A Reminder From I've Been Framed

3861

The best art supply store there ever was, I've Been Framed, 4950 SE Foster Road, if they don't have it, son, you don't need it, is still going hard and fast and strong, just like great art supply stores should.

We've patronized them throughout the pandemic still, and though the browse is nourishment for my psyche (and it has consequently sorely missed this) the same great people are there, and Prairie, the manager, is still rocking it hard (you want a business icon? Forget Musk and Bezos, it's Prairie you should idolize). I hear word that they're working out how they might make the browse happen, but I don't know for sure. Maybe I'm just yearning.

But you want art supplies? Here's your dealer. Check this window out.

Stay revolutionary, my friends.

Pentimento Mori: Brenda's Lamy CP-1 Fountain Pen

3748

A reveal, if we please. 

I do enjoy writing in fountain pen, and as I've testified before, I adore handwriting. I have a Kaweco Perkeo, as also noted before, in old chambray colors that we got me a couple of years back at Little Otsu down on SE Division in the toney section of town, still, it's a lovely store and if you're as finicky about your writing tools as I am, believe me, it's right up your street too. 

But this wasn't Little Otsu that that is complicit here but Oblation Papers & Press over off NW 12th and Glisan, as I also detailed in a posting even more recently. 

Babble babble, let's get back on course. We visited Oblation because we were certain we'd find the exact brand of ink cartridge we'd need for a very very special fountain pen. Here, then, is that pen.

This is the Lamy CP-1. Its aspect was created by the German industrial designer Gerd Müller in the mid 1970s, and this is a pen from that era. Its simplicity and practical design make it timeless and it does have a comfortable feel and heft. The small box of cartridges is the Lamy T-10, $5 for a box of 5; that metal cylinder is the pen's converter, a thing I can load ink in and use instead of a cartridge. This particular one is a bit of an oddity: instead of a piston you'd use to load it up, there is a bit of spring metal there that you use to compress the clear plastic bladder, then releasing it allows the bladder to re-expand, pulling ink in. They called this an 'aerometric' converter, and it, according to the reviews I've seen, didn't work so well maybe.

It was given to a rather artistic friend of mine named Brenda who has bequeathed it unto me since she has my number in so many ways. It additionally was sent on to me since Brenda is, and I think she would think amiss if I pussy-footed around the thing, dying. 

I value this object. Because it's a pen, a fountain pen, a fountain pen from an artist who sees it as an object of art as well as an artistic tool, a fountain pen with a history beginning in New York City and ending, for now, with me, and it was given to me to create whatever art I can with it and was given to me as an aspiring artist who has art for it in mind, and will continue to use it even after the original artist has drawn beyond us - has died. 

All of a sudden, the idea of someone surviving beyond death as something changed doesn't seem like such an abstraction. 

At this point the pen is in the stage of being pressed back into service after being stored for a while. Anyone who's done same will probably relate. It requires a bit of water, as the ink is water-soluble, and it's in a stubborn period where it will write for a while and then stop for a while too. It's making me earn its respect. I've been there before, and I have a promise to keep, so I'll keep working at it. 

I do rather wish Brenda could have been with us to Oblation. I think she would have loved that place. I know I do. And Brenda is still with us for a little while longer and I want her to know that yes, it's going to be used and pressed into service and be valued. A love letter to the future from the past, even.

So it goes.

So, I Needed More Acrylic Paint For My Paint-By-Number Habit ...

3530A.

I've been playing about with Paint-by-number again. The set I bought last year at Powell's has eight panels in it, and I'm on number five, which is the Statue of Liberty, here:

The set was produced to leverage the popularity of the book Paint by Number: The How-to Craze That Swept The Nation by William L. Bird (and published by Princeton Archtectural Press) into some art kit sales. There's a small book on the projects with text by Dan Robbins, the OG of Paint-by-number, the man who helped start it all with the Craft Master series by Palmer Paints, back in the day. It's not a bad set, and the pieces in it have been quite fun (I don't recommend it for anyone with significant visual impairment, as the lines and numbers are very small and very dimly printed - I have to take my glasses up and almost put my nose down to see the lines and numbers clearly).

