New Supplies!

18 containers of lusciousness. New gouache

Color swatches on watercolor paper

Dylusions journal background

Other page

Double spread

Jake, after a hard day at the Playground

I've been watching old Gulfsprite videos. Can you tell?

Last Saturday night Christy Sobolewski did a free YouTube stream that lasted almost 2 hours. She has a regular group that pays to join her via You Tube every Saturday night. This was a sample, I imagine, to lure new viewers into joining. Part of the program included Christy discussing gouache, the different brands she has tried, and what she likes. While she was doing this, she used a brand from China called Mira. The name of the company is Himi. It is available on Amazon. Of course it is. Here is the good news: it is cheap, and it is wonderful.

The above set, from Amazon, is $17.95. The tubs of paint are over an inch in depth. You are getting a lot of gouache. It comes in a hard plastic container with a snap on lid. Each color is sealed in foil, and that took me about 20 minutes to remove the foil and make a swatch chart.

Points I love about this product: the richness of the colors, blending to make new colors is so very easy, and the variety. Two shades of white, black, dark charcoal grey, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, colors you don't normally see. The amount of product you receive will last for years. The finish on the dried paint is matte. Beautiful, dull matte. Journal pages are not going to stick together, as they can with some acrylic paints due to a semi gloss or gloss finish. I hope to do something today to take this for a test run. It arrived late yesterday, so didn't have a lot of time to paint last night.

The journal page of the alien girl has yellow acrylic Folk Art paint through a stencil, then I drew the girl and painted her with Daniel Smith water colors. This is another Christy technique, on YouTube, of how to use acrylic paint as a resist under water colors. I love how it created a funky pattern on her top. Also, this is the Canson Mixed Media paper journal with spiral binding. Now look at the Dylusions journal, which has curling pages because I used Mat Medium to adhere the collage pieces. Ranger, whatever you have done to the paper, please stop and go back to the original. I have two unused Dylusions journals, and they will either be sold or given away. I am only finishing this journal to see how far I can push it, and if the binding is going to fail. I have a feeling it is.

Enjoy your weekend.
Linda