On an early Sunday morning I braved cutting through Robinson Township on my way to the airport.
As we traveled deeper into shopping Nirvana, a new storefront caught my eye, Hobby Lobby. A few weeks later, when I had to return to the airport to pick up my husband, I made sure I had some extra time to stop at Hobby Lobby.
I was envisioning myself walking into a Dick Blick’s or Cheap Joe’s catalog come to life.
Find out what's happening in Cranberrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
No such luck.
The store was slim on art and craft supplies, but flush with home décor items. I did manage to find something to buy. I had been thinking about replacing some of my almost empty Winsor & Newton inks. What I found at Hobby Lobby was an interesting collection of Dr. Ph Martin’s Bombay Inks.
Find out what's happening in Cranberrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
I went a little crazy over the variety of colors. It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed that in some of the bottles the pigment had separated from the liquid. I’m not sure if this is standard, or if I got a bad batch, but after a few shakes all but one bottle mixed into a consistent color.
Then came the moment of truth, I gave the inks a test run. Yuck! They didn’t flow, there was no lovely transparency and I was so disappointed. OK, back to the foresaid Winsor & Newton ink.
Jill + Winsor & Newton inks forever and ever.
Next, I got out my Winsor & Newton inks. Uh-oh…they didn’t flow and looked muddy. What the heck? My paintbrushes are a little ratty…. then it hit me. I used paper from a mixed media sketchbook. I should have used watercolor paper or my favorite Strathmore, Bristol smooth tooth paper for ink.
A lesson here?
Use the right materials for the project. I will admit that I do love to experiment with art materials and often use them in unconventional ways, but when your project is failing, you need to rethink the materials.
The right paper and the right paintbrush can mean the difference between success and failure in your work of art.
