You thought that was a typo, didn't you?

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They're here, they're here, they're finally here!! The new Imaginary Trips' Basic Watercolor Kit and the Imaginary Trips' Complete Kit are now available through Daniel Smith! You can learn more about them by clicking on their names or by following the link under the graphic.

This has been a long while coming and I want to thank all of the wonderful "travelers" that made this happen. All of you who have joined me in adventures big and small, trip and visits, foundations and explorations, thanks for making this a reality!

For those of you who already have a kit, you can still shop at Daniel Smith and save! Enter the following two codes at checkout to save up to 15%! Please enter WSCHOOL2 and TRP00362 at checkout. Please note the discount will not apply to the kits as they've already been discount MORE than 15%!

Your purchases will accrue points and when the points add up, Daniel Smith will be issuing gift certificates that I will be giving away on the blog and on the live trips with Imaginary Trips Made Real!

Again, thanks to all who have helped get Imaginary Trips and Daniel Smith together!

Pen and watercolor Junk Journal 8 x 10 inches

One Thanksgiving evening some years back, I was puttering around in the studio without enough live brain cells left to actually create art, but still hankering for a creative outlet. In the days prior to the holiday, I had set aside some magazines and an old journal from my college days to be recycled.

My eyes fell on the journal and I decided to get some use out of it before I recycled it. It was old, the paper cheap. The pages were beginning to yellow just a bit, but other than the first 30 pages or so, it was blank.

I grab a couple of pens and went and plopped down on the couch and started to draw out some ideas that were buzzing around in my brain. I wanted them out of my head and into the world.

Too tired to care, I grabbed a turquoise and lime green Sharpie® markers.  Rather than go with the usual black ones, I played and scribbled and scratched.

It didn't take long for me to realize there was "gold" in this old, cheap journal. Creative gold!

There was no pressure to make "good enough" art. There was NO expectations that I would do anything with the journal other than test ideas, practice pen work or do thumbnails. I tried watercolor just to see what would happen...the paper puckered up like it had kissed a lemon!

The paper was so thin I started to use a piece of cardboard between pages to keep the ink from bleeding through to the next page, but if it did, no problem, I just scribbled on the page anyway. I was free to play without worrying about wasting "good paper." It felt fabulous!

If you're anything like me (and I think you are!), how often have you bought a fabulous journal thinking this will be the one, the one that you'll really start using today...only to get home and put it on the shelf with the other fabulous journals you have bought because you can't quite bring yourself to work on the "good stuff?"  

Do you make promises to yourself (like I did) along the lines of "when I get better" or "when I learn how to," then you'll start using the good stuff?

Let me suggest a compromise...get a junk journal and one pull out one of those fabulous journals you've put up on the shelf. When you have an idea for a journal page, use the junk journal to play, test out your idea, your layout, your lettering, or anything you're not sure about. Then, create the page in the "good journal."

You may still be nervous to be using the good stuff, but having played in your junk journal, you're much more likely to get results that you like.

I highly recommend either getting a junk journal or finding a journal you've purchased in the past and not used because of the paper quality/performance. Try playing and practicing in it before jumping into the good stuff—you'll be surprised.

The other cool thing about keeping a junk journal is that it becomes a treasure trove of ideas and progress! You can look back through the journal and see ideas that may spark a new idea for today as well as see the progress you've made with your drawing and layout skills.

My junk journals have become priceless tools!
The sketch above was done the other evening when, once again, I had very few active brain cells. It was fun to play with no expectations of finished art, but rather just an opportunity to create without expectation.

Adding the watercolor on a whim, I was surprised to see that this paper didn't buckle as badly as the very first junk journal I started with, however, ink bleed through is still an issue.

California Poppies - Detail Click to Enlarge

If you've been reading Painted Thoughts blog for any time at all, you know that I worship at the altar of details. Love, LOVE, LOVE details! It is in my nature to sit down and paint the finest of details for hours on end.

It's also crazy making.

