Melanie Testa

The Webinar and a travel journal update

A sampling of what I would take if I were traveling to France! Or anywhere else.

Oh my goodness! I just finished the Webinar with Create Mixed Media and I think it was a success. I was a bit nervous, but that is to be expected. If you attended, thank you so very much for coming and for checking out my website, blog and… ahem….

my new teaching website, The Clever Guild.

The questions were great and I wanted to address a few of them here. 

When I make my journals I have been using Saunders Waterford 140lb. Hot Press Watercolorpaper. I am fickle and can change my mind often but this has been a favorite for the last two journals made. When I went to F.I.T, my teachers were adamant that we use Cold Press paper and I can’t remember why. They helped me form a habit that I was just recently able to break. Using Saunders Waterford 140lb Hot Press paper is somewhat new to me and I really like its flat surface and ability to hold a puddle of water for a long time.

The one paper that I do not like is Arches and the reason behind this is, when wet, it has a funky smell. I have never liked it and can’t confirm that their paper still smells because I am not willing to purchase it again.

The last journal I made used 4 different watercolor papers (and if you would like to hear my thoughts on them, just comment here on this post and I will expand on the topic), and I made the book with 4 different papers in order to test them out and see what I thought. There was one paper in that journal that I really did not like. But the Saunders paper shone like a pretty nugget of gold, so I have become a fan.

Above you will see what I would bring as a travel journal kit. The little palette is brand named Jack Richeson and I bought mine through Roz Stendahl‘s local art store, Wet Paint (she turned me on to these palettes [and if you go ahead and order a few, please tell them Melanie Testa sent you-I don’t get anything out of this, they are just really good people and independant). The little guys are just two dollars fifty, so buy quite a few and give them as gifts to your favorite art buddies (I do this and you know who you are!) 

I also carry a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, a refillable cartridge style pen with actual bristles in the brush (!!!), a mechanical pencil with 3B lead, my favorite, and a Lamy Safari Fountain Pen using Platinum Carbon Black Ink. One of the best waterproof inks out there. I also carry and empty dropper bottle and fill it when I get to where I am going.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I didn’t know what a Webinair was going to be but I loved it! Thank you. It is very inspiring.

    I’ve already ordered some of those travel journal kits & made sure I told them you sent me : )

    thanks for sharing & for the wonderful new book. I got my copy today & love it!

  2. Hi Melanie! My errands ran late – puppy getting groomed. Is there a way to see a recorded version of the webinar? I was sooo bummed to have missed it!

  4. Hi Mel, you were great, I was able to follow along with your book and that was just perfect. I cannot wait to make my own color wheel and try the other creative exercises outlined.

  5. You were fabulous! I followed along in my book. It felt like story time with Melly! Thank you and North Light for the webinar and for your oh so wonderful book.

  6. Thank you for the free webinar! I just bought your book through my local bookstore, the Tattered Cover, and I LOVE it. I think it might be the best book I have purchased in the last year. It is so dense with ideas and instructions. I love that it is technique rather than project-oriented. I couldn’t stop myself from reading the entire thing in one sitting while I was lounging in the hammock. Now I’m going to go through the whole thing again, do all the exercises and really delve into the techniques. I’m also going to buy your other book & DVD. Can’t believe I hadn’t discovered you before! I would love to hear about the papers and supplies you use.

  7. Thanks for answering my question about what to include in my travel kit for sketchbook journaling in France. It’s helpful to see exactly what you take. Thanks for listing the items also… You were wonderful today–if I were doing it, my mouth would be so frozen there would be no audio 🙂 Thanks again!

  8. I also missed the Weinair although I did sign up for it. Is there a way to get that information?

  9. I also had to miss the Webinar although I did sign up for it. Is there a way I can access that information?

  10. I signed up and missed it. Don’t know what I was thinking.
    It said 1 pm…..and I ran home from errands to join the Webinar at 1 pm my time.
    Dang it!!….I live in Hawaii…I should have been on at 7 am. I have chemo brain.

  11. I learned some interesting bits of information today. Thank you. I am looking forward to reading the extra bits and watching the bonus video. Too bad that didn’t work during the webinar. I enjoyed the Q&A and was mad at myself that I couldn’t think of anything to ask you! If I think of something I guess later I know where to find you.

  12. Oh and I’d love to read a post about the different watercolor papers and what you like about them. I remember being told to always use cold press paper in my art class at the University but can’t recall why either. Perhaps it was because of the texture. It really is a matter of choice sometimes!

  13. HI Melly sorry to have missed the webinar (I don’t even really know what the heck that means!) but also my tiny brain could not figure out what time it would be here in New Zealand when it was 1 o clock your time but the good news of the day is that your beautiful new book has finally arrived this morning, so I will at least be able to follow your processes through the book, can’t wait for some serious time to study it over the weekend, yay! Thanks for such a great resource and have a great weekend!

  14. Enjoyed the webinar, although I forgot how long my laptop takes to load such events and I missed the first 10 or so minutes. That little palette tin, is that just an empty time with places to put paint? If so what do you use to fill it? I’m waiting for your book to arrive, I was a little late ordering it.