Product of the Month - May 2021 - daVinci CosmoTop Spin Travel Brushes

It’s time for another Product of the Month. I’m mostly sharing art supplies at this point, but I know for sure that next month will be something different. I find so many random products useful in my line of work and in my life, and I really love to share about them when I can. Any time I’m traveling with others, we end up shopping among everyone’s gear and supplies.

There are a few affiliate links in this post. Using them is up to you, but when you do, know that I say “thank you” out loud from my office and my kids wonder if I’m talking to myself.

I love to travel, and when there isn’t a pandemic, I love to travel with my Art Toolkit, which I wrote about here; in case I have the time to paint en plein air. While the kit came with a great water brush, I still prefer to use a traditional brush with a cup of water. I have a plastic cup I usually stuff in my backpack and I’m sure I’ll buy myself a collapsable cups when my son and I start backpacking again this year.

A few years ago I bought a size 3, synthetic travel brush from daVinci to give it a try and I was surprised how often I use it; even when I’m at home. It’s really perfect for travel and to fit in small spaces. The synthetic bristles hold their shape really well and a great amount of water for the smaller surfaces I work on. I bought a couple more sizes earlier this year and I have loved using them.

daVinci makes kolinsky sable and red sable versions of their travel brushes, but they are more expensive and I wasn’t willing to spend that much more on brushes that would potentially get beat up.

When I’m not using my travel brushes, I do love my kolinsky sable brushes from Trekell and I am always on the lookout for new brushes to fall in love with. I know that the manufacturers of synthetic brushes are making them better and better so we don’t have to rely on animal hair for high quality anymore. I have my eye on a few, but I’m waiting for them to go on sale.

What are your favorite brushes for watercolor??

Product of the Month - April 2021 - iPad Pro + Procreate

I have been somewhat of an old lady when it comes to trying new things in the art world. Even though I’ve been working with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for about 17 years, it took me an embarrassingly long time to consider getting Procreate.

About a 12 years ago I had a Wacom digital drawing tablet. It was finicky, and not easy to use considering I was looking at a monitor while drawing and not at my hand working the stylus. It was not effortless for me and I ended up going back to drawing with my mouse rather than deal with it. It gathered dust and then became obsolete as my computer upgraded and my Wacom tablet sat on the shelf.

As the years went by I didn’t take the time to see what the world of digital drawing was doing. I started following a few artists who were using tablets again and it was clear the technology was kicking ass. I learned about the Procreate app and other drawing tools and decided that I’d save up for an Apple Pencil and Procreate so I could give them a try. Then my husband informed me that the my iPad was too old to work with the Apple Pencil. That $200 goal was now closer to $1000. Deflated is the best word to describe how I felt. I couldn’t justify spending that much money on this new tool when I really had no idea how much I would really use it. I put it off to a “someday” thing.

Lo and behold, my husband surprised me with an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil for Christmas last year. This was a big deal because we don’t exchange gifts at Christmas; a deal we made with each other a long time ago.

It has been SO much fun to play with these! I watched a few videos on Skillshare to get myself started on Procreate and it’s been a fun program to learn. I’m nowhere close to feeling like any kind of pro, but it’s been a blast to figure out. I love that I can work in layers and build a simple, rough sketch up to a finished drawing or digital painting. I can layer in photo reference too.

The first thing I did was a self-portrait to commemorate my taekwondo black belt test later this year. It resides on the cover of my black belt binder (where I keep study materials and essays). I’m currently working on a portrait of a friend next.

Thanks to a few artists I follow on Instagram, I downloaded the Amaziograph app next. It’s an app for drawing tesselations and mandalas. It’s like therapy and meditation on an iPad. I’ll sit for an hour or more drawing mandalas and then coloring them. I’ll paint colored shapes and then draw a mandala on top in white. It’s mesmerizing to use and even my kids enjoy using it. For them it helps build fine motor skills too.

I learned quickly that I don’t like to draw when I can’t rest my hand on the iPad. A quick search on Amazon revealed these two-finger gloves designed to work with digital drawing. They work with either a left or right hand and they work like a charm. My iPad doesn’t register the palm of my hand when I’m drawing; just the pencil or my fingertips.

So this month’s POTM was more a group of products than a single product. They are tools that I am slowly adding to my repertoire and thoroughly enjoying along the way.

• iPad Pro 11 inch

• Apple Pencil

• iPad Pro Case

• Palm Rejection Gloves

• Procreate App

• Amaziograph App

• Skillshare

What are some other apps that are super fun to use with an Apple Pencil?? Share in the comments.

Product of the Month - March 2021 - Ring Light & Phone Clip

I use so many different products with my work, I decided to start featuring a product each month and see how long I can keep it up. This post contains affiliate links. Shopping through them earns me a few cents and it is very much appreciated.

