Viviva colorsheets

 Several weeks ago I received a new product to test and review, the Viviva color sheets and sketch book. Although I'm still recovering from cancer treatments and haven't returned to a full working schedule, I still didn't find the time to test them until today. I'm so glad I did! I'm having a fabulous time, playing with the pigments and filling up sketchbook pages! 

These new Viviva color sheets are perfect for traveling. They offer two palettes in book form, Original and Spring. The Spring includes a selection of metallic/iridescent colors. Each palette "book" contains 16 colors and includes a mixing area, yet it weighs almost nothing -- only a little more than an ounce -- which makes it an ideal choice for air travelers or just to keep in a pocket for painting anytime, anywhere. 

I was amazed at how saturated the pigments are on these sheets, there is easily enough paint to fill several sketchbooks with paintings! The company claims that one book of 16 colors is equal to a set of 16 half pans, and from my experience that would appear to be correct. I can't imagine some of these pigment being so intense, and I suspect there may be dyes involved as well as pigments. Whatever the case, the paint is formulated to quickly reconstitute with water which makes it easy to use. These have become a new favorite of mine, and will go with me everywhere. 

Paired with a small sketchbook (the 4x6 Viviva sketchbook is perfect!) and a water brush, it's everything I need for a day of colorful creativity. I highly recommend it!

The 4x6 Viviva sketchbook contains medium weight cold pressed paper and is perfect for water based media. The Viviva color sheet books fit nicely inside, making it a compact and very practical painting kit. 

UPDATE!! 

I'm going to be offering a special promotion of these in a few weeks, so be sure to check back!

watercolor sketchbooks with toned paper!

A couple of years ago I started using an ivory toned watercolor sketchbook from Hahnemuehle and I immediately got hooked on toned paper. They just sent me two new watercolor sketchbooks, one in a lovely shade of cool grey and another in a warm soft brown.

These arrived yesterday evening, and I couldn't wait to open them up and get started!
You can order these books now at Wet Paint. In Canada, Above Ground Art Supplies and Gwartzman’sArt Supplies have ordered it but it's not yet on their website. These are the first stores to roll them out.

Using toned paper allows an artist to use the paper to provide some of the color in the painting. It's especially fun with pastels, gouache, or other opaque media. I used traditional watercolors in these paintings, accented with opaque white from a felt tip pen. On the right side of the photo is the fact sheet -- it's printed on glossy white paper, and you can see the color differences in this photo between the white of that paper, and the grey and brown paper in the sketchbooks.

I used the beige paper to create a sunset effect in this scene with a lighthouse, by leaving the paper to provide the color for the sky and some of the water. A white pen provided a bit of white for the lighthouse and it's reflection in the water.

In the beach scene, I let the grey paper color the sky and added a few brush strokes of payne's grey to create a dark stormy cloud. I left the paper color for the sand, and just washed it lightly with sepia to warm it up. Lastly, I added the whites of the crashing waves with a white pen.

The sketchbooks come in two colors, cool grey and warm brown. Each color is available in three sizes: 4.13 x 5.83 inches, 5.83 x 8.27 inches (that's the size I used in these photos), and 5.51 x 5.51 square. The 60 pages of 95 pound paper is acid free and age resistant, and has a slight texture that's just a little smoother than standard cold pressed. The books have a color coordinated linen cover and matching elastic band, giving it an elegant sophisticated feel. Although these would make fabulous gifts for any artist, I'm keeping both of these for myself. 

Want to keep up with the latest products from Hahnemuehle? Follow them on Facebook! There you will learn the latest news and updates. 

Hahnemuhle Zig Zag Sketchbook!

Here's a little something that I painted in my Zig Zag book from Hahnemuehle! I haven't painted in the big book (top) yet, but I did fill up the little book with a panoramic watercolor seascape.

The little book is tiny -- with each square being just 2 inches, for a total length of 20 inches. It's perfect for a panoramic painting like this! The small size also makes it a perfect little keepsake or a special gift. The paper is wonderful -- bright white with a cold pressed texture. Like all Hahnemuehle watercolor paper, it has a generous amount of sizing that makes it easy to lift paint or erase marks without damaging the paper. The hard cover is elegantly cloth bound and enclosed with a red elastic band.

I haven't yet decided what I want to paint in the larger Zig Zag book. Plus, the paper is double-sided, meaning that both sides can be used. So, I can also paint on the reverse side of this, as well! The possibilities are endless! This is a fun little book to take along on travels, as I can play out a panoramic scene or fill it with a series of vignettes to tell a story of a special trip or a memorable experience.

The book comes in a variety of sizes, all of which are perfectly suited for tucking in a pocket or bag for traveling artists. They make wonderful gifts, too! This item is fairly new on the market, and so far, I've only seen them for sale at Blick Art Supplies. 

I've been working on the various watercolor papers from Hahnemuehle for over a year now, and I'm hooked. The quality is exceptional. I like my paper to have a generous amount of sizing, and all of the Hahnemuehle papers fit that bill. The paper is easy to work with as it is extremely durable and doesn't wear down to excessive erasing, lifting paint, or scrubbing. It releases masking fluid perfectly and tape is easily removed without tearing or lifting fibers. Colors remain vibrant, and don't sink in, bleed, or fade as they dry. I'm going to share some of the paper with my students in my upcoming Summer workshops -- see ya there!