Square paper is great for a round mandala
I teach a personal growth workshop entitled, Mandala:: An Artful Meditation, where I share my process for mandala creation. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning “whole” but my personal interpretation of the word is as a round design consisting of repeated concentric patterns that radiate from the center outward. I have many examples which can be found here. In the workshop, we create using simple art supplies such as crayons, markers & colored pencils and my favorite paper to use in the class are the square watercolor pads from Clairefontaine. They are a 300g cold pressed paper with a slight texture that works well with dry as well as wet media. Round mandalas just seem to fit so well into the square format.
Artists- ever try Clairefontaine Fine Art Papers?
If you are following this blog, chances are that you are aware of how glorious Clairefontaine/Rhodia paper is for writing. But were you aware that Clairefontaine also makes many different simply AMAZING art papers as well? Watercolor papers, sketch pads, pastel papers, paper for use with acrylic paint – all made by Clairefontaine. Check out pages 47-48 of the online catalog then check here for links to retailers who carry these fine art products.
Be artfully amazing!
Happy Monday!
While I know some might be disappointed that the weekend is over, the thing to remember is that each day is as important as the last, as well as the next. Embrace each day for all it’s worth and LIVE every day!
Art by Biffybeans. © All rights reserved.
User Review: Alberto Lung reviews the new dotPad
Alberto Lung reviews lots & lots of art supplies… which is why I love his blog – Lung Sketching Scrolls.
He recently reviewed the new Rhodia dotPad and had this to say: “The pale violet dots with 5 mm interval provide pretty effective guidelines Continue Readering »
A not so much love affair with pencils
Image by Biffybeans © All Rights Reserved.
I really, really, would like to love using a pencil. I have several different kinds- some for writing, some for drawing. Some wooden and at least a few mechanical. I have thick graphite sticks for sketching and colored pencils made by 4 different companies.
And yet I struggle with them all…. Continue Readering »
User Review: Alberto on the J. Herbin Creapen
Knowing my friend Alberto’s fondness for brush pens, I was eager to see his take on the Creapen, a refillable ink brush pen from J. Herbin that I had tested on two previous occasions. Per Alberto: Continue Readering »
Where you Buy Your Rhodia: Wet Paint Art in St. Paul MN
Sent to us by Tim Jennen, Marketing Manager/Buyer
Wet Paint: Artists’ Materials & Framing
1684 Grand Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55105
Tel 651.698.6431
www.wetpaintart.com
Follow Wet Paint on: Facebook & Twitter
Don’t forget to check out Wet Paint’s Clairefontaine Community Sketch Book Project!
Pens, Pencils, Markers, Watercolors… What kinds of media do you use in your journals?
My primary implement for use in any of my journals is a fountain pen.
I almost never use pencils.
Sometimes I will use medium nibbed Signo Gel pens,
or a Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen in a fine nib.
Perhaps a palette of watercolors
and a Niji Waterbrush.
I’m not as adventurous in my journals as I am in my sketchbooks, and I know some people that use everything from sandpaper to spray paint in their journals. I think maybe I just need to learn to let go…. Continue Readering »
Have you Ever Tried a Waterbrush?
I’m not sure where I first learned of these, but I have seen them for sale in local art & craft stores. (For about $6.50 each) They are paintbrushes that contain a reservoir barrel that you fill with water and are really portable. When I don’t feel like setting up all of my watercolor supplies, grabbing a waterbrush and a small palette of paints is the way to go. Continue Readering »
Another One Done…
I am admittedly a paper junkie. I don’t just have one book for writing & sketching, I have many. And I tend to use more than one at a time, which means that it sometimes takes me a while to finish one. The book shown above is the Exacompta blank sketchbook that I recently finished and it took me about a year to do it. Continue Readering »
Does creating art in your journals help you to write better?
Image © Biffybeans All Rights Reserved
I tend to be a doodler in my journals but not a writer in my sketchbooks, and so when I’m writing and get stuck, I will often reach for the nearest art implement… Not only does it help me me to get the creative writing juices flowing, it makes for some pretty intense art that I can directly correlate to the words surrounding the “doodle.” I can look at a particular mandala (a circular geometrical design) I’ve drawn and think, “I was angry” or “I was frustrated” and I can physically see the emotion in my art much the same way I can read it in my words.
This is why I tend to prefer blank paper in my journals as the lines seem to get in the way of my art. :o) I’ll doodle with my fountain pens, gel ink pens, Pitt artist pens… I’ll grab a waterbrush and some paints – whatever works.
I’d love to hear if a similar process works for you.
Time Lapse Mandala Video in a Clairefontaine Sketchbook
Image courtesy of Biffybeans © All Rights Reserved
Clairefontaine, (Rhodia’s parent company) makes some really great fine art products, including this spiral bound sketch pad that I previously reviewed on my blog, Spiritual Evolution of the Bean.The 90g slightly off-white paper has a medium tooth which lends itself quite nicely to fountain pen inks, watercolors, watersoluble crayons, markers, etc.
After recently purchasing a small flexible tripod for my digital camera, I shot the following time-lapse video of me drawing a mandala in the Clairefontaine sketchbook.
Enjoy!
User Review: Alberto and the Rhodia Block #16 Uni-Blank
Images and content courtesy of Alberto at Lung Sketching Scrolls.
“…I was quite excited to try this blank sketch pad with the high quality vellum paper surface that I have grown to appreciate in such a short time. The pad itself features the solid construction, easy-to-tear micro-perforated sheets, and signature orange fold-over cover of this iconic brand.” Continue Readering »
Artist Inspiration: More of Gentian’s Rhodia Pad Cover Art
Gentian’s art continues to blow me away…. Continue Readering »
New Clairefontaine Graf it Sketch Pads – Have you tried them?
Image courtesy of Biffybeans © All Rights Reserved
These spiffy new Clairefontaine 90g Graf it pads are sitting on my “To Review” pile. I’m wondering how the paper compares with the paper in the Clairefontaine Sketch Pads. (Which I like.) Continue Readering »
