Join Ottawa Artists Sketching Mellos TODAY!

With the developments surrounding Mello’s diner the past few days, artist Colin White has organized some Ottawa urban sketchers to get out on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 for a day of sketching this iconic market diner..

Mellos Diner, 290 Dalhousie St., Ottawa
Source: Google Maps

Visit the Ottawa Urban Sketchers blog for details: http://ottawaurbansketchers.blogspot.ca/2015/11/sketching-mellos-today.html

Mellos Diner, 290 Dalhousie St., Ottawa
Source: Google Maps

Ottawa Art School Fair - Print Addiction With Golden Acrylics

Art School Fair (ASF) was held October 31 to November 1, 2015, in Ottawa.

ASF is eastern Canada's first and only ART MATERIAL TRADE FAIR + ART CLASSES. Organizers brought together the biggest and best names and brands in the industry. Attendees were able to see, buy and try the latest products, take a workshop, demo or lecture.

This is the last of four reports on the demonstrations, lectures and workshops that I attended. On Sunday, November 1st (12:30 pm-2:30 pm), I attended the demonstration: Print Addiction with Golden Acrylics by Andrea Warren of Golden Paints

Our Instructor: Andrea Warren

I had met Andrea Warren previously at the Davis Art School (see my blog post: "A Golden Night Exploring Golden Acrylics")

Andrea is an Ottawa-based artist. Her website is: http://www.andreawarren.ca/

Her  About Page" says,

"Andrea Warren is an acrylic painter and mixed media artist based out of her hometown of Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2008, she has been the Ottawa Working Artist for Golden Artist Colors, giving lectures and hands-on workshops at universities, colleges, galleries and art associations across central and eastern Canada. Andrea received her degree in visual arts and philosophy from Trinity Western University, in Langley, BC, and has been exhibiting her work in both solo and group shows for the last 10 years. She has also been involved in the field of arts and healthcare for the last five years, and currently works with Artswell, a non-profit group which provides therapeutic arts programs for marginalized communities."

Below are some of the samples Andres brought of her monoprints on rice paper. Incredibly beautiful and inspiring to see at the beginning of our class.

Samples of Andrea Warren's monoprints on rice paper

Our hands-on workshop was about mono printing using Gelli Plates and Golden acrylics and a variety of other materials (i.e. palette knives and painting tools, homemade stencils, string, and more.)

Prior to class we were asked to bring three items:

Golden supplied all of the other materials that we required. (More on that later.)

Here are my art supplies all set up and ready to go at the workshop

For our mono printing workshop, we used Golden OPEN acrylic paints. Why OPEN acrylics?

•  OPEN Acrylics are a slow-drying paint with a slightly softer consistency than Golden Heavy Body paints. 
•  The slow-drying capability of OPEN Acrylics also makes the suitable for some printmaking techniques. 
• Because OPEN Acrylics dry slowly, painters who cover their palettes or use sealed containers have been able to use the same colors for weeks, reducing the amount of paint wasted and preserving color mixtures for future use.
•  Thick applications can dry extremely slowly, so Golden recommends artists only use OPEN Colors thinly (< 1 mm). 
• Drying time can also be accelerated by mixing OPEN with faster-drying acrylics like our Fluid and Heavy Body colors.

Click here for detailed product information, click here for pigment information and download the Color Material Safety Data Sheet for health and safety information.

Golden OPEN acrylic paints

What we learned from Andrea Warren - the workshop basics:

Why is it called "monoprinting"? A monoprint is essentially a ONE of a kind print.

"Also known as the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques , a monoprint is essentially a printed painting. The characteristic of this method is that no two prints are alike; although images can be similar, editioning is not possible." (Source: http://www.monoprints.com/monoprints.php)

Subtractive or Additive monoprinting

Source: Opus Art Supplies: Introduction to Monoprinting

What is a gelliplate? 

Gel Printing Plate (www.gelliarts.com) looks and feels like gelatin, but is durable, reusable and stores at room temperature. It's easy to clean and always ready for printing. (FYI for vegans - There is no gelatin in a Gelli plate.) (Andrea's tips: hold on to the case it comes in for storage; store flat with nothing on top; clean with baby wipes)

What about Paper?

We used Strathmore Printmaking paper, (see: http://www.strathmoreartist.com/printmaking.html) but Andrea also uses rice paper for her printmaking (see: http://www.dickblick.com/printmaking/papers/)
(Andrea's tips: she also like using Rives BFK and Arches 88)

Note that Canson has an excellent resource "Printmaking Chose Your Paper" which can be found at: http://www.cansonstudio.com/printmaking-choose-your-paper

Andrea demonstrating setting up your register

For our workshop we did subtractive monoprinting:
.
Step 1: Lay your gelliplate on a piece of palette paper and mark it
Step 2: Register your paper by taping one piece to each side of your gelli plate
Step 3: Apply colour using brayers or q tips and be very aware of transparent vs opaque colours
Step 4: Using stencils, scrapers, string, etc texturize the plate
Step 5: "Pull" your print: apply the paper rubbing with your hand and lift

Get 3 prints? But I thought monoprinting meant 1 print?

