art_supplies – John Otter

art business

August 10, 2016August 10, 2016 John OtterLeave a comment

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

Last 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:

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Art supplies

September 9, 2015August 10, 2016 John OtterLeave a comment

Fabriano Watercolor paper — Fabriano 90 lb Watercolor paper

Over the past week I’ve been cleaning and organizing art supplies – old printing ink, rollers, paper, pastels, paint, brushes, pencils, pens, etc.

A lot of it seems impersonal (e.g. a burnt sienna Prismacolor pencil) but some supplies bring back a flood of memories, specific times and places (both physical and mental).

Last night I bought some 90 lb Fabriano and 140 lb Strathmore watercolor paper for a small series of mixed media studies and experiments. I really enjoy shopping for art supplies, even if it’s just for paper.

art update

July 25, 2007September 9, 2015 John Otter1 Comment

things are good these days, except for a lack of art supplies. Being low on cash lately I’ve been using colored pencils until they are too short to sharpen. I was treated to a little shopping spree a weekend ago – new pencils, in colors I wanted. I may be repeating myself (or I’ve told you this in person repeatedly) but I don’t care . . . I bought a 12 pack of prismacolors a week or so ago and when I opened them I was shocked at the lousy selection of colors. I’m sure some people would’ve loved the selection, but they weren’t colors I could really get into. I think it was a 12 pack of a specific pallette (one that I generally don’t use). There were three variations of beige for crying out loud, they were more like uncolored pencils. So, after shopping and swapping pencils I’m feeling much better.
I have a mural to work on coming up soon. I’m quite excited about that. It’ll be in a private residence on the living room wall. I learned a lot during the last mural I did (at Pitzer College)…namely that it takes a long freaking time to put the amount of details into them that I want. The large scale of a mural means the details can be incredibly small (compared to the overall image).
And someone is commissioning four drawings soon. The commissioned drawings will start with an art supply shopping trip, which I’m looking forward to. I do want to buy a large pad of drawing paper, haven’t been drawing much larger than 8×10.
I’ve been tending to my backyard a lot lately, gardening, feeding birds and squirrels, etc. There’s more life appearing everyday. For a long time there was just one squirrel, who I call Mr. Wiggles, who came around. He finally got to the point where he doesn’t run when I walk in the gate. Instead he now stops what he’s doing (usually eating sunflower seeds I put out for him), watches me as I pretend to ignore him and as soon as I’m past him he’ll resume nibbling away. Yesterday, however, there was Mr. Wiggles and another squirrel in the garden when I came home. I thought Mr. Wiggles was just greedy and wanted to keep all the seeds for himself, but maybe he’s just unpopular – he is a little scrawny and his tail is a bit messy. So, I’m not sure what to think. Maybe Mr. Wiggles has a squirrel-friend. Awwww.