But, perhaps it's my long time away from painting but of the twelve standard-sized paint-pots included, more than one of them are nearly out of paint. Maybe I used too much, I don't know.

However! The Craft Warehouse in Gresham to the rescue! It's at 687 NW 12th Street in the Gresham Station development. The Wife™ dotes on this store, and it's not hard to see why; if they don't have it, you probably don't need it, as far as craft supplies go. There is a section devoted to acrylic craft paints and more brushes than you can shake a mahl stick at, and it was there that I found a whole card of 16 acrylic colors, several of which correspond pretty well to the colors I'm running down on.

Behind you can see the twelve original paint pots in the box that the kit came in. The sixteen colors on the card, below, are beautifully fresh and pretty much the quality I need to do the rest of the PBN pictures (one hardly needs artist-quality acrylics to do these). And ... on sale for $5.44! Yes, such a deal.

Another boon I found was the Fine Art department of Craft Warehouse. Simply put, it's a fully-stocked, well-inventoried section; it could stand on its own as a small full-service fine-art supply store on its own! That's above-and-beyond for a craft-supply store, which usually has a small selection of rather pedestrian art supplies; this has graphite, oils, watercolors, acrylics, pretty much everything. So, it'll stay on our radar for certain. For an art-supply needer living east of 148th in The Numbers or anyone in the Gresham area, it's certainly a stop you'd want to make if you couldn't get in to Blick or Artist and Craftsman or I've Been Framed down in Portland.

Now, I'll move on to completing the other PBNs in that little kit you see behind it there.

Manga Explains: Why Ink On Bristol Board?

3525A.

A couple of weeks ago prior to Book Church we stopped in at the Portland Blick Art Supply store, located and NW 10th and Glisan, and had a look-see.

While there, I had to get a photo of this inspired explanation of why Bristol is good for ink, because it uses a whole lotta manga tropes to explain it plain and clear, and is just plain fun to look at.

When I do draw, I adore Bristol, for whatever that's worth.

If you looked real close, you could see the pink lines of the rough layout. There's not too invisible here.

[art] Arttist & Craftsman Supply: New Kid On The PDX Art Store Block

3461.

Our Saturday art-storin' peramubulations gave us a chance to check out a new kid in town.

Artist & Craftsman Supply is an art-supply store, thought the name might throw you off a bit; it sounds like a boutique-y name for a boutique-y Home Depot variant. But it is an art-supply store, I'm happy to say. One look at the front should clue just about anyone.

Decorated in vibrant designs resonant of 1960s 'Op-art', its tucked away on SE 21st Avenue just north of and on the other side of the street from Fred Meyer's home office, which is just south of SE Powell Boulvard. To find it, turn south off Powell at the Plaid pantry at the light at 21st (just west of Powell Park and Cleveland High School, just east of the railroad underpass) and look for it on the right. You'll have a hard time missing it.

A&C isn't a local company, though it is based in Portland … the one in Maine … and they do seem to be on a nationwide expansion kick lately. Its story is kind of interesting though. As the corporate legend has it, Larry Adlerstein was a renovation professional and in 1985 his mate was let go from her job. He took a renovated structure he had available in Yarmouth, Maine and they started an art supply store there, and it apparently took the name Artist & Craftsman because she was the first one and he was the second one. It apparently did well; in 1995 they moved it to Portland where it did even better. He enjoyed having he store but in the mid-90s big money started to move into the art supply world and from his point of view the way to survive was to grow. That led to A&C's second store … in Seattle, which if you're growing from Portland in Maine, well, you don't have to be a Forbes subscriber to know that's taking a huge chance. Now, in 2017, there are more than 30 stores nationwide (there are not one but two in our Portland, the other in North Portland at the corner of N Lombard St and N Atlantic Avenue (that's just west of the light at Denver) and as of the end of 2016, it's now a 100% employee-owned store.

Walking into the place we had our expectations. I was hoping there was Preppy fountain pens, of course, but there were none, however, they had a good supply of just about everything else. Drawing, painting, all sorts of media, papers … I even saw a wall display of yarn. Notable about the store was what I call the 'impluse purchase' section closer to the front; they have a surprisingly diverse selection of merchandise such as the kind Blue Q produces.

