Tag: art supplies

Original drawings available at Neon Moon

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I have 11 drawings available to purchase at Neon Moon Art Supplies & Studio in Claremont, CA. this November. Each drawing is ink and graphite on 8-ply archival mat board, and approximately 6 x 3.5″ They’ll be selling for low low price of only $30 each, first come first serve, while supplies last, etc. etc.

The drawings will be part of the November Group Show at Neon Moon Art Supplies & Studio, and is up during the Claremont Art Walk: Saturday, November 7th from 6pm – 9pm. The Art Walk is open and free to the public.
Note: *Galleries are encouraged to follow strict social distancing guidelines and masks are required to be worn in Claremont.*

There may only be one of the drawings on display, when that drawing sells they’ll put another one up. If you’re interested in purchasing more than one, or one that’s different than the one displayed ask them if any other drawings are still available. These would make great holidays gifts for your art-loving friends!

new paper

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I ordered some large paper from Blick recently, which showed up a couple days ago. I’ve been waiting to open it until I had some time to size the paper and get to work on it. I haven’t drawn on such large paper in a long time (22×30″) – it’s 140lb Fabriano watercolor paper. I felt like a kid at Christmas opening up the flat box. After soaking, stretching and drying the paper I laid down some initial watercolor washes. Now I’m just waiting for the surface to dry more thoroughly.

If I remember I’ll try to post some progress images as I work on them.

art cards & business

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I read somewhere that an artist should invest approximately 10% of their income (if not more) on their art: supplies, marketing, etc. In the past couple months I’ve been adhering to this idea.

I recently purchased new art business cards through MOO cards. Semi-gloss, quality paper, I really like them and they didn’t cost as much as I thought they would. You can add up to 50 different designs, I opted for four. If you’re interested in purchasing cards use this referral link and get $15 off your first order: MOO cards

I also bought another Copic Multiliner set of pens (.03, .01, .003, .005) – they’re pigment based, waterproof, archival and acid free. They’ve become my go to pens for stippling and seem to last a long time. I believe it’s been over a year since I last ordered a set.

Lately I’ve been using a cheap mechanical pencil (plastic body, unknown lead type) that I found somewhere. It’s yellow and green, rather ugly – but I really like the line values and the lack of sharpening all the time. My next purchase (hopefully Saturday) will be a quality metal-bodied mechanical pencil, I can’t wait. (Little things bring me joy)

Work on display & for sale:
I now have about 13 pieces displayed at Community Brains in Pomona, CA.; work ranging from small mixed media on paper to larger paintings on canvas. All of them are for sale at very reasonable prices. It was nice to get some of the older paintings back out into the world and forced me to re-evaluate my art storage area, which everyone should do once in awhile.

And to wrap things up, here’s a recent small drawing. Watercolor, graphite, ink and colored pencil on watercolor paper. You can find more of my recent work on my Instagram account instagram.com/johnotterart/johnotterfeb2017001

art business

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John Otter art supplies

If you’re in the area and haven’t seen the Point Suite show at Mirrored Society, the show is up until the end of August. Drop by and buy a book or some art. Event on ArtSlant

IMAG0087Last night I went to Blick in Pasadena to pick up some art supplies. It’s a great store and I love shopping for art supplies. The only problem I have is restraining myself and trying to keep to a budget. At the end of the year I’ll be adding up all the income and expenses and hoping to make a hefty profit. This year I’ve decided to make it easier, usually I keep all the art supply receipts in an envelope (at least the ones I remember), this year I’ll be using Mint’s tagging feature to mark specific purchases as art related expenses. Rather than go into detail here’s a link to a Mint FAQ about using tags.

I ended up purchasing some gesso, matte medium and three 12 x 12 panels, which is exciting because I haven’t been painting lately.

Shoot me an email if you’re interested in purchasing some art, I have plenty and older work will be highly discounted to make room for new. Even if you’re not able to purchase art right now you can do the following:

  1. Sign up for my newsletter – Subscribe here
  2. Like my Facebook Page
  3. Follow me on Instagram

Sunday walking adventures in downtown Los Angeles

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I spent this past Sunday afternoon walking around downtown Los Angeles. I planned out a walking route over morning coffee that included some places I’ve never been and some places I try to visit anytime I’m downtown.

I arrived at Union Station around 11:30am, from there I headed down Broadway to 3rd Street to see the Bradbury building. I’ve been there many times, I try to pop in anytime I’m downtown. If you’ve never stepped inside I highly recommend it. It has a pretty unassuming exterior, but inside is a feast for the eyes: marble staircases, beautifully ornate iron railings and an amazing skylight ceiling.

After that I stopped by the Grand Central Market, just a brief meandering.

Over coffee in the morning I decided I’d shop for some art supplies downtown, primarily a white colored pencil and maybe some brush-pens. A quick Google search pointed me to Raw Materials Art Supplies, which was recently voted 2015’s Best Art, Craft & Design Store by the readers of Los Angeles Downtown News.

I headed over to Main Street (between 4th & 5th) to Raw Materials but I had arrived a few minutes too early. They open at noon on Sundays and I was there about 11:50am – I was glad they open on weekends and decided to head around the block to 5th and Spring Street to the Last Bookstore.

Outside the Last Bookstore the Historic Downtown Farmers Market was going on (every Sunday from 9am – 2pm) so I wandered through there and then headed back to Raw Materials

After purchasing a pencil and two pens I walked to 9th and Hope Street to see Grand Hope Park, a 2.5-acre urban park next to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) Beautiful green lawns, plenty of benches, a couple nice fountains and an iconic clock tower.

After relaxing in the park for a while I walked over to the Ace Hotel where on Sunday afternoons they have Vibing Time, where a rotating posse of dublab DJs share sun-soaked music selections.

I hung out for about an hour while I sketched in my sketchbook and then returned to Union Station.

Have any favorite spots in downtown L.A.? Let me know about them in the comments.

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