What do you do when pricey paper goes bad?

Have you ever painted on watercolor paper only to have your colors look dull, speckled and all of the water just soaked right in? Well, then, you have experienced bad sizing. I am noticing more and more watercolor papers with bad sizing these days, or more accurately, that the sizing just doesn’t last as long as it used to. BTW if you would like a real-time tutorial of me painting this crab and working on the finicky paper you can find it in Critique Club.

In this video we will discuss:

• What is bad sizing?
• How to know if your watercolor sizing has gone bad.
• What you can do with poorly sized paper?
• What materials work best on it?
• The Pros and cons of poorly sized paper.

Supplies (affiliate links used)

• Albright Druer Watercolor Pencils: Blick or Amazon
• Derwent Inktense Blocks: Blick or Amazon
• Waterproof brush pen
• Liquitex clear gesso: Blick or Amazon (magic in a bottle!)
• I used Fluid 100 watercolor paper hot press for this project but I’m not sure I recommend it seeing how quickly the sizing deteriorated.

Have you experienced paper with bad sizing? I am hearing this (and witnessing it myself) more often these days. It’s just another supply they don’t make like they used to I guess. I hope this encourages you to use your supplies while they are still good so they don’t go to waste. I also wanted to add that sizing going bad AFTER you have painted a picture doesn’t matter, it will not affect the paint on the paper that is already there. It is only a problem if the sizing breaks down before you paint on it. I hope you found this useful! Happy crafting!

I Loved Painting This! Loose Spring Watercolor Daffodil Demo

Hi friends! I love it when I am in the zone. When the paint flows effortlessly from my brush and I can see wonderful colors and shapes unfold. That is what I experienced with this painting!

You can watch the painting come together in the video below. There were moments where I was afraid to proceed because I didn’t want to lose the freshness of the painting but I am glad I kept going because I really like the outcome.

I am having a sale in my Teachable School, You can save 40% on any class with the coupon code LUCKY4U, just click “add coupon” at checkout and type in the code to get your discount. Offer ends 3/18/24. If you enjoyed todays video you might also enjoy Watercolor Floral Workshop which explores painting many florals in a loose style. It’s fun and bright and perfect for spring! It’s also one of my most popular classes!

Supplies (affiliate links used)

• Arches 9″x12″ cold pressed watercolor paper block
• Paul Rubens 5th Generation watercolor (clip the 10% off coupon if buying!)
• Fountain pens (empty) Jinhao Shark fine set of 12 *I filled the pens with Dr Ph Martin Radiance liquid watercolor but if you are on a budget the Blick brand liquid watercolor is great too! (and the bottles are 8x bigger!)
• Daniel Smith White Watercolor Ground
• Dr Ph Martin Bleedproof white

I hope this painting inspires you to paint some spring flowers this weekend. Don’t forget the 40% off sale in my Teachable School is only good through the weekend, use coupon code LUCKY4U at checkout. Happy crafting!

I was so curious about this paint!

Hi friends! Happy New Year! I rang in 2024 in bed with COVID-19 but am happy to report that I am feeling loads better today! My energy is back 100% but my voice is still rough so it will be a few days before I can film a new tutorial for you. I hope to break out the Art Dice Mr Frugal gave me for Christmas for a fun artsy livestream. It might have to wait til next week tho. Luckily I had a few videos prerecorded including this review of the Rosa Studio watercolors. These paints were half-price when I bought them a few months ago so I decided to pick up a set because I enjoy the Rosa Gallery paints so much. Rosa paints are made in Ukraine and are a wonderful value, although the price has increased recently. Previously the artist-grade gallery line was only a couple of dollars more than the studio (student) line so it didn’t seem like a good deal. Was this a wise purchase at 50% off? Watch the video and you be the judge!

Pros:

• Price (I got it for 50% off)
• Color selection is nice
• Pigment info included
• Lightfast info included
• Colors mix well
• The colors are strong and transparent
• Lifts well
• Glazes fine
• No shiny spots with thicker layers

Cons:

• The paint is thick and gloopy
• The paint doesn’t flow well in wet-in-wet
• Several colors are fugitive (not lightfast)
• No mixing area as the paint is in a cardboard box.

Bottom line, Save up a few more dollars and go with the Rosa Gallery line of paint, it is the more professional choice and not much more in price. Or go with the Paul Rubens 24 full pan set. It has similar colors but it comes in a tin with a mixing area and the pans are larger, also the paint is a better quality in my opinion.

I hope you found this review helpful and til next time happy crafting!

A pretty snowy sunrise in gouache

Hi friends! Today I have a painting done from this photo I took the other day.

I used a new set of jelly gouache that I got to review, it is the same HIMI gouache that I have used before but you get more colors in less space so it is nice if you like this paint but have a more limited working area. Plus the mixing palette is white which is better than it being the color of the box as some of the sets used to have.

It is a pretty relaxing one and I figured it would be a nice way to round out the year. You can find a real-time tutorial in Critique Club. You also get access to every other lesson I have posted in Critique Club for the past 5 years! All for just $5 a month, click the link above to learn more or join today!

Supplies (affiliate links used)

• Himi Gouache set of 36: https://amzn.to/48tQTOR
• Handmade watercolor sketchbook by Artsirosi on ETSY
• Zen all media brushes: https://shrsl.com/4bhjs

If you want more information on the paint I used I have gone more in-depth in the past on this gouache, I have a video here and here and I also did a video comparing different jelly gouache paints. I hope you found this helpful and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: Random Painting & Projects

Howdy folks and happy Wednesday! You (hopefully by now) know what it is time for…What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday! I have had a plethora of projects on my desk this week…well, just have a look:

I have been painting! I am happy with the bird and lily painting but the one at the bottom of my desk is an epic fail…it was looking a bit too stark so I decided to use some spray mist and stencils however I was too impatient to wait for the paint to dry and ended up with a big ugly blob which I dumped some glimmer eye-shadow on and then smooshed some plastic wrap into the puddle. It’s like I ran out of bullets and I threw the gun. I thought about pitching this in the trash before I took the picture but I didn’t want anyone to think I never make mistakes…OK you can STOP laughing now…really. Stop. Oh, shameless plug, I have a couple new watercolor painting kits at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff this week!

On the other side of my mayhem I have some cleaner crafts. Some fun candy-colored plastic beads that my daughters sorted for me and some cute tags I made so I can price some of my loose necklaces and bracelets I have made for the craft fair (because I was a doof and forgot to buy the stick-on ones!)

But luckily I have a tiny tag punch (splurge from a stampin-up party last summer) and my new yummy baker’s twine from Papermart and I made my own! I think my jewelry might just sell due to the cute tags! Quick tip: This tag punch does not have a hole in it so make sure to punch 1/8″ holes first and then punch the tag upside-down so you can center the hole in the circle because you will not be able to punch the hole after you punch the tag, it will get stuck in your punch!

Well, there you have it! I do have herbal tea (instead of coffee) on my desk as I am trying to be healthier, I even took a spin on the treadmill today (highly unpleasant but being able to watch Torchwood on my kindle made it tolerable) so, yeah, woo…go health. That’s sarcasm by the way 🙂 Oh, here are the two paintings I didn’t mess up…

I am going to mat them and sell them as well at the craft fair…boy don’t I sound optimistic!

You can check out more crafty desks on Julia’s blog, the home of WOYWW. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!