The good news: You can find great buys right now at the Preston Arts Center at 315 Pearl St. in New Albany. The sale started yesterday and everything I bought was marked down 25 to 30 percent.
The bad news: The store is closing forever. Although that means deeper discounts will follow, the 200 or so customers gathered outside the doors yesterday morning expressed sadness about the loss. The Louisville store on Bardstown Road will remain open, but the family intends to liquidate all merchandise and fixtures in the New Albany location.
The closing sale will be announced publicly Aug. 10, so get there before then for the best selection.
Pointless?
Do you have a brush that has lost its point? Here's a tip found in the most recent Daniel Smith catalog: Mix up a solution of 50% gum arabic and 50% water. Dip the brush into it and reshape the hairs into a point. Let it dry before using. I add that it's a good idea to hang it up point down for the drying part.
This past week has not been conducive to painting. Family circumstances dictate a lot of time in places where one cannot just open up a palette and go at it.
However, watercolor hasn't been off my mind. I've just had to limit my watercolor activity to reading. Here are a few gems I've picked up:
- Signature Canvas has a new watercolor surface called Aqua-Fuze. It's a 140-pound Arches cold-pressed paper bonded to foam core and acid-free Gatorboard.The product gets a good review in the February 2011 issue of Watercolor Artist magazine. I've looked for it in Louisville and Bloomington and haven't found it yet online, but I'll let you know as soon as I do because this looks interesting.
- Clearing the wrapping paper and ribbons from the studio was on my to-do list, but my cleanup now has new purpose since reading "A Place for Everything" in the January/February issue of The Artist's Magazine. Michael Chesley Johnson writes about organizing one's studio according to workflow. He suggests setting up work space with areas dedicated to raw materials, production line, inventory, shipping and waste disposal. It makes a lot of sense. The article offers good advice and recommendations for new and used organizational pieces.
- Putting my Preston Arts Center gift card to good use, I bought Watercolor Painting Outside the Lines: A Positive Approach to Negative Painting by Linda Kemp. The book was published in 2003 but it was new to me. It is an excellent instructional resource for negative painting. I often start with a negative painting approach but too often I slip into painting the positive shapes. I intend to work through several of the exercises before incorporating some of the activities into upcoming classes.