Last March, when my kids convinced me to start making time lapse videos of my watercolor paintings, I ordered this ring light and phone clip thingie from Amazon. I’m fairly certain my iPhone was listening in on my conversation with my kids because one popped up as a sponsored ad on Instagram later that day…. because that’s not at all creepy.

This thing has turned out to be really, really useful. The clip is decently strong to grip the edge of a table or a shelf and hold my iPhone 11 with very little sagging.

The ring light can be adjusted to be super bright or a couple of steps dimmer and I can even adjust the color of the light if I need a warmer or cooler light. I often use just the light when joining conference calls or job interviews via Zoom. The ring itself isn’t large enough to get that neat reflection in people’s eyes, but it does a great job lighting my desk for when I’m painting.

This device came with a little remote control that can link to an iPhone or Android phone. I’m sure it would come in handy if I ever plan to use my clip to make videos where I’m physically in the shots.

For a tool that was only $20, this has been perfect for my current needs. But I know that someday, if I want to continue making videos of my paintings, I will want something sturdier that can get a true, overhead view. For now though, this clip works great for what I need.

Product of the Month - February 2021 - Daniel Smith Watercolors

I get to use a wide variety or products with my work, and I wanted to share what I use and love. This month I’m featuring my favorite watercolor paints: Daniel Smith Watercolor Paint.

There are affiliate links in this post. Shopping though these links means Amazon gives me a little percentage and it helps support my small business.

I’ve used a big variety of brands of paint, whether it’s been watercolor, oils, acrylic, or gouache. Watercolor is my favorite right now for it’s ease when traveling and I don’t have to worry about wasting any paint when it dries. When I was a poor, college student, I only ever bought the cheapest, student-grade paints; it didn’t matter the brand. It was hard to justify spending more on the higher quality brands when money was tight and I had no idea where my degree was going to take me. Instructors taught us why the more-expensive brands were better, but that didn’t really get through to my 24yo brain and wallet.

It wasn’t until I was much older and able to justify spending more on paint that I finally got it. These paints are sooooooo nice and they have so much more pigment in them than any of the student-grade brands I used in the past. I feel like I end up using less paint overall with each painting simply because there is more pigment and the quality is better.

I see a similar correlation when I look at inexpensive eye shadows from drugstores and compare them to the higher-end brands like Benefit, Smashbox, and Urban Decay. There is so much more pigment in the nicer brands and you end up using a lot less of the product overall because there are less fillers.

Daniel Smith has been my favorite in quality and variety of colors. I started out with a starter set and it’s been all downhill from there when it comes to brand loyalty. I KNOW there are other brands out there, but the old lady in my just knows I’ll be happy with one brand.

I’m considering getting back into oils and will look at stepping away from the student-grade paints, but I’m not quite there yet… unsure if I will stick with them. Maybe when it’s warm enough to open my windows?

I’m in love with the quality of these paints, but if you have a favorite brand I should try, leave me a comment.

Product of the Month - January 2021 - Pocket Palette

I use and love a wide variety of products with my job; from paintbrushes, watercolor paper, and pens to backpacks, computer equipment, and hiking boots. My work has me almost constantly searching for tools to make it easier, more efficient… or sometimes just more fun. I’m going to start featuring a different product each month and see if I can remember to keep it up for a while. Sometimes the products will be art supplies, sometimes not. We shall see.

These posts will often include affiliate links if the product is available on Amazon. Shopping through these links earns me a few cents and it’s very much appreciated.

On to the POTM!

This month’s favorite product is the Pocket Palette from Art Toolkit. Not available on Amazon, but it can be purchased through their website. This little palette is a smidge larger than a business card and holds a variety of different-sized paint pans. Different-sized pans can be purchased on their website to fully customize your palette. There’s even a smaller palette available.

**Edit: in the summer of 2021, they added the new Folio Palette, which is bigger than the pocket palette; about 5.5x3.25 inches. Trying to justify getting one.

The bottom of the palette is a magnet that keeps the pans in place and makes them easy to remove, wash, refill, and organize any way you’d like. The lid works as a little palette to mix colors too.

I got my first one a while back when I bought the Art Tool Kit for myself. I have absolutely fallen in love with it and you can read about it here. A few months back, I bought a second Pocket Palette so I could separate my warm and cool colors (read more about it here). They both fit in my Art Tool Kit and the size of these palettes makes them ideal for plein air painting (that’s French for painting outside).

I even use them at home when I’m just painting in my office. I’m pretty particular when it comes to how my colors are laid out and in what order, so I love being able to reorganize from time to time; especially when I add new paint colors to my palettes.

What’s a great product you’d recommend??