"As their names imply, monotypes and monoprints (the words are often used interchangeably but shouldn’t be) are prints that have an edition of one, though sometimes a second, weaker impression can be taken from the matrix.  A monotype is made by drawing a design in printing ink on any smooth surface, then covering that matrix with a sheet of paper and passing it through a press.  The resulting image will be an exact reverse of the original drawing, but relatively flatter because of the pressure of the press." (Source: http://www.printshop.org/web/Learn/Glossary/)

• The Positive Print 
• The Negative Print T
• The Ghost Print: the last print; when there is barely any paint left on the gelli plate!  For examples, see Gelli Arts® Ghost Prints on Pinterest

My VERY FIRST monoprint- I LOVED the colours!

The workshop promised that we would "Learn the basics, experiment with different techniques and materials, make a pile of fun prints, and go home with all the tools you need to start printmaking at home!" and it did indeed. Within an hour, the tables were filling with prints to dry.

One of the many areas where workshop participants piled placed their prints to dry while starting another one

Andrea highly recommended the following two books for folks who wanted to experiment and get inspiration:

• GelliPlate Printing by Joan Bess (you can look inside at amazon.ca here: http://www.amazon.ca/Gelli-Plate-Printing-Mixed-Media-Monoprinting/dp/1440335486)
• Printmaking Unleashed by Traci Bautista (you can look inside at amazon.ca click here: 

Two books recommended by Andrea

I am really excited about this new technique and while I was in the class I wondered about using the monoprints to create other things - like using the print as a background and drawing or painting on top it or tearing up or cutting the prints for use in collages.....or acrylic, collage, drawing, assemblage on wood ?! The possibilities are endless!

Combination of techniques
The monotype is a technique used by many artists only as a transition for other work, such as Degas used to do. He first printed a monotype, then developed the image by drawing and painting over it with pastels, pencils, oil paint, watercolors or printing ink. When an image printed too heavily, Degas made a second impression of that same print by placing a new sheet of dampened paper over the just printed monotype. This would take away some of the color and a second lighter impression was the result which was also used to work on with inks, pastels or oils.

Collaging Monoprints
Andrea suggested for collage artists to use soft gel gloss for the glue because it's archival (goes on white but dries clear)

This was an incredibly brief summary of some interesting points that I took away from Andrea Warren's excellent presentation yesterday. I am thankful for this opportunity today at the Art School Fair.

More Links to Explore

• Lots of inspiration and ideas and techniques at Gelli Arts® on Pinterest
• Google Books Preview: Gelli Plate Printing: Mixed-Media Monoprinting Without a Press  By Joan Bess
• How to make a monoprint
• The history of monoprints
• AN INTRODUCTION TO MONOPRINTING - Opus Art Supplies
• Katherin Rand Gelatin Printmaking
• OCA Printmaking 1 Learning Log

Altogether, I made 9 prints at the workshop. Here are few of my favourites:

Ottawa Art School Fair - Daniel Smith Watercolors

Art School Fair (ASF) was held October 31 to November 1, 2015, in Ottawa.

ASF is eastern Canada's first and only ART MATERIAL TRADE FAIR + ART CLASSES. Organizers brought together the biggest and best names and brands in the industry. Attendees were able to see, buy and try the latest products, take a workshop, demo or lecture.

This is the third of four reports on the demonstrations, lectures and workshops that I attended. On Saturday, October 31st (3:00 pm-4:30 pm), I attended the demonstration: Daniel Smith Watercolours- An intimate conversation with John Cogley (owner). (Website: http://www.danielsmith.com/)

The Daniel Smith Watercolour booth at the Art School Fair

The Daniel Smith booth at the Art School Fair
showing pigment with natural source

Owner John Cogley was unexpectedly ill at the last moment so Katherine Taylor gave the presentation in his place. Katherine Taylor travels around the world introducing artists to Daniel Smith product. Her enthusiasm was contagious and she was very gracious with her time at the booth. She said when the demo started at 3:00, that she felt as though she had already spoken to everyone in the room and she had certainly taken the time to speak to the majority of us.

Katherine Taylor explaining the Daniel Smith colour charts

Most of this blog post will be to share the amazing watercolour samples and sources. It was amazing to see the watercolours up close and to also see and learn about the sources for the pigment.

Here are some other interesting points:

• Daniel Smith was a printmaker
• Daniel Smith uses ONLY gum arabic
• Daniel Smith was the first to bring the world Quinacridone Gold -  Everyone's favorite! (Replaces Raw Sienna and adds versatility with its glazing and mixing capabilities)
• Daniel Smith's 13 Quinacridones are transparent and excellent for glazing and mixing
• Daniel Smith was the first to use color dots
• Daniel Smith discontinued all of their cadmiums
• Daniel Smiths Lunar colours are the most granulating
• All of Daniel Smith's pigment particles are the same size ("particle size" being the only difference between ultramarine blue and french ultramarine blue)

This was an incredibly brief summary of some interesting points that I took away from Katherine Taylor's excellent presentation yesterday. I am thankful for this opportunity today at the Art School Fair.

