She came, she bought, she conquered

   Row after row of pens, canvases, canvas board, wooden panels that looked like canvases, pastel board, watercolor board... and that was just one aisle. American stores are big, American art stores are the thing dreams are made of! And after heaping a few hundred dollars worth of supplies into my basket a shop assistant apologized that they had such a small selection because they were just a tiny shop. Glad I didn't see the big ones, I don't think my budget would have withstood the strain.


   Well, I am back. It was a whirlwind trip, my sister is happily married off, Washington DC has been duly seen, museums explored and the art store plundered. It was my first time at Blick art supplies which I have heard mentioned on several youtube channels but never visited. And I return heavily burdened with new things to try out.





Derwent products-

Inktense:
  I am a big fan of the inktense pencils I bought in Italy and haven't been able to add to since. Since they were open stock, I picked up a few;)

I also found a box of Inktense paints which look like watercolor pans but are ink. An obvious must try.

Since I like the Inktense products I decided to try two other of their water-soluble pencils.

- Metallic: I am thinking birds fish, butterflies, insects

- Graphite in natural tones, land, and cityscapes

Windsor and Newton-

I had heard about Aqua sticks and now I have the chance to try them.

Pens and a midsize eraser:
  The Prismacolor fineliners look a lot like my favorite Touch pens and are also produced in Japan. I am hoping they have a stable nib. I bought 3 just in case.

Masking tape:
   I have yet to find a good tape that doesn't tear away paper, I will give this one a try.

Daniel Smith Watercolors in tubes:

 I have heard these mentioned. I tested them this morning and two are really nice. One of them is much shinier than I had anticipated. It would be perfect for painting fairies. Not that impressed with the color on that one. They are fun but not as good as Schminke in my opinion.





Irridescent watercolors:

 These are actually made in germany, which means I can probably get them again if I like them. I chose three colors. They appear to work best layered over other colors.

Walnut Ink:
  The name alone is enough to give this a try. It is really smooth and has a nice color.

White paste (?)/ watercolor pigment:

 I am not sure what this actually is but it is a fun cheating medium. Great for mixing and highlights.




Moleskin hand sizes mixed media sketchbook:

A miniature water holder to clip to a sketchbook while urban sketching:

and finally a set of store brand greys, warm and cool:
 I am not sure about the quality of these but the concept is good.

   My sister gave me a canvas bag which is perfect for art supplies it is large and has pockets everywhere, I can't wait to use it.

   And that is it, have you used any of these products? Do you love or hate any particular one? Let me know in the comments. Also, if you would like to see a review of any of them let me know that as well.

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