First of all, I have to tell you that my mind is going in about a thousand different directions as I’m thinking about packing, selling things, and getting our whole house and my business ready to move in a few weeks. Between moving as a military brat, frequently as a young adult, and packing up for antique markets, I’m a champion packer/mover, but I still waffle between feeling supremely confident and completely overwhelmed. I just need to take it one step at a time. More posts are coming about the move, things I’m selling, and all of that, but today, I’m sharing a bit of fun – an art supply haul I filmed and shared on YouTube before I left for the beach. This haul includes some new art supplies to test out and a very special piece that was an early birthday present to myself – an antique brass watercolor field box.
Here is the art supply haul video where I share my purchases and talk through my reasons for buying them as well as my plans for them. You can also hear my delight as I open the antique brass watercolor field box.
Since the antique brass watercolor field box is the star of the show, let’s start with that. I spotted this piece listed in the Etsy store of one of my favorite antique art supply dealers – . Jess, the curator and shop-owner, and I have become Instagram friends, connected by our love of antique art supplied. When I saw this, I just knew it was special and I wanted to add it to my growing collection.
After some initial searches, I only found one other antique brass watercolor field box like this one, so I believe it’s a pretty unique find. The design is quite clever with folding parts, enameled mixing pans, a lid that turns into a water cup that hangs off the side of the box, and a built-in water bottle.
I need to clean and fix up the inside just a bit, but I’ll get it squared away, filled with paints, and ready to use soon!
My antique brass watercolor field box fits in nicely with some of my other brass art and desk accessories.
| Platinum fountain pen | | |
I also picked up this vintage watercolor palette for a great price. It’s clearly a student set, but I love how the colors are arranged in a color wheel. I thought it might be a fun palette to use for gouache.
In addition to the vintage and antique pieces, I tried out a few new art supplies – some sketchbooks, paints, and papers.
You can find the full list of supplies shared in the video here –
I bought this to experiment with tonal paintings and drawings. I played around with it a little bit at the beach, but I’m still learning how to use mediums on this paper.
I think this set of two watercolor sketchbooks is a real find and I will definitely buy more. They are inexpensive, have pretty decent paper for the price, and I love the blue “linen-ish” cover. Of course, I changed out the ribbon marker to make it a bit more my style. You can see how I do that in THIS POST. The binding is a little loose and they are not perfect, but I’ve learned that I need a sketchbook I don’t feel too precious about. If I’m afraid to ruin it or the artwork won’t be worthy of it, then I won’t use it!
I also bought a few tubes of gouache to improve my skills with that medium. I have been trying to use acrylic in my sketchbooks since it dries quickly and is opaque, but I really dislike the plastic-feeling finish of acrylic. It’s a small thing, but as a “paint enthusiast”, I am super picky. I tried gouache years ago and sort of liked it, but struggled with it. I’ve since picked it up again and want to get better with it and refine the palette. I still have a long way to go with Gouache, but I am enjoying it more and especially like layering it over watercolor washes.
I did have an opportunity to paint and play around with gouache at the beach, but I still feel like I’m not quite getting the look I want.
Yes…I know now I have to move all of these art supplies and all of the shells I just brought home! I’ll be selling more than I bought, though, so it’ll all work out to make Jeff happy. Besides, something like the antique brass watercolor field box is so small and easy to move!
You can see more posts on art supplies HERE and find all of my favorite studio supplies in my And you can see my entire art book collection (over 300) HERE.
5 Responses
I can’t imagine packing all of my art supplies on top of everything else!
Lots of fun opening gifts, even when we order them for ourselves. The brass watercolor kit is definitely something I’ve never seen before. As you have discovered for yourself, gouache is very opaque, and though a close relative to watercolor, very different in look on paper. The two can even be mixed with interesting results. Using the two, side by side in a painting, however, is rarely done because of the different appearance. It just looks strange. It’s lots of fun learning about different mediums. Wishing you the best on your upcoming house hunting and move, and am looking forward to see what unfolds. Maybe this time you’ll find that great old home you can work your magic on.
I don’t suppose you have any of the Dash and Albert rugs for sale that you designed? I bought 2 of the 2×3 and could use a third! Can’t seem to find one to buy!
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Such a cool find on the field box! I have a black tin paint box that was a fun find. My sister in law just gave me her moms wood painting kit and books from the 70’s. I treasure these!
Hoping you feel better and can rest even though you have all that packing to do. We helped my sister-in-law pack and it was exhausting. It was hard to think, do they need or want this. I ended up with treasures from my sister in laws mom and grandmother that showed me what kindred spirits we are. I know you will have many things to part with that all of us would love. I hope I can watch your live posting of items.
Praying for you and family during this time. Di