Family

Family
24.5 cm X 16 cm
Watercolour on Saunders Waterford
2014

A wonderful gift from Escoda

I've received some more beautiful brushes from Escoda, thanks so much Escoda for this generous gift

Mission Gold Watercolors by Mijello

I am very happy to receive some watercolor tubes of Mission Gold Watercolors by Mijello. I tested them today and also used them in my recent WIP and I must say, they are doing a great job! The colors are strong and rich, and has excellent clarity and transparency. Thank you very much Mijello for this wonderful and generous gift.

For more info, you can visit http://www.mijelloart.com/watercolors.html

I also thank Mehmet Bingol for the beautiful gift (a few Winsor & Newton tubes) he sent me a few weeks ago. And I don't have to say anything about the Winsor & Newton tubes, they are simply the best.

Winsor & Newton Award : NWS 93rd Annual International Exhibition

I am immensely honored that my painting 'Old Wheels at rest' won the Winsor & Newton Award at the NWS 93rd Annual International Exhibition. A big thank you to NWS, jury of selection, juror of awards, Exhibition director Penny Hill and President Linda Doll :)

Show Dates: November 10th, 2013 – January 11th, 2014
NWS GALLERY, San Pedro, CA

2014 Art Calendar by The Art of Watercolor

I am deeply honored to be a part of the 2014 Art Calendar by The Art of Watercolor, in the company of some of the best watercolorists of the world: Carl Brenders, Paul Dmoch, Marc Folly, Angus McEwan, Atanas Matsoureff, Stan Miller, Ron Muller, Yuko Nagayama, Rogger Oncoy, Shirley Trevena, Stanislaw Zoladz and Zheng L. Feng.

http://www.boutiquedesartistes.fr/le-calend-arts-calendrier-des-arts.html?___store=en&___from_store=fr

Thanks to TAOW magazine.

Watermedia Showcase competition

Yay! A good news: I've won Honorable Mention in this year's Watermedia Showcase competition. As such, my painting, "Old Wheels at Rest," will be published in the April 2014 issue of Watercolor Artist.

A wonderful gift from Escoda

Wow! Received some new awesome brushes, a beautiful leather brush case and an artist brush soap from Escoda. I'm really enjoying the play with all the new brushes that arrived. Thank you very much Escoda for this wonderful and generous gift, and for producing the best artists brushes.

I am in love with both the Reserva (Kolinsky-Tajmyr Sable hair) and Aquario (Squirrel hair) series. I also like Ultimo very much.

Some new synthetics series I tried:

1. Ultimo series is an almost perfect imitation of squirrel hair, which is very soft and has a great capacity to retain liquids.
2. Prado series is an imitation of sable hair. It not only imitates its color, but also its spring.

Test results:

1. The liquid retaining capacity of natural hair brushes (Aquario, Reserva) is about 2-2.5 times as that of the synthetic ones (Ultimo, Prado respectively), and they are the best in terms of quality.
2. However, I must say synthetic hair brushes have perfect points and they don't lose their points quickly. They are more value for money.
3. Natural hairs are more softer (less stiffer) than the respective Synthetic imitations/hairs and they give an amazing feel when you play them on paper.
4. Aquario mops are great while you are painting large shapes/areas. Reservas are great for detail work.
5. Among all the synthetic brushes I have tried(Ultimo, Prado, and Barroco), I like Ultimo the most. They hold a good amount of liquid and have beautiful points.
6. Each hair has a different characteristic. Prado and Barocco have their own advantages, you can punish these brushes since they are more stiffer.