Watercolor Review: Boku-Undo Gansai Aurora Palette

Review by Tina Koyama

I always say (to myself and others) that I’m not a sheeny, shiny, glittery gal (I’ve only ever purchased one bottle of shimmery ink, and I gave it away soon after). Obviously a liar, I recently found myself craving some sheeny, shiny, glittery watercolors. The Boku-Undo Gansai Watercolor Palette in the Aurora colors (6/$14.75) looked mouth-watering.

Before I plant my face into the sheen, I thought I’d mention that I’m already a fan of the Boku-Undo mini palettes of unique watercolors. The E-Sumi palette I reviewed a few years ago are a lot of fun to use when I’m in a dark mood. While the e-sumi palette is subdued, the Aurora set is on the opposite end of the scale: It’s all about the dazzling light.

The set includes (from left) gold, silver, red, green, blue and purple. I used both my scanner and my phone to photograph swatches in direct daylight on black and white papers. Each time, the swatches look very different! 

On white paper, the shimmer is apparent in direct light, but the hues are difficult to differentiate and even seem to change. I’m not sure they are worth using on white paper. 

On dark paper, however, the effect is entirely different. The sparkly, metallic particles glow on black paper. I rubbed a finger across the dried swatches, and some sparkly flecks smeared a bit like powder.

It was obvious that I had to make a test sketch on black paper, so I used a black Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook. And I had just the right reference photo to use! During the summer months when the sun doesn’t go down until 8 or 9 p.m., my spouse guy and I take after-dinner walks through the neighborhood to enjoy the light. The gorgeous “golden hour” is too brief to sketch on location, so I snap a lot of reference photos to sketch from later (like the long, dismal winters when the sun goes down at 4). The photo I used wasn’t as dark as my sketch appears, but the low, warm light gave everything a lovely glow. 

Whatever gives these paints their sparkle also makes them thicker than typical watercolors. I applied them fairly thick to retain as much concentrated shimmer as possible, and they felt a bit creamy rather than watery.

Oooh, these paints are fun on black paper! I have fully embraced my inner glitter gal.

---

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

The post Watercolor Review: Boku-Undo Gansai Aurora Palette appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I Bought a Notebook Today

You wouldn’t think this would be major news, but I realized that I hadn’t bought a notebook in quite a while! Since 12/30/22, to be exact. My stash is well beyond what I will probably ever need and I haven’t seen anything new and exciting that I just had to try, so I’ve actually been … Continue reading I Bought a Notebook Today →

Watercolor Review: Kuretake Gansai Tambi Palette Graphite Colors

Review by Tina Koyama

Although I’m mostly a colored and graphite pencil sketcher, sometimes I get into a painty mood. If I haven’t used paints in a while, though, I get a bit overwhelmed by choosing and mixing colors; I just want to grab a brush and hit the page with it. That’s what I love about a watercolor set like the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Graphite Colors (palette of 6/$16.50). The neutral, near-black hues require no mixing to have fun with.

The set comes in a cardboard palette of six pans that are larger than traditional watercolor full pans (though a bit shallower). The color name (in English and Japanese) and color number appear on the underside of the pan, and the number also appears on the palette. I find the color name on the pan to be especially handy because the subtle, dark hues can be difficult to identify when dry. (Apparently, these paints are not available individually at JetPens.)

When swatched, the hues become more distinct. The lightfast colors recall the Boku-Undo E-Sumi Watercolor Palette that I reviewed a while back. While that set evokes the rich blackness of ink, the Kuretake set is more subtle and matte like graphite. (I love having both pen- and pencil-like watercolor sets!)

According to the JetPens product description, “the surface of the paint can be polished to reveal a metallic luster.” That statement piqued my curiosity, so I took a paper towel and rubbed the concentrated ends of my swatches. It was difficult to photograph to show the luster, but with light reflected directly, the paints do show a subtle, graphite-like sheen.

To make test sketches, I first used green and red to sketch a portrait (reference photo by Earthsworld).

Then I sketched my friend Skully (inspired by the X-Files character, of course) twice in a gray Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook – once with blue and once with violet. (The white highlights were made with an East Hill Tombstone white brush pen that Ana and I both reviewed several years ago.)

I used a standard-size East Hill Kumadori water brush to make these sketches. With a finer brush (and a finer hand), I think these graphite-inspired paints would be lovely for calligraphy as well as painting.

---

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

The post Watercolor Review: Kuretake Gansai Tambi Palette Graphite Colors appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Charles Gaines’ Colorful Pixelation of Southern Trees

Artworks can provide an immediate rush of joy on first impression, or slowly build in appreciation over multiple visits. Charles Gaines’ current exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Gallery in New York does both: it is breathtaking from the moment you walk in, and offers new discoveries and deeper fulfillment with every subsequent visit. The artworks are individually brilliant while they also connect to each other in a series that invites you to get closer while extending your peripheral vision.

