of learning a new hobby is having fun and enjoying it! With the right paper, brushes, and paint, you'll build a solid foundation to begin your journey with watercolors! While this doesn't cover nearly all of the great tips and tricks or techniques for a beginner—this is a fantastic starting point! We hope we've been able to help you and inspire you to make more art!
Getting Started With Watercolors: The Basics
Have you ever found yourself fascinated with watercolors' delicate and luminous nature? There's beautiful transparency and freshness to it that isn't as easily duplicated through mediums such as oil or...
Oil Painting Tips for Those New to Oils
Hello Artists, beginners and experts alike! This week, our blog post is inspired by a request from Tanya M. Nevin of Van Gough's Ear Paint Studio (check out her work!). She recently inherited a ton of oil paints from her late father, also an artist. Tanya has been painting with acrylics for over twenty-five years and she's not quite sure how to transition into working with oils. Well, Tanya and I are actually in the same predicament! I've never really used oil paints heavily either. So, what do we do when we don't know what to do? I start by asking questions of others that do. I was all to happy to take this opportunity to research the fascinating world of beginner oil painting and share the top 5 oil painting tips I found most helpful. Let's dive in and learn some great first-time oil painting tips together, shall we? 1. Prepare Your Painting Space Oil paints themselves and the solvents you will need to clean brushes with will come with strong scents; as such, you'll want the space you'll be painting in a well-ventilated area. If possible, make sure there is also plenty of room to keep all the items you need in reach and ready, like mediums, painting surfaces, turpentine, brushes, paints, etc. If possible, you may want to make sure your oil painting space is entirely separate from your acrylics or watercolors. In some cases, it's incredibly easy to grab a tube of Opera Rose watercolor instead of oil because the tubes look very similar. 2. Slow and Steady There's nothing more exciting than trying something new and learning a new art medium. However, it can frequently go from exciting to overwhelming very quickly if you jump right into trying to get all the colors, brushes, canvasses, etc. There's no shame in starting small and slowly. It's always good to start with a small painting surface and a limited paint palette to experience the way the paint applies and feels on the brush and how mixing it differs from other mediums you are familiar with. If you're looking for an excellent budget option, did you know that Gamblin creates a free paint called Torrit Grey? Torrit Grey is Gamblin's solution to ensuring high-quality pigments that float in the air of their factories and get filtered away from workers to keep them safe. To keep the environment safe, Gamblin re-uses these pigments to create a one-of-a-kind color tube of grey. Each shade of grey is different, and they also run an annual contest that artists can enter for a chance to win free stuff. 3. Prime your Surface If you don't have some Joe's Prime Stretched Cotton Canvas or Joe's Prime Cotton Canvas Rolls, which are 100% cotton duck that has all been pre-primed for painting with oils, you will absolutely need to prime your surface. Why? Oil paints have oils in them, and when you paint with them on an unprimed surface, the oils begin separating from the paint. Once they separate, they start seeping into an unprimed canvas, wood, or paper and can quickly ruin the piece of art you've worked so hard to create. Luckily, at Cheap Joe's, not only can you get pre-primed surfaces, but you can get highly budget-friendly primer options like our Joe's Prime Really Good Gesso, which starts at $3.59 for an 8 oz jar and can be used to prime for oils and acrylics. 4. "Thick over Thin?" "Fat over Lean?" Have you discovered the phrase "fat over lean" when researching oil painting tips yet, but have no idea what that means? These phrases refer to the layers in which you should try and paint with oils. Thinner paints with less oil for the bottom, or first play, then thicker, more oily paints go over the thinner layer. This ensures your painting dries at the correct rate. If your painting dries at the incorrect rate, you could have cracking. To make paint 'fatter' or oilier, you add more oil to it, and to make it 'leaner' or thinner, you add a solvent such as turpentine or a fast-drying medium. This helps each layer absorb oil from the layer above it evenly. If you didn't know it already, certain colors are known to have faster drying times too, and they can be incorporated into your lower layers. Paints that contain Cobalt, Manganese, and Lead can be added to other paints to speed up the drying process. On the other hand, certain paints are known for drying slowly, such as Quinacridones, and should be avoided on lower layers. 5. Keep Clean Oil paints, like many art mediums, can get extremely messy. In some cases, depending on the ingredients, oil paints can be pretty toxic if ingested or absorbed into your skin—but don't let that frighten you! It's all about keeping your work area and self as clean and organized as possible (and out of reach of children and pets) while learning how to dispose of everything responsibly and adequately. Paints, mediums, palettes, and anything else with oil paint should be disposed of in or at a Hazardous Waste Facility. Rags, paper towels, and items with less mess on them can be contained in a glass jar or a fire-safe trash container. But the containers must be fire safe because oil paints and solvents are highly flammable, and they could spontaneously combust when drying out! Hopefully, these five beginner tips will help you transition into your new oil paints, Tanya! I can't wait to see what you learn and all you can do! Good luck and good painting!