When I don't have the level of detail I think I "need" in a photo reference or worse, when half way through the painting, I'm done. Finished. O.V.E.R. I.T. And it makes me crazy.

Such gorgeous oranges, yellows and pinks! Click to Enlarge

Then I rush through to the end and invariably regret it afterwords.

One of the things that travel sketching as well as sketching on location has taught me is there is no time for detail-worship. You go for big shapes, smaller shapes in shapes and then a few well chosen details and you're off to the next location.

Yes, at first it bothered me to leave out those scrumptious details.

Until I realized that sometimes less is more. It's kinda fun to paint an image and leave just enough out that the viewer can and does interpret the work differently from me.

So easy to get lost in all that detail! Click to Enlarge

Now, with this said, my default position is to get into the details waaaay too soon in a sketch or painting. I've had to get fairly "inventive" to outsmart my detail-loving-self.

I painted this standing up with the sketchbook turned upside down with a number 10 round with one hand tied behind my back!

....oops, wait, no, just kidding. I didn't tie my hand back.

Once the entire painting was dry, I sat down and painted in a few of the details—still using the #10 brush. I had to restrain myself from putting in every crinkle and wrinkle in those sweet, happy flowers.

And yes, it was hard not to go overboard with the details given to my desire to paint every stamen, shadow, crinkle, and hair.

Full Spread of California Poppies 11 x 8.5 inches Click to Enlarge

I am so glad I didn't. These flowers were so beautiful swaying in the breeze with their bright happy faces lifted to the sun. We saw these all over San Francisco...in gardens, by utility poles, in sidewalk crevices. It didn't matter where they were, they were beautiful.

These are not as loose as some would paint, but for me, given my proclivity for painting every single detail, this is loose! I still fed my desire for detail by including "just enough" detail to balance out the loose. I'm a happy girl!

Join me in my happy dance, won't you?!

Texas Moose Watercolor and Ink Pineapple Journal 5.5 x 5.5 inches

Chris and I went to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant the other evening and I noticed this big guy hanging over the door where the customers come and go.

I turned to Chris and asked, "Do they have moose in Texas?"

He looked at me a bit odd, but shook his head and answered, "Hmmm, no. A bit too warm there would be my guess....why?"

"I was just wondering why there's a moose over the door in what is suppose to be an Texas restaurant if moose don't live in the state," I replied. "I dunno, it just seems kind of weird. They don't even have moose on the menu."

"They don't have jackalope on the menu either," he noted.

"Yeah, well, maybe because those don't exist? Just a guess" was my retort.

Ask anyone who knows me well and they'll tell you that patience is not my long suite. Case in point is this "lovely" sketch above. Everything was fine at the restaurant. I sketched out the moose between our salads and the arrival of our entrees. I added color during the meal.

Later after we were home, I decided to put in the text. Looking the page over, I decided it would look better if there was some indication of a wall behind Mr. Moose.

I failed to wait until the ink was dry. Before it was over, I even managed to smear some of the ink.

And why?! We were already home! It's not like we were keeping the table too long.

I suppose it's the same reason I often misspell words on my journal pages—I'm in creative mode and the left brain leaves for a little while.

Or maybe it's just standing back to see what kind of mess I'll get myself into so it can say, "See? See what kind of messes you get into when I'm not around to keep you in line!?!"

Oh, well. It was still fun and it was still nice having a break from an overactive left brain!

Are you a patient kind of person? Have you always been that way? If not, how did you get there???

Watercolor and Ink Pineapple Journal 5.5 x 5.5 inches

My parents have an avocado tree in their yard and the avocados are coming in fast and furious—my mom had 50(!!) avocados on the counter the evening we went over to have dinner with them!

The cool thing about them is they're small—very small.

Mom made sure I had at least a half dozen when I came home and the largest one is not much over 3 inches long. She also sent home some guacamole so I've just now needed to make some.

However, my intention was not to make the guacamole until after lunch. Instead, I was just going to slice one for my salad at lunch time. I sliced it open and set one of the halves down by the tomato. That's when Sam (my muse) sprang up in my mind and said, "Ummm, you're not eating that are you? Sketch it!"

