New Art and an Online Class

 New Art

I recently completed this gouache and pen & ink painting. Done on 140 lb. hot pressed watercolor paper. 

Day 29 Muse
30Faces30Days
Sktchy
Gouache and Pen & Ink
Approximately 6-1/2" x 8-1/2"

Online Class

The painting above was produced as part of an online class I have been taking from @Sktchy. Sketchy Art School has a large catalogue of online courses with some really great instructors. This particular class is 30 Faces/30 Days - Watercolor and Gouache and features 24 different instructors and 30 lessons. There's a wealth of information, and I encourage any artist to check out the Sketchy Art School. Prices are very reasonable; this course is $49, but other classes can be purchased for much less than that. The great thing about Sketchy Art School is that all of their classes are self paced, and when you buy a class you have access for the rest of your life. Pretty neat.

Find out more at Sketchy Art School

Change in Instagram

I recently set up a new IG account for just my artwork. You can now find me @benikartnoco. I still have @nocobirds for my backyard bird visitors, and there will be an exciting new addition to the backyard within the next two weeks. So, if you're on Instagram, follow me on both of my accounts! 

Thank-you for viewing my art :)

Have fun painting, and be safe out there.

A Watercolor Oops

 The other day I dropped my Sennelier set of 24 watercolor half pans, and some of them flew out and scattered all over the floor. This accident set me to 1) find all of the escapees, and 2) put them back into the set in their proper positions.  

I initially put them into the order that I thought they belonged, then painted swatches to compare them to the nice preprinted diagram that Sennelier includes with their watercolor sets.  I had missed a couple of them and reordered them correctly.  

And then, I discovered something surprising: the number that Sennelier assigns to each color is printed on the side of each half pan, BUT some of the numbers on my pans did not match the numbers on the preprinted diagram. Some of the numbers were switched or were incorrect.

Just another event in an artist's life, but this got me to thinking that other artists may have pan paint sets where some of the colors could be mislabeled. Something to keep in mind...especially if you occasionally struggle to tell colors apart that are very close to each other on the color wheel. 

New Art - Confetti Landscape with Birds

Here is another acrylic painting on marine plywood that will stay in my personal collection. Items with this image printed on them will be available for purchase at RedBubble and Cafe Press.

I drew everything out using acrylic paint markers. Most of it was painted using the markers, also, but some areas I painted traditionally with acrylic paint. Several coats of clear acrylic matte medium were painted over the final art. Once that was completely dry, I covered it with two layers of isolation medium. Now that it is completely dry, I will varnish it using a UV protectant that is durable in exterior settings, since this will be mounted in an outdoor living space. 

I wanted to convey a happy feeling in this piece. I hope you like it!

As always, be safe and stay healthy.

Time to Purge

Donations

I always take time at the beginning of a year to clean the studio, rearrange furniture, and purge art supplies I rarely or never use. It gives me a fresh start and mental space to create in the new year.

Sometimes I have tried out a new technique with tools that just don’t work out for me, or I realize that I don’t want to go in that direction.  Today’s finds that will be donated to my favorite art organization include several sets of multicolored pens and markers.  These are items I have tried out and evaluated, and they just don’t make the cut.

I also THROW OUT old pens, markers, tubes of paint, and anything else that only kind of works or is on its last legs.  Tossing stuff is a struggle for any pack rat, and I think it’s particularly difficult when it’s an artistic pack rat.

How are you beginning this new year?

Be safe everybody.

New Work for Sale

Featured Art

Today's piece is an acrylic painting on a 6-inch square Gessobord of a wee Mountain Chickadee. The resource image is from my collection of bird photos and can be seen on my NoCoBirds website.

The underpainting was done with traditional acrylic paint and brush techniques, and the details were completed with acrylic paint markers.  Some of the markers were purchased containing the paint, and other markers were purchased as "empty" markers that I filled with custom colors I mixed using Golden's High Flow and Fluid Acrylic paints. 

This painting is up for auction at Daily Paintworks.

Thank-you for viewing my art and for your support.

Happy New Year: Welcome to 2021!

Featured Art

Today's piece is an acrylic painting on a 24-inch square piece of marine plywood. The underpainting was done with traditional acrylic paint and brush techniques, and the details were completed with acrylic paint markers.  Some of the markers were purchased containing the paint, and other markers were purchased as "empty" markers that I filled with custom colors I mixed using Golden's High Flow and Fluid Acrylic paints. 

This painting is in my personal collection, but the image is available on several items on my Red Bubble store.

Paint Marker Exploration 

Non-Refillable Markers 

I discovered Acrylic Paint Markers this summer while taking an online class from the Sktchy Art School. 

Markers made by Posca come in 8 pen nib sizes, 5 different nib shapes (including a brush tip!), and 55 different colors. (Note: Not all of the colors are included in every nib size and shape.) They are a lot of fun for mark making in art as they have good flow and coverage with opaque, water-soluble paint. Colors can be mixed on the support (canvas, paper, glass, , textiles, cermics, rocks) as long as the pigments are wet. Clean up is a breeze, with almost no mess. The nibs may become dirty if mixing paints, but they are easily cleaned by rinsing them with water. Baking in an oven will make something on glass or ceramic permanent. 

Liquitex acrylic paint markers come in 55 colors and 2 pen nib sizes. 

Markers by Tooli-Art come in over 60 Colors and have two different pen nib sizes. 

All three of these companies have good information about using paint markers, as well as maintaining them. 

Refillable (Empty) Markers 

Refillable markers that I use are made by Molotow and Daler-Rowney. These are great for when you want to use a custom color that isn't available to purchase. If going this route, make sure you use a flowing liquid paint, such as Golden High Flow Acrylics. I also add a few drops of Golden's High Flow Medium to the paint and shake vigorously to mix it all together. I also have had success using Golden's Matte and Fluid Acrylics, as long as the High Flow Medium is added. That is the key ingredient to keeping the paint flowing through the marker nib. 

 

Red Geraniums
Oil on Linen Panel
8” x 8”

My new website is now active, and I will be regularly posting original art on it for purchase.  Thank-you for viewing my art.

Red Geraniums is now available.