Maggie on Art Materials, Part III

"Thursday" - set of sketches in my sketchbook.
copyright 2008 Maggie Stiefvater.

Remember, the sketchbook will be given away to a random blog subscriber when it's full, so sign up for the blog even if you don't read it through your e-mail if you want to have a chance to win it! (I'm about half-way through the current sketchbook at the moment)


Sorry about the delay! My brother whisked my computer away to HighSpeedInternetLand to get updates downloaded and so I was without computer access. However, it did give me a nice long day to get other things done, especially since Sunday is my lazy day. After drinking four glasses of sweet tea, I decided it was time I try a fun looking project that my friend Vivien Blackburn mentioned to me. It's a comic strip of your day done in twelve panels, done from memory rather than observation. Hers is rather prettier than mine but it was a lot of fun regardless. The hardest part was trying to figure out how to illustrate novel-writing! All the exciting stuff having to do with writing a novel goes on in my head . . . to the uninitiated, I'm just staring blankly at a computer screen.

Anyway, Vivien has captions for hers but I think I'll let you puzzle out what mine is without. I'd love to see any of my blog readers tackle this -- if you do, be sure to let Vivien know on her blog.

Okay, onto the questions from the last posts. There are just a few -- let me know if I missed you.

1. About solvents. Have you tried "eco-house extra mild citrus thinner #115?" It is as you described the British solvent that you order. This is made in Canada, and I think I got my last batch from Dick Blick. Smells nice. For even lower toxicity you can't beat Gamblin's Gamsol. It just doesn't smell quite as nice.:-)

I've had this mentioned to me quite a few times but I've never gotten around to ordering it. I think I've now been officially pushed over the edge, however (my husband would argue that happened a long time ago), and I'm going to give it a try.

2. Hi Maggie, which retailer do you trust to place your overseas order with?

I don't really have too much call to order overseas except to order Zest-It, as mentioned in the solvents post, and the few times that I ordered from Canadian super-art-store, Curry's, which went off without a hitch. Other than that, I haven't had much experience with it . . . I think if I were choosing an overseas retailer, I'd be tempted to google their name to find out if there is anyone talking smack about them online (that's slang, did you catch it? I'm so hip) and then I would decide between the final two by determining which company's sales representatives had the most charming foreign accent.

3. I have a question related to the pastelbord (although I suppose this could apply to any support) and solvents: Do you find that the application of solvent limits the number of layers that you can apply?

I actually find the opposite to be true. If I'm really between a wall and a hard place (which, um, really are the same things, did you notice?) layerwise, I'll usually add some solvent, because it'll let me get another layer down on top. Now -- layers on top of solvent do behave completely differently than layers pre-solvent, so that's something to experiment with. I don't think I'd go around adding solvent to a portrait commission before I had tried it on something that I wasn't afraid to make Excrutiatingly Ugly.

4. have you ever tried working on metal? as a metalsmith i haven't tried it yet, but it is all the rage right now. the metal has to be sandblasted so the pencil can grip, but its quite a neat effect. i think its rachelle thiewes that has done it best, especially in her sculpture pieces.

Metal is something I hadn't thought of -- I can only imagine that layers must be a thing of the past working on a surface like that, because there's nothing to absorb the layers. I tried googling her but didn't find anything immediately accessible.

5. I like Colourfix alot and was just wondering how you choose a background/support color to use. Sometimes I use a color that is in the subject alot (like cream or tan for a drawing of a yellow lab ) and sometimes I use a complementary color for the punchy contrast. Is there any color you prefer/would order a bunch of?

I always use the dark colors of Colorfix, because I prefer working on darker supports (my work tends to be mostly dark with elements of light, because I am Wednesday Addams). I also prefer the warm colors -- the brown and the red in particular -- because my work tends to be warmer. I would just keep in mind when I was ordering that colored supports are supposed to save you work. If you're doing a dark piece, you want a dark surface. If you're doing a warm piece, pick a warm color, etc. If you're doing a cool piece on red, you'll kill yourself trying to beat back that red. Colored papers should be a time-saver, not an ulcer-causer.

Okay! I'm hitting the sack. Let me know if I missed you and if there's anything you'd like to see me tackle as a series post for next week. Otherwise, I'll be announcing my next one Monday night.

Reader Questions on Preliminary Sketches & More

"Cats of the Old Masters" - available on various shirts, etc. here.
All cats, no matter what strange outfit they're wearing, are copyright Maggie Stiefvater 2008.

Here are the questions from the last series. If I've missed anybody, please post in the comments!

1. Do you use any photo manipulation programs to do the altering or do you do sketch after sketch or some combination?

I use Adobe Photoshop (Elements would work fine) for a lot of my art work (notice there's a space between "Art" and "work" there) but not in the ways that you might think I do. For pre-art-making, I use Photoshop to punch up saturation and contrast in my photos to make them closer to how I remember the scene or to brighten a dark reference to see details. After I've begun a piece, if I'm stuck on it, I'll scan or photograph it and twiddle with in PS to try out drastic changes before I do them -- like putting in a dark background where I have a light one or warming up an area colorwise, etc. I really let my sketches do most of the gruntwork for me, because they're faster for most of the changes I make. If I was a slow sketcher or a super fast PS-er, I might do it the other way. I figure, what you do to work out your groundwork at the beginning is, like the color of your underwear, your business alone. Most everyone does some preliminary work (and wears underwear -- though not the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band from Canada, or so I heard from a scarred passerby at a Scottish festival) but what sort depends on what comes naturally to you.