Taking a second look to see what had gotten her so excited, I realized she was right. Again.

You see I sometimes forget I don't have to go to Paris or San Francisco to find something worthwhile to sketch.

I just have to open my eyes to what is around me....in my own kitchen!

Sure, it's much more alluring to go to Paris or San Francisco but without the necessary monetary means to go when I want, it becomes necessary to find inspiration close to hand (and it a lot less expensive!).

If you have any experience with avocados then you know they'll turn a sickly brown shortly after being cut open. You can put lemon on them to slow down the browning or you can sit down and sketch while you're eating lunch!

I'm not sure if it was a really good salad or the sketching, but lunch was very satisfying today!

What have you done to feed your artistic self lately?

English Sparrow's Nesting Material Pineapple Journal 5.5 x 5.5 Watercolor and Ink

As it turns out, I drew this quick sketch of a English Sparrow's nesting material back in early June. We were enjoying one last lunch outside at a nearby restaurant before the heat of Florida's summers makes it impossible to enjoy dining outside....unless you enjoy eating in a sauna.

Once our food arrived, I abandoned the page. Completely.

When I drew the sketch at the tea house, I drew on a blank page opposite this page. Not because I haven't sketched in this sketchbook since early June but because I tend to skip pages in my sketchbook if I want to do a full spread across both pages. This page happened to be blank for that reason.

One of the reasons why I'm not fanatical about dating my sketches is because I not only jump around  within the pages of my sketchbook, but I also jump from sketchbook to sketchbook. It becomes confusing when I date my sketches. Instead, I note when I began a sketchbook and when I filled the last page.

However, there's another reason I abandoned this page and then left it unfinished...from the very first mark I put down on the page, I had made a mistake on perspective.

That big black "I" beam? Yeah, that's the first thing I drew and it should have been at the same angle as the roof lines over the bricks on the left side of the sketch.

Would you have noticed if I had not pointed it out?

One of the things I say repeatedly on Imaginary Trips is that most people don't "see a mistake" until we point it out to them.

Chances are good that at least some of you did not notice the "mistake" until I pointed it out. Some of you may still not see it and yet others knew right away.

Is there a moral to the story? Yes, I think so.

Whereas this isn't an accurate sketch, I enjoyed finishing it—mistake and all. It was fun playing with pigments to get the look of the bricks. It also captures a memory of a lovely lunch we had this spring watching the birds build their nests. Lastly, the "mistake" is not "fatal" to the work.

They seldom are.

What are you avoiding working on or finishing because it's not perfect or even "mistake-free?"

Go ahead and get to work on finishing up...if you're anything like me, you'll find yourself enjoying it all the more because it's not perfect. There's freedom there to play and experiment.

The Tea Cup Tea Room Gray Copic Ink & Watercolor 5.5" x 5.5" Pineapple Sketchbook

I met my new business partner at a tea house for a business lunch today.

Since I arrived 10 minutes early, I checked email and with nothing else to do, dug out my sketchbook and drew the fountain sitting out in the garden. I was about half way through painting it when she arrived.

We were seated in a back corner table where we could to begin discussions on a new project—one that will involve art, beauty, encouragement, inspiration, traveling, writing and maybe some tea!

I had left the sketchbook open on the table so the page could dry. After lunch, I pulled the sketchbook over to finish the garden sketch and decided to add the lovely tea pot. We had two pots of tea, one was a white tea called Wedding Tea and smelled like wedding cake. The other was caramel.

Yummmm! Even better when we mixed them together! Double yummmm!

Before I could finish the teapot, our scones arrived with Devonshire cream. Just delicious! I couldn't leave them out, so on the page they went.

We also had a wonderful conversation with the proprietress of The Tea Cup about realizing dreams and enjoying the gifts of each day.

A most un-business like lunch that was a wonderful way to do business!

