What are you doing today?

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Ruby Slippers
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

After a really good weekend, today was a bit of a let-down. :( After two good nights sleep, this morning was just after 4am! Needless to say, it's left me drained and without much energy. I'm beginning to feel like a prisoner and am thinking of joining you on a long walk, Horus.


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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

You would be more than welcome to join me and Annie on a walk RS, but the weather has been so cold and miserable of late that we have hardly been through the door. It has been so bad that I have delayed having Annie trimmed so now she is now looking more like a sheep than a dog, but I cannot put it off any longer and she is going to the hairdresser this Thursday, so lets hope the weather warms up. I have spent the last few days planning some outings in my caravan to give me something to look forwards to and also buying in a few items that I needed such as a long windbreak to go with the new sun canopy that I bought last year.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

I'm sorry to hear that your weather is as dreary (or worse!) than ours, Horus. I think January and February are the worst months of the year, don't you? Up until a few years ago, those two months were really enjoyable because we were either going away or planning to go away, but I haven't been on holiday for 11 years now, and I'm beginning to forget the pleasure in the actual planning stages.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

Yes the weather here has been abysmal for months, I have hardly been through the door. Not that I am any good at it (I wish I was) but I have just ordered myself a small A4 size water painting pad and a set of water colour pens as I quite fancy giving it a try when I am away in my caravan or just out walking. I often stop and admire the various wild flowers that I see on my travels and usually base the passing year by what I see in the woods and hedgerows, I reiterate that I am far from competent in drawing or painting and have very little idea or actual talent in that direction, but hopefully it will give me some pleasure.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

What are water colour pens?
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

LLL, they are basically a pen that looks similar to a felt tip pen, but they contain a water soluble paint. They also have a softer tip similar to a fine brush, as you paint/draw using them you can then use either another pen that just contains plain water, or a normal brush to add water as you would do if doing a water colour sketch. An example would be to roughly sketch in a sky and then use clean water to ‘wash’ the colour into lighter and darker areas. They are also fine enough to do detail lines using just the tip of the pen/brush which would also give stronger colour in that area. You can also get pencils that act in a similar manner, they are essentially fine paint blocks that you draw with and work the same way inasmuch as you can add water to wash over the dry pencil work after and make the paint from the pencil soluble like water colour paints. The pencils tend to be less vibrant in colour than the pens although both pens and pencils can be purchased in stronger colours if that is your preference, there is also an ink version of these water colour pens so lots to choose from although I reiterate that I am no expert on the subject.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

My daughter gave me some of these pens for Christmas, with a new pad. These though are double ended, having a very fine tip at one end and not a very thick tip at the other. The colours of these are quite strong on the whole - must admit I hadn't thought of watering them down, I'll try it. :up

I'm a bit of a collector of pens and pencils, I have water colour pencils which are very useful for sketching when dry - also wax and powder pastel pencils that look exactly like crayons, have to keep them in separate drawers. Then then are ordinary pencils in variety, I like the carpenter's triangular one best, but also have charcoal which is nice for detail and less messy and there are the buffing pencils, which I've never used. :oops:

This is from memory, there may be more but I won't get started on the rest of the pens.........
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Well I'm wrapped up in a blanket until the house warms up - freezing fog and the boiler has been off for 12 hours - I overslept. I turn it on and off manually at the moment it's ok usually just a bit nippy when I get up. Worth it to get some solid sleep. :up

I think a cup of coffee and some breakfast is called for then I can get cracking. Bin day today and I've missed kitchen waste as they come well before dawn. There is very little so I shall just freeze it, I keep the bottom drawer of the big freezer for this purpose, keeps the space full and cuts on running costs.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

MD, I looked at getting those double ended ones because of the two types of ends, I decided against it mainly because the colours looked a bit too vibrant and there seemed to be lots of red through to pink shades included. The ones I have ordered seem to be a more muted colour range and include some nice greens and browns as well as the main ones.