The exhibition’s title “Southern Trees” references the 150-year-old pecan trees shown in the 17 new works – all photographed on a visit to Boone Hall Plantation in Charleston County, South Carolina, not far from where the artist was born.

On the 2^nd floor, 8 new works contain 3 elements: a black-and-white photograph of a pecan tree, a black silhouette of that tree on gridded paper, and a pixelated watercolor translated from the silhouette.

The exhibition crescendos as each work builds on the last. For example, the first watercolor seen in the gallery is a single tree from start to finish (in blue), followed by the second work in the exhibition that adds a tree (red) to that equation. A new tree is presented in the photograph and silhouette alone, but is added to the first tree in the watercolor. The third work introduces a third tree, and so on. By the time you walk to the 7^th and 8^th work in the room, the forms and colors fuse together in an abstraction that celebrates difference as a whole. 

Even when the layered colors are the exact same within a single square, the final color within each square (a brown or green, etc.) is always different due to the variance of pigment saturation in every application.

A great 10-minute video is linked below, produced by Art21. In it, Gaines talks about a relationship between his artistic system and larger social/political systems:

In a way, I’m trying to suggest that the kind of visual difference that happens in the system [within the artworks] operates the same way that other concepts of difference happen in other domains: politics, gender difference, race difference, class difference. In the drawings we can see that those differences are constructed by the system, and in the social and political domain, the differences that we see are also constructed by a system.

– Charles Gaines

The series of work on the 5^th floor adds complexity, scale, transparency, and sunlight, resulting in some of the most uplifting and captivating works on view now. Each of the 9 works throughout the skylit room follow a similar logic of “adding a tree” as you walk around the room, but now the photographic images are printed on clear Plexiglass boxes that encapsulate each large painting.

Exploring the colorful, painted grid requires a viewer to look through a photographic detail of the branches of the newest tree. And due to the distance between the Plexiglass and painting (almost 6 inches), the images shift as you move, offering a sense of discovery similar to the feeling of peering through real branches to see a distant landscape.

Each painting is a satisfying story, and though you don’t need to connect the dots between them, this is a rare opportunity to see complete sets together and experience those relationships in a single room.

The above 10-minute video features works from the exhibition along with larger, recent musical and interactive works. Well worth watching.

What: Charles Gaines: Southern Trees
Where: Hauser & Wirth New York, 542 W 22^nd St, New York, NY
When: January 26 – April 1, 2023

Images:  Installation Images © Charles Gaines, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Photographed by Sarah Muehlbauer
Artwork Images © Charles Gaines, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Photographed by Fredrik Nilsen

Pen Review: Sai Watercolor Brush Pens (Set of 30)

For years, one of my favorite brush pens have been the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens. I originally purchased the 20-color set ($34.50). In the time since I acquired them, I have used some up, given some away or lost a few. In the end, I had about 6 or 8 of the original 20-color set. I also discovered that I have never written a review about these brush pens so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to invest in the 30-color set ($51.50).

I don’t normally keep marker or brush pens in the packaging but with a large set like this 30-color set, the sturdy, translucent plastic box is easy to use, easy to see the pens and easy to store so the pens might live in this box for the time being. I do store the box with the tips down or horizontal so that the tips don’t dry out. The 20-color set came in a long flat plastic sleeve that is lovely for presentation but too big to be usable for me so I took the pens out of the case immediately, which may explain why I managed to lose some of the pens.

What I like most about the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens is the unusual color range. Unlike many pen sets that offer the standard ROYGBIV spectrum in smaller sets, the Sai sets all have a more sophisticated, complex color range.

The pens feature clear caps with a clip to keep the pens from rolling away. I did discover that the caps need to be pushed firmly to close the pens completely.

With the 30-color set, I do feel like there are more common colors then in the 20-color set but overall, I think the set offers a great range of colors.

Of all the brush pens on the market, the individual nylon bristle tips on the Sai brush pens are some of the sturdiest while also being the most like a real brush. Other brands feature the soft, flexible “felt tip” style tips which can often dull or the tips can get worn out but the Sai bristles have survived a wide array of paper surfaces and abuse and kept the tips sharp and usable. I didn’t go out of my way to try to damage or abuse them so I’m sure they can be damaged, but in regular use, I’ve found the Sai brush pens to be the most durable while also being the most brusk-like.

Using a standard Tomoe River A5 notebook, I tested the full range of colors in the 30-color set. My favorite colors are the dusty blue in the center of the second row and pretty much all the greens.  I think for nature sketchers, this set has a good variety. Lettering artists will like the spring brush tips and unique color range especially.

The red-orange color always reminds me of ripe, heirloom tomatoes. All things considered, its probably my favorite in the set. It is also in the 20-color set and I used it all the time.

---

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Pen Review: Sai Watercolor Brush Pens (Set of 30) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.