The clerks were nice, friendly, and quite helpful. Being a chain, you'll have to make up your mind how you feel about that, Portlander; but being an employee-owned business goes a long way with some of us, me included. I would come here to see if I couldn't find something that I couldn't find anywhere else, or if a favorite source is closed.

And sections of the front wall are back-album-cover worthy:

It's a nice place. Worth a visit.

[art] I've Been Framed, March 2017

3460.

We began patronizing I've Been Framed, the funky art-supply store and custom framing shop, back in 2003, when I was shopping for a number of art supplies for graphic design school

I found an unopened, untouched box of DaVinci gouache for, while I don't recall the exact price, a very very good deal. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Over the years we've paid innumerable visits (and there have been some, one including a cat by the name of Jordie, documented by myself here) and have never fallen out of love. It's like walking into a color explosion, or maybe a tie-dye world. If IBF doesn't have it, then you probably don't need it. They have blank books for cheap, to continue to feed my diary jones.

Its combination of new and used supplies gives it a gallmaufry atmosphere, which is a most wonderful thing, what with things being as they are. You may have your mental-health days. Mine, you'll find me here.

The art being supported by the ladykin is one of my favorite things, and it always makes me smile whenever I see it. It was living in the back for a while, and now it's up front for a while, and I almost laughed out loud when I saw it.

The store goes back for a ways. Packed as always, an explosion of color, and back all the way to the back wall and you go left is a wall full of graphite drawing supplies, more than you'd need, including Blackwings. also, even farther back, the custom framing.

In a world where Art Media sells out to Blick and Muse goes away, if you needed an idea of why I've Been Framed is important and remains so, it's that this crazy gem has been going at it for more than 60 years now … and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Other places may have the supplies, but when it comes to sheer character and pesonality, none tops I've Been Framed.

I felt brighter just for having stepped in.

Thanks for being there, guys. And staying there.

[art] A Motivational Self-Study Short Course: "Do More With Your Art" By Peter Rossing

3457.

In the previous missive I shared some of my thoughts and feelings about the permanent closing of Muse Art and Design, the Hawthorne area art supply store that has delightfully taken some of our disposable income over the past twelve years.

I may have gotten a little lachyrmose about it, but it was that good. 

I'd like to share a little something with the world. Peter Rossing, the owner, had as one of his missions to give little talks, a way of fulfilling the store's mission of equipping, informing and inspiring, All artists, may we be working or aspiring, need two essential things to get going: inspiration and motivation. My problem, for an embarassingly-long time, was that I would confuse and conflate the two, eventually thinking that inspiration is all I need to create.

That's bull. I live in Portland, Oregon, perhaps one of the most inspirational places known to artistic people. Also, there are no shortage of publications exhorting my attention: look at this! Truly, this is inspiring! What can you create, now that you've seen this?

Well, I can create whatever I want. But knowing I can create and getting moving on creating, why, those are, after all, two different things. I must have nearly 1,000 pounds of books about insipiring me to create art. Very few on getting the motor actually running.

What I'm going to share with you now is the notes from a talk Peter and Muse gave on the 23rd of February, 2015, two years ago. The title is Do More With Your Art in 2015, and it's a short course on separating inspiration and motivation and how to nurture motivation in a world that's all about inspiration. I love this document, and as I continue the pitched battle to create habits that are about self-indulgently creating good (or any) art rather than just self-indulgence, this is a touchstone that I return to time and again. It contains a couple of self-guided exercises and a handful of good suggestions, a list of references for further exploration, and a chart of checkboxes that represent two years of days (every time you do something creative, put an x in the box and you'll have a trajectory). It's not hard! All you have to do is bring yourself, your brain, a few minutes of your time (it's only 11 pages) and a bit of honesty.

One major reason I made sure to stop by Muse is to visit Peter one last time and thank him. Another important one? To get his permssion to share this file. Muse Art and Design may no longer be with us, but with this, we can make sure its spirit of Equip, Inform, Inspire remain as though it still were.

Inspire yourself to motivation with this document, a PDF, which is on my Google Drive, here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5n6OeSCIc0dUXEteVhUZFFKVzQ

[liff] Muse Art and Design: Goodbye, Farewell, So Long.