As I was typing this up after being out for a very muddy walk and having to bath Annie on our return :urm: the Amazon delivery arrived and it was the pen brushes (very fast delivery only ordered last night). My initial reactions are that the brushes are indeed very soft and pointed and look ideal for fine detail work, not so sure about the colour though :tk I did try a quick trial on some ordinary paper (the sketch book is still on its way) and I had mixed results. The brush strokes look nice and sharp, but I dont think that the colour will bleed very easily into the water when applied so I cannot see it making a light pastel shade of the original colour and I rather suspect that there will be too much of a distinct boundary between full colour and the water wash, but its early days yet.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Have to agree with everything you say Horus, but I couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I shall find a time to use them, like the watercolour pencils - my teacher showed me how to get dramatic results by wetting the pencil for small areas. I had just been using them for basic sketch and painted over. Very useful bit of kit. :up
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

Today was the day when I took the bull by the horns and got back to normal! I sewed four very large quilt blocks and I have to say, I feel much better for it.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

Sometimes RS we just need to shake ourselves out of our lethargy and start to do something. :up
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Grandad »

Well now there's a coincidence. Among the things I have been up to, during my brief sabatical, was to find something to occupy some of my time.
Many years ago, and on a whim, I bought an A3 book of 300 gsm water colour paper and a box of 18 tubes of Reeves water colour paints. I put them in the attic and have never used them or even removed the cap of any tube.
I know absolutely zilch about art painting in any form so I downloaded a beginners book from Amazon on to my Kindle Fire. The book is just what I need, very basic but it describes brushes, colours, papers and a few techniques.
I am sure that your pens will be much cleaner to use than my paint tubes H but I will start somewhere and might change to the pens if I find pots of water and a pallette (well a large white dinner plate actually) inconvenient.

Whatever, don't expect to see masterpieces because, as Horus said, this is a new pastime starting from scratch.

Now where did I put my smock and beret? :lol: :lol:
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

Instead of running the risk of upsetting Mrs Grandad by using a dinner plate, why don't you look for a biscuit tin lid, Grandad? Just saying! ;)
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

Good idea RS, following your tip I have found that an aluminium foil dish like you find on many food products also makes a handy paint tray when cleaned, but make sure its not one with perforations in the base. ;)
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Grandad »

It all washes clean RS and the glazed white is good for colour mixing. I think an ideal palette would be a white glazed oyster dish.....anyone got one? :lol:
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

I used to use a saucer#, but saw a small plastic divided dish in W. H. Smith's and bought a couple. I found it much easier when painting anything larger than A4 to mix enough for a wash all of th same colour, or just using its separate divisions. Small and efficient.

#I've never noticed before what an odd word saucer is, as a small flat plate it wouldn't hold much sauce as we know it. I shall have to Google it. :up
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

I have a Dr.'s appointment mid morning.

I usually only make appointments for the afternoon, because it can take a few hours to get the body moving well. However I was so afraid of oversleeping that I've been awake since 5.30.

I got up at 6.00 started the boiler and had a cuppa, turned on the underfloor heating in the bathroom and now back in bed, enjoying the unusual experience as I never go back to bed until the evening, once I'm up that's it for the day.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

Mad Dilys wrote:I used to use a saucer#, but saw a small plastic divided dish in W. H. Smith's and bought a couple. I found it much easier when painting anything larger than A4 to mix enough for a wash all of th same colour, or just using its separate divisions. Small and efficient.

#I've never noticed before what an odd word saucer is, as a small flat plate it wouldn't hold much sauce as we know it. I shall have to Google it. :up

mid-14c., from Anglo-Latin saucerium and Old French saussier (Modern French saucière) "sauce dish," from Late Latin salsarium, neuter of salsarius "of or for salted things," from Latin salsus (see sauce (n.)). Originally a small dish or pan in which sauce is set on a table. Meaning "small, round, shallow vessel for supporting a cup and retaining any liquid which might be spilled" is attested from c.1702.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Grandad »

I am going to cut my A3 pages into A4, A3 is much too big for me as a complete novice. Before I try anything like a scene I want to practice small sketches of people, flowers etc, that way I can get quite a number of those sketches on an A4 sheet.

@Mad Dilys I do agree about how funny some words can seem when you think about them. I think that most words, other than nouns, seem more strange the more you you think of them. I find words like 'used' strange the more I think about them. :lol:

My wife has an opticians appointment this morning. I am expecting her to come home after committing me to some expensive designer glasses. I had my frame reglazed at Asda last week for £80. Who said there was sex inequality? :lol:
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