I keep these pieces because I know they will prove useful later.  Sometimes I am not sure how they will be useful, but I find this craggly tree shape appealing.  Using rice paper allows me to have a nice base when I do these as does watercolor paper.  The choice is intuitive between these two, however.  The use of the plastic is often a more conscious choice.

Let me know your thoughts!  I am always eager to hear from you.

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Many of you know I have been encouraged by Andrea to “make a mark every day” even when I can’t get into my studio.  I have really been trying to keep up that practice and find it helps me more and more to think through my studio work.  One of the things I have learned is I really enjoy making marks with more of me than my hands – I like to at least use my full arm when I make a mark!  I also love my Moleskine sketchbooks and find they hold up the best, because I put my sketchbooks through their paces.  I think Moleskine heard my plea, because they now have A3 and A4 size journals and sketchbooks.  This larger collection from Moleskine is known as the Folio Collection and the products used to make the products in this collection are all of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified which appeals to my sense of environmental responsibility.  I quickly purchased and A3 watercolor sketchbook, because I love the way the watercolor paper works with both acrylic ink and acrylic paint.

A3 Moleskine Sketchbook and 8.5 x 11 inch paper

For those of you not used to the standard A paper sizes, I have placed an 8.5 x 11 inch printer paper in this photo for reference.  This larger, sturdy sketchbook is really helpful as I think through the work I am doing.  For example, recently I have been working through several processes and one is about not using brushes as I work.  I use other items to apply paint, but not brushes.  I am also using both acrylic paint and acrylic ink in combination with each other or sometimes the ink alone.

acrylic ink used in sketchbook

This is one of the tests I have been working with in the sketchbook.  Here you see a shape (just the one my hand typically wants to make) made with an eye dropper.  I then placed plastic sheeting over the entire image.  The sheeting helped me fill in the space I had created with a large border and add some color around it and yellow along side the orange.  Just watching these colors merge is so meditative.

The dark bits along the upper part of the orange are bits of acrylic ink which had dried on plastic sheeting from another piece.  They were applied when the ink was wet.  The orange and yellow are regular acrylic inks while the blue and the green are pearlized acrylic inks.

This larger Moleskine format has made a huge difference in the way I am doing preliminary work for my larger canvases.  If you like to work large or are wanting to work on composition, I highly recommend this wonderful sketchbook.  It feels so good to carry around, see in your studio and to work with wherever you might be.

What have you found recently which has made a difference in your practice?  I would love to hear from you.  Also, please take a look at the pages I have posted here.  I have ideas for a lot more, but you might like to read through what is there so far.

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The process I find most appealing is to apply the medium to the surface and remove some of it, apply more and remove, etc.  When the painting is where I think it should be I begin another layering process of clear glazing.  I might add up to 100 layers of clear glaze to a painting.  Sometimes, I find I can also continue to adjust the work as I go along between the layers of the glaze which can be very interesting.

One product I have found to be of great interest to me lately has been acrylic inks.  A few companies have come out with this very stable product which gives the most sheer, smooth application.  These inks blend in amazing ways.  If you enjoy working with very fluid mediums (like watercolor) and watching the colors meld together, I think you will really enjoy acrylic inks.  My reflection series uses a lot of these inks in both regular and pearlized formulas.  On canvas I often combine them with acrylic paints, on paper I will often use just the ink.  Here is a close up example of a work in progress.  You can see the pearlized ink easily here.

The dark background is fluid acrylic paint.  The bit of blue in the lower left-hand corner is regular (not pearlized) ink.

I use these inks in several different ways and have tried them on a variety of surfaces.  They do well with many applications and on a wide variety of surfaces.  The example you see here is on hardboard.

Have you given these new inks a try?  Do you like them?  Would you like to try them?

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