3456.

It's hard, on the heels of that sorting out of what the knowledge of the demise of the Corvallis Gazette-Times's wonderful former headquarters building has done to my personal psyche, but now I have to face the knowledge that one of our favorite bright spots in this world, the mighty Muse Art and Design, at 4220 SE Hawthorne Blvd, is gone now, too.

Well, is going. In the process of closing. My heart is broken.

I got the email, as many on the email list did, at the end of last week. Sudden, it seemed; stunned, I was.

Muse opened back in 2004 in the space immediately adjacent to this, at 4224 SE Hawthorne. It's a new-jack old-fashioned barber shop now. The space that they were now in, 4220, was a vintage shop called Shadowhouse. Muse came in and opened up the light and what was a bright spot to us before became even a brighter spot now, well lit, with well-priced supplies we would go back to again and and again, and the same sweet, friendly people.

I made several mentions here in the past of our love of Muse and the people who ran it and the artists who would come by occasionally for a demo or a talk. They will remain cherished memories. But there will be no further. An old beloved favorite is leaving us.

Where there were once art supplies to buy, there is space.

Peter Rossing, whom
we shall extremely miss

I understand the demand for the clearance merchandise was huge. Peter Rossing, the proprietor and hero of our tale, was quite surprised at the number of people who came in on Thursday, which may have been the first real day of the sale. By the time me and The Wife™ arrived, it was only Sunday, but the place had been gone through pretty well. I was hoping to score a black book or two, but those were gone with the wind. There was still quite a few paints - oil, acrylic, and watercolor - also a lot of pastels, but most of the drawing paper was gone, the sketchbooks, graphite and ink drawing supplies, all conspicuous by their absences.

I had to stifle more than one sob, which is corny, but I'm not going to lie about that.

There were some woodless pencils left. I scored several HBs and 2Bs. I don't need much else. Wife got some acrylic colors and some of the POS displays, including a mechanical pencil merchandiser on a pivot.

This really causes me some interior displacement. Art supply shops are some of the happiest, brightest places I can think of. One of the peak experiences of my weeks are visiting art supply stores with my wife; the feeling of well-being art supplies give me is hard to put into words. The two which occupied complementary places in my heart are, of course, the eternal I've Been Framed, and Muse. I loved both of them because of their complementary souls. IBF is like the raggle-taggle gypsy, the tie-dyed Grateful Dead fan, always surprising, just wanting to get you what it was you wanted and the funky style wasn't so much curated as it was evolved. It's the most casual, kind experience you can have. Muse, on the other hand, had a restrained, refined style and poise. Both served the Portland artist community with the same sort of "get busy with your art" passion that has made that community such a vibrant thing.

With Muse, it was a slogan: To equip, inform and inspire.

What will be my most treasured memory about Muse? Knowing I could always depend on getting Preppy fountain pens there? The transformative seminar in February 2015, about the difference between art inspiration and motivation which has finally (after two years, my brain moves slow) enabled me to grasp that it wasn't inspiration I needed, but I was starved on motivation? That time when Bwana Spoons did his demo? Getting to know Vaughn Barker and his little women? That time the fellow who was looking to get a treasured volume of DosPassos repaired and told me the story of Rosa Luxembourg's visit to Portland and the way DosPassos and Hemingway ended their friendship over the way Hemingway regarded the victims of the Spanish Civil War? Or will it be the endless chats me and my wife had with Peter and his staff about art materials, the art store business, small talk about the day, and how goddamned nice they all were?

It'll all be treasured. Because we won't have it again, at least not at Muse.

Muse moved into 4220 about six years ago. One of the improvements to the landscaping was six curved stepping stones arranged into a circle; colored yellow, green, purple, blue, red, orange. A color wheel. And in the middle, a big circle of white gravel. Walking past it always ignited a frisson of happiness in me; I knew that, whether or not I walked out of Muse with a purchase, I was about to pay a visit to friends, and it would be a happy thing.

This is the color wheel today. Sic transit gloria Muse. 

