Paper Making and Books!

Today was very exciting. I had my friend Jennifer come over  for we can get the chance
to make paper! We simply cut up and blended some old papers/bills and recycle them into pulp to be turned into new paper as shown below.

My friend who decided the color of our paper (pink and purple ish) once our paper was blended, we simply poured it on to the screen evenly and distributed it, till it spread nicely on the screen.

Once it it was on the screen and ready to go. We put a towel over it and try to squeeze the excess water out.
After wards he let it sit for a for a minute or 2, than flip it over on a towel carefully and let it fall off the screen gently, and "tada!" you got yourself a piece of wet paper. Now you simply press the town against it to squeeze anymore excess water. Last step is simply ironing it if ya want to speed up the drying process or a nice smooth finish.

Afterward I cut my paper in half once fully dry , one for me and my friend. I drew on it and tested it.

It works great for drawing, but not for watercolor painting, the paper starts to soak up and will tear. but I believe heavy paint like gouache will work, as long as you don't add water to it or is not to "watery".







last but least, I said I would post books that I have been reading, but didn't get the chance!


These are 2 books I recommend for artist of any field involving in color.






 This is a very easy to understand book on color. If your the type that likes simple and clean direct directions and want a simple and easy going start of on color theory and applying it to your painting this is the book for you.. It goes over a variety of important topics such as color wheel, and how to use color to create pleasing compositional and color coordinated pictures. What is also a nice touch is a page on how different time of the day effects color such as morning colors compare to evening. So if ya wondering how to paint a foggy or cold morning or a sunset colors in the evening. This book has it and in a very simple and clean way! You cant go wrong with this.

Recommend this to all artist of level.










The second book is Color and light. if your a more advance Artist (but also recommend to beginners if your up to it) and wanting to expand your knowledge on color and knowledge on manipulating color, you need this book. James Gurney goes over the formulas and methods of painting. This is not a step by step, but a book on understanding the fundamentals and technical side of color. The book provides in depth knowledge on color  and history on how previous artist learned and used color and their methods/problem solving. . if you take the time to read this book and practice through it. You will be able to pretty much paint any color and any color combination/harmony for your personal needs or work.





That is all for now, tomorrow if not, I will post another book topic, by the same author "James Gurney". But I think for today, the blog has enough agenda for reading.