Oil Painting Tips for Those New to Oils
Hello Artists, beginners and experts alike! This week, our blog post is inspired by a request from Tanya M. Nevin of Van Gough's Ear Paint Studio (check out her...
Celebrating Motherhood Through Art: Mary Cassatt
When I think of Mother’s Day and Art, there’s one artist that comes to mind instantly, Mary Cassatt. Mary was an impressionistic artist that had a style that was unlike many of the other artists of her time. Early in her career, she painted with oils and commissioned portraits mostly to fund her travel to Europe and further her art experience.
Celebrating Motherhood Through Art: Mary Cassatt
When I think of Mother’s Day and Art, there’s one artist that comes to mind instantly, Mary Cassatt. Mary was an impressionistic artist that had a style that was unlike...
Celebrating Father's Day: The Father's of Art
With Father’s Day in mind, I started to think about Fathers and Art. Which then lead me to think about Fathers in Art. Which then lead to the Fathers of Art. So, I asked myself, what does it mean to be a father of an art movement or a style of art all of its own? And like sons and daughters who want to be like their dads, to have others who want to be just like you?
Celebrating Father's Day: The Father's of Art
With Father’s Day in mind, I started to think about Fathers and Art. Which then lead me to think about Fathers in Art. Which then lead to the Fathers of...
Hue Paints: What They Are and Why They're Worth...
When ordering paints, especially watercolor paints, customers are wary about ordering colors that include the word Hue in them. They are told that these are substandard paints and should be avoided at all costs. This is not true at all. There are Hues and then there are Hues. Let me explain.
Hue Paints: What They Are and Why They're Worth...
When ordering paints, especially watercolor paints, customers are wary about ordering colors that include the word Hue in them. They are told that these are substandard paints and should be...
A Simple Plein Air Oil Painting Set Up
When I began painting landscapes again, I wanted a minimal plein air oil painting kit that I could grab and go that wouldn't take forever to set up. Here's my simple plein air oil painting equipment list:
A Simple Plein Air Oil Painting Set Up
When I began painting landscapes again, I wanted a minimal plein air oil painting kit that I could grab and go that wouldn't take forever to set up. Here's my...
How to Make Calligraphy Ink with Jacquard's Pea...
<p>Ever wanted to create your own calligraphy inks in any color and sheen you can imagine? It's simpler than you think! Learn how to mix your own calligraphy or drawing ink from Jacquard Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments and Gum Arabic in this short tutorial.</p>
How to Make Calligraphy Ink with Jacquard's Pea...
<p>Ever wanted to create your own calligraphy inks in any color and sheen you can imagine? It's simpler than you think! Learn how to mix your own calligraphy or drawing...
Featured Artist: Erin Berrett, Contemporary Rea...
Ampersand Gessobord artist Erin Berrett is a contemporary realism oil painter best known for her still-lifes. Some of her favorites are meaningful commissions that have sweet or fun and quirky backstories. Ampersand checked in with Berrett and asked her to share some of her most memorable commissions and the stories behind the paintings
Featured Artist: Erin Berrett, Contemporary Rea...
Ampersand Gessobord artist Erin Berrett is a contemporary realism oil painter best known for her still-lifes. Some of her favorites are meaningful commissions that have sweet or fun and quirky...
Interview with Landscape Painter Jane Hunt, by ...
Learn more about artist Jane Hunt's evocative impressionistic landscape paintings on Gessobord panels in this interview by Ampersand. Her sweeping landscapes skillfully merge a sense of immense wonderment with a tranquil feeling of warm familiarity
Interview with Landscape Painter Jane Hunt, by ...
Learn more about artist Jane Hunt's evocative impressionistic landscape paintings on Gessobord panels in this interview by Ampersand. Her sweeping landscapes skillfully merge a sense of immense wonderment with a...
DIY 3D Christmas Tree Holiday Card
Take your handmade holiday cards to the next level with this three-dimensional Christmas tree card! Simple materials like cut paper and glue are embellished with glossy embossing powders that give these cards that holiday bling
DIY 3D Christmas Tree Holiday Card
Take your handmade holiday cards to the next level with this three-dimensional Christmas tree card! Simple materials like cut paper and glue are embellished with glossy embossing powders that give...
"Guidelines" by Skip Lawrence
Skip Lawrence offers some Guidelines for finding a more personally expressive, creative, and sincere way to paint. From the Palette Magazine.
"Guidelines" by Skip Lawrence
Skip Lawrence offers some Guidelines for finding a more personally expressive, creative, and sincere way to paint. From the Palette Magazine.
