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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Art Materials (STUFF)

Hello Readers,

Where on earth can you find a rubber kidney, a big domino, an old view camera film carrier, game pieces, wood pieces, metal pieces, glass, ephemera, antique like what-not, and a tin wind-up chicken all in the same place?  Well first off you may not actually find those things in that combination since I already did; but, you may find something even better or in a stranger combination.

I wanted to take a short detour from my usual type of art materials post and focus on what I think of as, "what else," is art material.  Recently I went on a short jaunt from ABQ to Santa Fe in search of who-knows-what and found it/some/stuff.  Expectations where high and low and what I learned prior to visiting filled my brain with ideas and things to buy.

Recycled, upcyced- whatever you want to call it- there is a lot of stuff out there to make, include in, or just inspire your artwork.  All the, "stuff," I got came from an artist; Laura Stanziola. Just outside Santa Fe is where she made her home into what looks like a overwhelming well organized store/residence. Inside this store I found many wonderful things, and many things I did not buy- for I had a budget.  Gratefully the prices of these many odd things were not excessive, and for the most part surprisingly inexpensive.

Rubber kidney, rubber intestines, and a rubber heart all 35 cents each. Various game pieces for just pocket change. 75 cents for twin wooden sticks- I thought the price could have been a quarter cheaper but I really liked them. Film carrier- so many ideas. Old marbled paper. A Ceder box. And of course the wind-up chicken.

All right the chicken isn't art material; I just wanted it. Besides that, imagine everything that I can make using a rubber kidney.

Thanks for reading,
Jonathan Parks

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Art Materials (Enkaustikos Hot Cakes, "Encaustic Compatible")

Encaustic Compatible (DUH:)
Hello Folks,

As planned, Hot Cakes at fineartstore.  This will be brief for I do not use Hot Cakes or much pre-made encaustic any more.  I have occasionally used them in the past and they do have the convience factor going with their included palette cup; but, if you make your own paint or your short on cash, they probably aren't your cup of tea (or cup of encaustic).  Outside of the price I do not have anything bad to say about them, and if you can get them on sale- go for it.

Thanks for Reading (Next time, Evans Encaustics)
Jonathan Parks
http://www.evansencaustics.com/
http://www.fineartstore.com/

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Art Materials (R&F Handmade Paints, "Encaustic Compatible")

Encaustic Compatible  (DUH!:)
Hello All,

R&F, what can I say? If you have any experience or interest in encaustic, two to one, you are or will become aware of them.  Pretty much the source for encaustic, but they also make some pretty sweet oil like bar- pigment sticks, supplier of tools, advice, and whatnots.  Aside from what might seem to be or easily could be a encaustic monopoly, R&F is a bevy of information packed into a decent supplier of what you need to tackle this medium.


Choosing a medium to best express yourself and your work is hard enough, then you have to figure out what brand and everything else that goes along with these two things.  R&F has around eighty colors in 104 and 333 milliliter blocks.  As with most paints that have colors in series which differ in price, R&F's encaustics are also priced according to pigments.  Needless to say if you are an artist on a budget, you can always stick to those less expensive colors.  If you need additives such as damar, caranuba, or more beeswax you can get those too; which is great if you want to make your own paint.

As for their pigment sticks, these are great to use by themselves or in combination with encaustic (Click here for tips on pigment sticks).  The difference in R&F's pigment sticks and other oil bars like Sennelier is that they have a higher pigment concentration and less fillers.  Not that I find anything wrong with Sennelier, they are simply different.

If I have any complaints about R&F they are very minuscule, like most places there is an occasional product that seems overpriced, but that it is all made up with service and quality of their products. 

As always, Thanks for Reading (Next time Hot Cakes)
Jonathan Parks

Monday, March 8, 2010

Art Materials (Encaustic Compatible)

"Encasutic Compatible"
Hey folks,

I would like to take the next couple of posts and get back to encaustic- so I'm going to be writing about a few places you can get your supplies and other stuff along with my own experiences with them.  Tune in soon for R&F Encaustic Paints.

Thanks for reading.
Jonathan Parks
http://www.rfpaints.com/
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