They were friends as well as vendors, and, for a little bit anyway, the old maxim don't be sad because it's over, be glad because it happened and you were there rings a bit hollow. At least we still have I've Been Framed. They aren't going to be leaving us any time soon, or at least it doesn't seem that way.

We visited them in the beginning, and we were there at the end: RIP Muse Art and Design, as Portland as it gets: 2004-2017.

I hope I cross Peter's path again. He sure is a swell fellow.

[art] You Can't Legislate A Man's Neck; or, Art in the Art Supply Store by the Employees

2997.

This is one reason why I love my favorite art stores, and one reason why we have to have more than one.

I have rhapsodized in past missives about my two beloved east-side art supply sources, I've Been Framed and Muse Art and Design. Today's IBF's turn for some sloppy love. They both have different characters, each unique from the other, both like sides of a whole.

Kind of like this taijitu here.

Both are friendly, both are crazy knowledgeable, both almost-unsanely-affordable, but where Muse is cool, ordered, and tailored to fit its location, IBF is kinda wild, kinda wooly and exuberantly unafraid of being what it is. And, today, what it is is a happenin', accidental gallery for its employees.  I wasn't looking for anything this day, The Wife™ was. I come out of the long corridor of decorative papers …(and tho IBF on Foster is in a small building, it seems to go on forever … like 'dis …)

… and I look at this, and can't stop giggling.

Flesh Beard. You can legislate a lot of things, but you can't legislate a man's neck … Well, yes and no. In American culture you certainly can't argue the point, but during the French Revolution they legislated a whole lot of men's necks, if I understand what goeth on thereth correctly. Turning about a quarter of the clock's turn to the right, we have a windowpane simply full of delight.

There is some connection between Nathan (whoever he is) and coffee (or, perhaps coffeee) that we will have to leave to more learned heads … Erich VanDaaniken, say, or Richard Hoagland, perhaps … to puzzle. At this time, I can only bask in the infinite power of such a connection.

Another incident where the inanimate speak. First, it was 'bacon bits'. Now …

I guess that colors having an off day. GEDDIT? OFF … COLOR!!! Let's try it with the bonus Commonwealth U: OFF COLOUR!!!! My God this is comedy gold!

A couple more for good measure, or least odd measure

It's the newest model, 70s cool, with all the options (as noted)

Stravinksky from the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain school.
And whooo's your Daddy? I guess we'll never know.
The illustration of the building façade? You know I'm in love with this.

Is it any reason a visit to IBF leaves me feeling kid-antic inside, and full of the idea of the possible?

My recommendation to you, dear artist friend, is to also adopt both IBF and Muse. Do it. Don't argue with me. Just go.

And don't forget to stop and smell the art along the way.

[art] Hillsdale Art Supply Company … Art Is Local, Now In Southwest Portland

2970.I've been following their adventures since they debuted on the Book of Face.

Frisky posts, come-hither art supply photos.

Awww, you know you had me at phthalo blue.

Around the side of the Jade Dragon Restaurant, at 6327 SW Capitol Highway, in the Hillsdale Center, in downtown Hillsdale (notice a pattern?) there is a little gem of a store you have to see and enjoy.

Appropriately named, it's the Hillsdale Art Supply Company.

It's a search, but it's worth the find.

Just go in the door behind the modest sign …

… and then enter a cozy-yet-spacious world. In the words of the owners, it's a small shop in Sw. Portland, run by two, artist moms. We sell New  Recycled Art Supplies and some locally made art too. It's a terse yet apt description.

It's a small shop, yet it seems large.

What caught The Wife™'s eye was this case full of used pastels. She loves pastels; this is still a land I have but to timidly explore. These are good-quality useds; not junk, but art materials looking for someone to give pastels a try.

Fill a bag with what catches your eye, fork over a fiver, and they're yours.

They have pleasant knick-knacks. I used my digital camera to take a pic of this analog TLR, because meta.

The used and recycled art … seriously, westsiders, you need to get in here. There are retired drafting gear, airbrush paint and airbrushes (no compressor, alas, but anyone cagey enough to find pretty used airbrushes probably have a line on a compressor already), bits and bobs for scrapbookers …

We were most pleased with the variety that Hillsdale could pack in their cozy space, and the good quality.