Because time was short, I drew directly on the page with a gray Copic multiliner pen. It reads a bit like pencil. I figured for china and pale, pastel colors, I wasn't sure I wanted to use black ink.

That fact that I captured a few quick sketches was the icing on a fun day.

What did you do fun today????!!

I have not drawn,
I have not sketched,
I've had no fun
In my sketch book

I have not painted,
I have not splashed,
No washes have escaped,
from my brush!

It makes me unhappy
It makes me sad,
It makes me grumpy,
Not to mention mad....

Technology wrangling is not for the faint of heart and I am currently embroiled in a techno-nightmare that started as a dream. I am keeping faith that this dream will right itself to fly swift and straight.

Until it does, my painting/sketching opportunities are limited.

However, I did do something for one of my classes that I thought might be of interest to you...pen tests on Arches watercolor paper. In particular Arches cold press paper.

Sketching with pen on Arches paper can be a challenge and I hear a lot of frustration from folks about getting a pen, any pen, that will draw without skipping....and I've found one!

Click to Enlarge

For some reason my scanner had a very difficult time scanning the pen tests that I did. I've left the file size a bit larger than normal in the hopes you'll be able to read it and I've also added close-ups below.

Click to Enlarge

The group above is the "waterproof/water resistant" group of pens I had on hand. I love Copic Multiliners as they are refillable, but at best, you get a dry brush effect on the Arches paper. The same thing happens with the Faber Castell Pitt Pen in a Fine Tip. Knowing that I can get this dry brush effect, if I needed that type of effect, is useful, but not helpful when I want a pen that draws without skips!

One of things I have noted is that the larger the pen tip, the better results I seem to have. The 05 pen tip (and larger) offered the best results. I tried Micron Pigma 05 in black and green with the same scratchy, skippy results.

I also tried my Lamy fountain pen with an extra fine nib. The ink was Carbon Black. The tip was much too fine and the ink also lifted when I washed it with water. Not enough to cause a problem, but not 100% waterproof.

The Zig Millennium 05 wrote quite well. There were no skips and no additional fuzzing of the ink as it crept into the paper fibers. Oddly enough, when I ran water over the ink, I got a very light bleed. Not enough to cause a problem, but enough to let me know it's not 100% waterproof.

My next test was of Non-Waterproof type pens. All of them are classified as "gel ink" or roller-ball type pens.

Click to Enlarge

Imagine my surprise when ALL of them not only wrote better than the "waterproof ink pens" but bled no more than those in the waterproof category!

The Pilot Frixion 07 bled and faded to a lighter gray. It did NOT lift enough to make me think it would be a problem with sketching in a journal*. I would be a little more concerned if I were doing artwork outside of my sketchbook.

There was very slight bleeding with all of these pens, but not so much that it caused a concern of muddy or grayed watercolors, but something to be aware of if I need a very clean sketch.

The other thing to note here is that ink behaves very differently on various paper types. Just because you test it on Arches doesn't mean the same pen will work well on Fabriano or Strathmore.

To avoid surprises, I usually dedicate the back page of any new journal to test out pens, especially if I am not familiar with the paper.

Click to Enlarge

The list of inks above was created on the last page of a journal I picked up while I was in San Francisco (unfortunately, there is no information on the paper content). The inks are identical to the list on the Arches paper, but if you enlarge the image, you'll note that many of them bled and they bled worse than on the Arches paper regardless of whether they were waterproof or not.

Sometimes, we get "happy" accidents when we try new mediums in a different way, but the time to be finding out a pen bleeds is usually not if the field! I hope this will encourage you to do your own tests and save yourself the aggravation of temperamental, bleeding pens!

*I would strongly suggest a light test in a southern facing window to see if the ink is lightfast if longevity is a concern for you. Create two lists of pens to be tested on the paper you intend to use it on most. Add water to part of the line work. Cut the page in half and post one half in the southern-facing window. Place the other half in a closed book.

After two weeks, check for fading by comparing the two pages in good light. Check again at three, four and six weeks. The color may fade or simply shift from a true black to a purple, brown or green.