Blog

Pen and Ink Drawing

Trying new mediums... Jane talks us through another new medium you can try if you want to expand your skill set and discover a new angle for your...

Sketch book project

'Old and New' project ...churches and ornate architecture Jane talks us through one of the projects she was given at college. It was simply ‘old and...

Children’s crayons vs Artists crayons

Crayons or coloured pencils ...children vs artists We have recently written about pencils in a number of articles. Today we are answering the...

Pencil Sketching

Possibly the most portable medium Pencil sketching is great fun and you don’t need much to get started, if you carry a sketch book with you all the...

Polychromos coloured pencils

Using coloured pencils is enjoyable. To someone who paints it can feel like a completely different skill set and trying out different sets /...

Charcoal drawing

Different types of charcoal Jane tells us of the different types of charcoal that are available. This image shows the most readily available. Left;...

Pastel and pastel painting

In this article Jane talks about and uses pastels which she freely admits are not one of her favourite mediums.Choice of pastels Oil Pastels Oil...

Art Students – Materials

Students - what you'll need A good percentage of our customers are students and we have a wide range of products that are perfect for them....

Line & Wash

Here Jane shows the steps she used to create a line and wash painting. Jane doesn't believe watercolours are her strength, but really enjoys...

Oil Paints & Mediums

Other oils and mediums In her last post Jane looked at what an artist starting out with oil painting might need to begin. Here she reviews the...

Oil paint for beginners

What is oil paint? Oil painting is a process of painting with pigments and using a medium of drying oil as a binder. Drying oils include linseed...

After Lockdown at Gadsby’s

Gadsby's re-opening changes We do not expect many customers for the first two or three weeks following re-opening but we have put the following...

Lockdown Art

Jane has painted a series of pictures using acrylics during the Covid-19 lockdown.Lockdown affects artists too... While I’ve been in lockdown I...

Perspective

Perspective is the art of representing three dimensional objects on a two dimensional surface.

This gives the height, width, depth and position in relation to each other.

Perspective has a Latin root meaning “look through “ or “perceive”…

Handmade Greeting Card

How to make this card…

This card is for advanced level. It features a hexagon with iris folded rainbow coloured strips of paper.

Life drawing

Life drawing is a great way to draw the human body in any of its various shapes and positions using any media. There are different degrees of...

Calligraphy and illuminated calligraphy

What is Calligraphy?

Calligraphy is a visual art related to writing. It is a way of designing lettering with a selection of broad to fine tipped nibs and a min holder or brush and a bottle of ink.

VE Day Bunting

Making your own bunting adds to the fun of any celebration.

Jane shows how she made her bunting for the upcoming VE Day celebrations.

Stay Safe!

Mixed Media Art Work

Creating a piece of art can involve the application of just one skill in one medium.

Or, as Jane shows here, it can be a mix of skills and media. Neither approach is better or worse than the other – just different and fun because it is so different…

Using Gouache

Jane recommends trying Gouache – saying “Gouache is a great medium not to be overlooked or passed by. Have a go and see what it’s like for yourself.“

…Gouache is an opaque version of watercolour and can be used like watercolour by diluting with water to use as washes to give a softer more translucent colour.

Painting with Acrylics

…sometimes when I want to loosen up I turn to acrylic paint.

Acrylic paint is water soluble and once it has dried it is then permanent. Remember to clean your brushes in warm soapy water after use.

I also like acrylics because if I make a mistake I can just paint over it and start again.

Watercolours

Why is watercolour such a difficult medium to master?

Paint removal… watercolour will stain the surface of the paper.

Style of painting… Another challenge with watercolours is the style of your work

Caran D’ache Pencils

Caran D’ache provides a great range of materials for drawing and painting. This brief summary is a simple guide to the ‘Pencil’ ranges available.

To distinguish the quality of the products – items are classified as Student or Artist quality. While both are very high quality the ‘Artists’ products are made from more expensive / better materials…

Using Caran D’ache pencils – permanent and water soluble

Jane explores the differences between some of the superb Caran D'ache ranges of pencils. Here she provides a short guide for someone who hasn't used...