Friday's Finds

Today's post, the first of a weekly feature, lists stuff that has caught my attention in the last few days. It may be a Web site, book, practical tip, local art news, quote, image or anything else that has recently amused me. So here goes:

No. 1 State parks during the week
Anyone who has been a little anxious about painting outside should check this out. Grab a friend or two and head out to a nearby state park any week day. You will probably have it to yourselves. No worries about curious people looking over your shoulder or concerns about blocking a path with your painting chair. The Beginning Watercolor class met last Monday in a Spring Mill shelterhouse and painted uninterrupted for nearly three hours. McCormick's Creek and Brown County state parks also offer tons of inspiration and short drive times.

No. 2 Art Institute of Chicago's "My Collections" feature on its Web site
I stumbled across this one while looking for examples of John Marin's paintings for my  Nov. 1 class (The topic is brushwork and, in my opinion, Marin is the master of modern watercolor brushwork.) On the Art Institute's Web site, you can create your own cyber collection of art. Go to http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/personalcollections/about and you'll find instructions for browsing the Art Institute of Chicago's extensive holdings and selecting pieces for your own collections. You can even add your own commentary. I entertained myself for several hours on this one -- and actually learned a thing or two without even trying.

No. 3 Free shipping at http://www.danielsmith.com
You don't even have to have a big order. Just enter the promo code WETREATU in the promotional code box in the bottom left of the Order Recap screen. But hurry. The offer expires  Nov. 1 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. BTW: Several watercolor brands are currently discounted in the Winter Sale.

Come back next week for Friday's Finds.