Here's a find. Wife is a Crayola nut. Collects Crayola sets. And when she found this:

… where do you think it went? Home with us? Oh, yeah. And the chalk was in terrifically usable condition. This other box of chalk:

Well, its contents were near-to-pristine, even if the box was pleasantly-distressed. I'd use that photo for a color reference.

They're not all about used, you want the new, they got it. Good prices on the Golden acrylics:

Got watercolors, Gamblin oils. Yeah, they're serious about it. As well as about the art. There's funky, quirky art and sculpture all over the shop, all for sale.

Hillsdale is part of the new breed of local art supply stores, joining Muse and I've Been Framed in the class of art stores run by artists, for artists, both tyro and experienced. Classes are offered; enthusiasm is obvious. The new breed of local art supply stores are as much about making new artists and getting them to make new art as it is to sell to people who are already arting around.

Lots of good reasons there: more people making more art are having more fun in the trying; more art around is a more colorful world, and creating repeat customers (hey, they are a business, so no harm there!)

Here's a look at just part of the recycled items wall:

Any scrapbooker or collagist that steps away from those shelves without an inspiration should just go have their pulse checked, because you probably don't have one.

Only (so far as I know) available at Hillsdale is this nifty Portland wrapping paper. Have a look:

… send your friends in other towns (who wish they lived here, c'mon, you know everyone wishes they were really a Portlander) packages literally wrapped in Portlandia.

The cute knicknacks – just can't outro without sharing this, which we all laughed at:

You read that tag line right, pard. Safe. Fun. Constructive. 

I mean, I don't doubt it's fun … but Safe? Constructive? I can see the manufacturer used a dictionary that's loong out of date.

We're fortunate here in Portland. Local artists wanting to create other artists … a people's artist paradise we are. Stores like Muse, IBF, and now, Hillsdale, lead the way.

Support Hillsdale, you westsiders.

Follow their advice. Go out … and MAKE ART.

UPDATE: Looks like I'm not the only blogger who's noticed: see http://tansydolls.blogspot.com/2013/06/hillsdale-art-supply-company.html

[art] The Kind Of Art Store Landscaping We Grow Around Here

2965.What would be more perfect outside of Muse Art and Design …

… than a color wheel?

The white gravel in the center tells you it's additive.

SE 42nd and Hawthorne.

[art] A ZKT Exclusive Interview With I've Been Framed's Newest Employee

2808I'll say it until I can't say it no more: Local art stores rock and there are two that are instrumental in putting the cream in our coffee, the art supplies in our bag, and taking the money out of our wallet. One of them is I've Been Framed.

We like our two favorite stores for mostly the same reasons. They're both staffed and owned by local Portlanders who are passionate about art and sincerely love their customers. They both have different approaches that mean you get a ton of good out of them and the prices are seriously affordable. They care about what they do and almost everyone who works there are artists themselves.

When you walk into IBF you get the idea that you've walked into a delightful collage that will also sell you art supplies. They not only have brands that you look for but they also sometimes have insanely-discounted clearance lots. IBF has a nice little framing department in the back, which is where they get the idea for the nam.

The employees at IBF, as I intimated, really make the store however. Really friendly, really care about the art. Really care about making your experience there a good one. A new employee has been added, and he's a sweetie. I understand he works really cheaply … mostly for Little Friskies. You can get a good idea of who it is when you enter:

He, like all great artists, goes by a single name … Jordie. He's still settling in, but he's got a warm charm all his own. After asking Mark for an introduction I was shown into Jordie's office, where he was busy at work, holding down the Adorable department, as well as some of the inventory.

Actually, he may have been on break. With a kitteh, it's hard to tell.

I'm not sure if he was up to a hard-hitting interview about the ins and outs of being the only known art-store cat in Portland, but I wasn't about to back down. Here was a story that needs to be told, and in the wake of the loss of Powell's Books' legendary store cat, Fup, the position of Dean of Portland Store Cats is still up for contention. The public wants to know if Jordie can make the grade. And I wasn't about to be swayed by purring and cute looks.

Oh, heck, he's a cute cat. Of course I was. But on to the interview:

The Zehnkatzen Times: Jordie, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us.