Word of warning to those who have not used Photoshop before and don't own it -- it's a complicated program, so be prepared to put in some hours learning how to do the most basic functions.


2. When you do those preliminary sketches, how do you pick the best one? I do them and then find that I have a terrible time picking just one.

I had to think about this question, because it wasn't an issue I normally have, and I wasn't sure why. I think it's because before I start a piece, I usually know sort of what I want to do with it. I think part of this is a style thing too -- I'm very set in my stylistic ways and that defines what sort of crop I'll do. The odds of me, for instance, doing a horse in a wide open landscape shot where you see the horse's full body and lots of territory around it . . . very slim. The odds of me doing a close up, edgy crop that's a little off kilter? Much more like me.

So I guess I would say -- pick the one that feels the most like you, if you've got several options that all play nicely within the composition world. Pick the one that you'd be happiest to have hanging on a wall somewhere and brag about. If one doesn't stand out, maybe that means you need to do one more and push the envelope.

2. When you say “colored pencil on board” – what type of board do you mean?

I use a bunch of different sorts, but my favorite is Ampersand's Pastelbord, a nice gritty board that eats pencils like Cookie Monster eats cookies. I also use Colorfix primer on masonite board. Both of them are a lot different from working on paper -- they have their pros and cons. I'm always trying new supports for colored pencil. I've done canvas, wood, clayboard . . . right now I've started a piece on a new type of support for me -- the company sent me samples and it's interesting. More on that later.

4. How do you handle something like someone asking you to incorporate their pets into famous paintings?

I had to put my Master Cats series up on this post because of this question. I don't have anything ethically wrong with inserting pets into paintings well out of copyright (well out of copyright), because I think they're humorous and I like humorous. But that's also in my style. Everyone of those tiny Master Cats (the originals were 2.5 x 3.5") is a copy of another painting, but I like to think that they're all vaguely recognizable as mine as well.

So my answer to this one is, do it if it fits in with your style. If you normally do abstracts or only paint in blue or something else that means that these sort of spoofs would be a departure -- decline.


Tomorrow I'm going to one of two blog posts on Time Management & Motivation. If you have any questions on that front, leave 'em in the comments as usual! Thanks to everyone for being so enthusiastic about these series posts!

Yikes! Put Those Things Away!

"Early Morning Test" - 5 x 7" colored pencil on paper.
Copyright 2007 Maggie Stiefvater.
Click here to bid.

I thought today I'd answer a reader's question, scrubbing out all personal names and details so that their identity remains more secret than Britney Spear's career plans.

The reader writes:

We are starting an Art Association in a small town of 3,000. Had 11 at first meeting which I thought was great and more said they are coming. We had a problem right at the first meeting though. A young man brought some artwork that was gruesome and almost pornographic. It's not something I would like to promote on an Art Association Website or say that we are even a part of. (He does have some decent work that is quite beautiful, so he won't be excluded entirely) You are so good with words can you help us with guidelines? What are your thoughts on this?

Having been to a couple different art association meetings, I know that this is a problem that haunts a lot of them. A set of guidelines or a charter of some sort is a very good idea.

This is what mine will say when I'm Queen of America:

The Queen of America Art Adoration Year Round Festival and Artists Group exists for the promotion of artistic types and the beautification of otherwise Ugly Places. We (that's the Royal We) also endeavor to provide a supportive environment for artistic types to further their abilities. A major part of the QAAAYRFAG is the public promotion of our work in the form of exhibitions and college students wearing sandwich boards displaying our art. The QAAAYRFAG does not discriminate by medium, though sculpture should be of a permanent nature (the exception being statues constructed from donuts, because the Queen is very interested to see what could be done with donuts as an artistic medium). Because the Queen does not care to be titillated on the way to work or while going through public places where group exhibitions hang, works of a pornographic nature or featuring Jason Statham will not be permitted. Tasteful nudity is permitted, however, the Queen will have to stare at all of pieces featuring nudity to see if they gross her out or not.



Now, since I understand that not all exhibitions are run by the future Queen of America (c'est moi), I recommend this boiler plate version instead:



Everytown Art Association exists for the promotion of artists (you can specify 2D here) and to increase public awareness of the arts in Everytown. The group also endeavors to provide a supportive environment for artists to further their studies. A major part of the EAA is the public promotion of members' work in the form of exhibitions, which will be juried by ____ (or by an outside juror selected by the members). The EAA does not discriminate by medium, though sculpture should be of a permanent nature. Because the EAA's exhibitions will be held in venues open to the public, works of a pornographic nature will not be permitted. Tasteful nudity is permitted, however, works containing nudity must be approved by the president/ head honcho before being allowed in a public exhibition. We also ask that members do not bring pornographic works or works with gratuitous nudity to group meetings.

Now . . . puppy pics tomorrow!