Member Suggestion: Free e-book from Artist Daily

This little 9 page e-book is worth printing out for the drawings alone: download here.
Betty Lehnus
CPSA Ch.219 President
(you may need to sign-in or create an account with Artist Daily to download).

LINK: Interesting Article on Miniatures

What is a miniature painting?
GUIDE-LINES TOWARD A DEFINITION OF A MINIATURE PAINTING
(click on image to link)
from www.art-in-miniature.org

Also, a side-by-side comparison PDF of 'miniature' vs. 'small-artwork'

Member Suggestion: Colored Pencil Newsletter Wet Canvas

Detail from Green by Elen

Hello Chapter 219!
Bettey Lehnus as shared another great link with us from Wet Canvas: Online Living for Artists. They sent out a nice email newsletter focusing on colored pencils, take a look at this link.

Discussion: Making Your Art More Salable

An article titled 8 Ideas to Help Sell Paintings from the blog of M. Steven Doherty, was suggest by chapter member Betty Lehnus:

These ideas on how to make paintings more salable are surely open to debate . . . but worth thinking about . . . Betty

The comments section is open - let's make an effort for each member to leave an opinion!!

Commercial Sharpeners: A Comparison

I recently decided to test a few commercial sharpeners which were all perchased through Dick Blick Artist Materials online.
Pictures below are the three I started with:

Dahle Chubby Pencil Sharpener $2.83
Helix Hand-Held Pencil Sharpener $1.29
Prismacolor Colored Pencil Sharpener $2.68

•As you can see, the Prismacolor Sharpener created the best point. The other two left the left lead with ridges and or cracks. I haven't fully tested any of the over time, so so far I am impressed with the Prima Color - and I was skeptical.














•As for functionality and shape, while the Prismacolor is a sleek space age shape, which great for travel/portability - I feel the fact that both ends 'pop' open could lead to a potential mess if you accidentally open the wrong end without paying attention or it bumps up against something.
•The Helix is pretty standard, and on the large side so you won't have to empty it as often. The twist top guarantees that the top won't accidentally pop off.
•The Dahle Chubby is also on the larger side, but is probably the least practical for portability given it's bulbous shape.

Hope this helps!
from DC219 member, melinda beavers

Member Suggestion: More ATC News

Here's a link for a FREE 25-page online sample issue of ATCQuarterly magazine --- lots of goodies about Artists Trading Cards and nice examples ...

from member, betty johnson

Online Critique

One more article, a critique of an colored pencil drawing: A Shining Example. Enjoy!

Member Suggestion: Framing Advice

Local Member Betty Johnson brought this interesting article on framing to my attention and thought all members of our group would enjoy it as well. Here is a direct link to the article: Playing with Proportion

Materials Suggestion: Blick Studio Pencils

Does everybody know that Dick Blick (the online art supplier) has their own brand of colored pencils? They seem indistinguishable from Prismacolors and 25-30% cheaper.
-Betty Lehnus

Yes it's true! Dick Blick does have their own brand of colored pencils and they look good. Price listing is as follows:

Set of 12: $8.99
Set of 24: $17.49
Set of 36: $25.99
Set of 49: $39.83
Set of 72: $54.99

Single Pencils are $.75 (up to 12)
Mix & Match for bulk discounts: 12-23 at $.69 ea. and 24+ at $.64 ea.