Created: May 9, 2009

Modified: Sept 28, 2009

Peerless Watercolors by Nicholson: These watercolors are great for taking on the go, or even working from your desk. They are extremely high concentrations of watercolors.

This is what it says on their website:

The most convenient form yet devised to keep colors clean and available for instant use. The color sheet is a heavy film of highly concentrated pure color of intense strength and absolute solubility. The color is coated on one side of a special paper fabric that readily discharges when it comes into contact with water or any soluble mixture.

Click HERE to see how I carry them around.

Pentel Brush Pen: This is the best waterbrush/pen that I've come across. It's filled with a cartridge of pigment black ink that has a feel of Sumi ink that becomes pretty water resistant when dry. And the black ink doesn't streak over large areas. The nylon fibres of the brush have a wonderful memory and always snap back into place. It's also got a very fine tip for getting into small spaces and doing hairlines.

Waterbrush: There are several on the market now, Niji which has a long barrel and comes in various brush tip sizes as well as a couple flat types too. The Pentel waterbrush which has a bulb like barrel and is recommended for not rolling off your table. Personally it's my least favorite of all the good quality waterbrushes. Then there are the Sakura Koi mini waterbrushes which are my favorite, both for handling and just it's size. All of the above brushes basically have the same white nylon bristles which have a wonderful memory to them and always fall back into their original shape. I love leaving the barrel empty and using it as a dipping brush. Or filling it with some of the solutions and mediums listed below.

Gum Arabic powder: Mix a little in your water brush and then some distilled water. ratio recommended is 1 part gum arabic to 4 parts water. I usually go 1:6 ratio. This is experimental. Find the solution ratio that works for you.

Use: Pearl Ex and Luminarte powders have no binders in them, consequently when dry , the powders brush off easily. Gum Arabic is a binder, so when you use your waterbrush filled with the above ratio, it's not necessary to spray fix them. I shake up the jar of Pearl Ex, and touch the tip of my waterbrush, which is only moist - not wet, into the powdered color that's stuck to the lid. DO NOT insert your wet brush into the jar of powder. Rather tip a bit out into an empty palette well if you need to use more than a touch of color.

Note: Perfect Pearls already has binder in it so only water is used to move the powder around.

Iridescent Medium: There are several brands on the market (Winsor & Newton, Liquitex, which is a lot thicker, Golden; and they are all excellent, but my favorite for lettering is Winsor and Newton.

Use: Mix about 1 to 5 ratio of iridescent medium with distilled water in your waterbrush. I find this ratio works well and doesn't clog the waterbrush. You can also use it straight from the bottle if you want a more concentrated look.

a) It's great as a contrast between a matte black cardstock and a letter done only with the iridescent medium mixture.
b) Color with watercolor pencils and move the the color with the iridescent medium instead of plain water.
c) Color with plain watercolors from a palette using your iridescent waterbrush. Just wipe the medium off your palette colors with a damp towel when done.
 

Sakura Souffle gel pens: Write slowly with these pens to get a nice saturation of ink onto your design. Let dry thoroughly. They become opaque when dry. They work beautifully on black cardstock or on thick letters done with black or very dark colored Zig bullet tipped markers or other waterproof pens like a Micron.

Sakura Gel Pens: All the "Metallics" & "Gold" gel pens look great when moved around with a waterbrush and a touch of water. I love using them on watercolor paper. I would put a bit of color, usually along a line or in a corner, then with a damp brush, go over the line just made, then add a bit more water and start moving the color around, constantly wiping off excess moisture and color from my brush as I'm working.

Lyra Splendor Blender: I don't know what I'd do without my blender pencil. It's something I'm never without. It's used to blend colors put down with colored pencils.

Colored Pencils: My favorites are Prisma colors and Derwent both Artist and Studio. They contain a good amount of wax in them for wonderful movability when blended. I'll put a darker color in one corner, a lighter color in the opposite corner, a bit of white between the two colors and then move my color around with a Lyra Splendor Blender. It takes a bit of pressure to move the colors and you should see them move. All this is done with circular movements, usually working from the lighter color to the darker color and then back to the lighter color.

Sookwang Double Sided Tape: is my favorite brand of permanent double sided tape. It's strong!! and comes in all kinds of widths, one just right for any job. I love using it to add decorations to my monoline letters adding glitter to the sticky area, or laying down some composition gold leaf. Looks fabulous.

Kuretake Quickie Glue Pen: is my favorite glue pen (and also the Squeeze & Roll which lets out a bit more glue). Great for laying down gold leaf - if you wait for it to get tacky first, also for adding glitter and other powders.