My Daniel Smith purchases

I purchased two Daniel Smith items from the Art Fair School 

• 238 Color Dot sampler
• Daniel Smith 4 + 1 + 1 Watercolor set (4 select 15 ml tubes of paint + 15 ml tube of Jadeite + Serpentine Genuine watercolor stick)

and we were given three samples:

• 2 Dot cards: PRIMATEK watercolors sampler and ALVARO CASTAGNET palette sampler
• Daniel Smith Watercolor ground (30 ml)
• Daniel Smith extra fine watercolor stick - french ultramarine blue

The Daniel Smith free samples

• JJC Industries http://www.jjcindustries.com/ shows the manufacturing process of Daniel Smith watercolors
• Daniel Smith videos 

Ottawa Art School Fair - Liquitex Acrylic Ink and it’s Secrets

Art School Fair (ASF) was held October 31 to November 1, 2015, in Ottawa.

 ASF is eastern Canada's first and only ART MATERIAL TRADE FAIR + ART CLASSES. Organizers brought together the biggest and best names and brands in the industry. Attendees were able to see, buy and try the latest products, take a workshop, demo or lecture.

 This is the second of four reports on the demonstrations, lectures and workshops that I attended.

On Saturday, October 31st (1:30 pm-3:30 pm), I attended the demonstration: Acrylic Ink and it’s Secrets with Françoise Issaly

Françoise Issaly

Françoise Issaly is a Canadian artist who lives and has worked in Montreal, Quebec since 1993. Originally from the South of France, she studied in Montpellier then Bordeaux where she received her M.F.A. Her work has been shown in galleries in Quebec, USA and Germany both in solo and group shows and is part of private collections. Over the past 20 years she has taught art in several schools including The Montreal Fine Art Museum, The Visual Art Center and University of Montreal.

I was interested in attending this class because I have been wanting to try adding acrylic ink to my acrylic landscapes. Liquitex ink comes in thirty colors  and can be used for:

• Dip Pen   
• Brush   
• Technical Pen   
• Stamping   
• Ink Brayer   
• Screen Printing   
• Fabric Painting   
• Book Arts   
• Calligraphy   
• Stippling   
• Photo Tinting   
• Airbrush   
• Drybrush   
• Stenciling   
• Pouring   
• Watercolor   
• Collage  
• Drafting

Obviously, in two hours, we could explore only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the many applications for acrylic ink.

Françoise clearly is passionate (and has a lovely sense of humor) about this medium and was willing to go in any direction that the group wanted. (There were lots of folks who had some experience already with acrylic inks.)

Liquitex Inks

Liquitex inks come in thirty colors, opaque and transparent that are mixable.

The Liquitex acrylic ink color chart

Dip pens used for acrylic inks

Françoise Issaly demonstrated many of the creative possibilities for the ink

Some effects that are achievable with acrylic inks

Liquitex chart

I love charts like the one above. You rarely see these in stores, but the manufacturers always have them!

As Françoise Issaly  walked through many of the additives and mediums that can be used with inks, some key learnings for me were that Françoise Issaly  explained:

• The 20% acrylic/water ratio rule: how if acrylic paint has too much water added, it breaks down the chemical composition of the polymers and will create disappointing results.
• This is why folks (most folks in the room) were quite familiar with Liquitex Flow Aid. Folks use flow aid to create watercolor effects.
• Things got exciting when  Françoise revealed that she used airbrush medium instead of flow aid. Artists, if not doing airbrushing, would not give airbrush medium a second look in the store. Françoise explained that because Flow Aid cannot be mixed directly with the color she prefers airbrush medium to create the beautiful glazing effects in her art. You must mix Flow Aid with water. This is not the case with Liquitex airbrush medium.
• Françoise left the "pouring demonstration to the very end. In her experience, this is where folks get very excited about creative possibilities

Françoise demonstrating pouring

Some of the beautiful possible effects using pouring medium and airbrush medium.

This was an incredibly brief summary of some interesting points that I took away from Françoise Issaly's excellent presentation today. I am thankful for this opportunity today at the Art School Fair.

We were also given a sample package that had the following paper samples:

• The Acrylic Book: A Comprehensive Resource For Artists (available for downloading here https://www.liquitex.com/acrylicbook)
• Liquitex acrylic heavy body and soft body paint samples
• Heavy body sampler: blue, yellow and red with gloss medium varnish
• Mediums sampler: pouring  medium, ultra matte medium flow aid, and string gel
• Acrylic marker sample
• Spray Paint: Cadmium red medium hue