Jordie:

ZKT: You have the opportunity of working as the store cat in one of the two most awesome art supply stores in the Portland area. How did you feel when you realized that you're the point kitty here? Particularly honored?

Jordie:

ZKT: Indeed! A great opportunity. Now, you're settling in, getting used to the crush of customers coming through … they're very creative types. Do you find the artists that come in for supplies particularly inspiring?

Jordie:

ZKT: That's a great story. You never know who you'll run into here … I just helped an artist who was working on ancient methods for making gessoes figure out how to come by the circumference of a circle so he could lay out some calligraphy. You don't have to work here to learn something new! You do work here though … do you feel that you're luckier than most kitties?

Jordie:

ZKT: Yes, it is a special place. That's why we keep coming here, especially with personnel like yourself that make the experience so nice.

At that point, Jordie had some important item on his kitty agenda to complete and had to end the interview, but not before there were skritches and pettin's and purring. But, withal, it looks like Jordie has all the chops to be a great art-store store cat. He's still got some settling in to do, learning the ropes of a very important position, but it looks like he'll grow into the position just fine.

So, visit yourself some I've Been Framed … local art stores are cool, and local art stores are awesome. Also stop by Muse. Support your local sources. They matter.

And pet yourself some kitty when you can. It may not make you rich, but it will make you happy.

[art] Muse Art and Design-Earth Safe Finishes Demo at Milepost 5

2792So, yesterday night, The Wife™ and I took part in a demo/workshop put on by Muse Art and Design at the Milepost 5 complex. The subject of interest is a line of art supplies by Earth Safe Finishes (http://earthsafefinishes.com), and we found the whole thing nifty as a rule.

Earth Safe Finishes is a company working in the field of 'green'; the line is different, they say, for two main reasons. First, they're made in the USA, which is always a plus these days, and second (and maybe more important to an individual artist) they boast that they're free of VOC's, or volatile organic compounds. These are the chemicals that allow the paints, mediums, etc to dry quickly by outgassing. For those who are chemical-sensitive they are an active concern.

If they are a concern for any individual, then Earth Safe Finishes products do indeed provide an alternative. They are all non-toxic. They include mediums (including a titan called Fabric Magic, which can do just about anything, it seems) and a line of paints (called colorants but now called pigments) that are very very concentrated. A few drops do go a loooong way.

I used very small amounts of Phthalo Blue, Red, Yellow, and Lampblack to produce this Mona-Lisa-esque work over the two-hour workshop:

The colors are very rich and vibrant and enjoyably workable. The right side of the picture was me playing around with colors and a medium. 

A good time was had by all, and the Musers Marcus, Peter and David were there, and did their own works; I found all three to be skillful artists … albeit with visions running toward the comically disturbing. Good thing I don't have clown issues … and let's leave it there. Susan, led the demo had a sure and informative hand over the proceedings, and the people who showed up were all very affable and friendly.

In short, fun.

[art] Paper Zone Stores To Close

2737.It's with a heavy heart that we mark this passage, and deem it Not A Good Christmas Gift At All:

As you may have heard, we will be closing all of our Paper Zone locations. After receiving an overwhelming outpour of concern, we felt compelled to further explain our unfortunate situation. Paper Zone is a company with 20 year roots in the Northwest. We are based in Seattle, operating eight retail locations throughout Oregon and Washington. However, due to the current economic downturn, we have experienced three years of sales declines between 6%-8% annually. As a small local retailer we were unable to sustain these losses.

The economy eats another one, and it is a local business, at least local to the PNW, to Cascadia. We've enjoyed many a nice moment at the Paper Zone, they've always had good service and good selection. And local, like the other art-based businesses we prefer: I've Been Framed and Muse Art and Design.

Now, as far as I know, IBF and Muse aren't in danger of going away, but if you want them to continue, you'll continue to patronize them. Local people spending money locally, providing great local value (there's a whole lot at Muse and IBF that wont' break your bank, trust me here).

I'm not trying to lecture you guys … I know money's incredible-tight, and like me, if you can spend some, you do. I think this should make everyone aware of what happens when local businesses don't get the support they need.

They go away.

In the meantime, thanks for the memories, Paper Zone. It's been a good run. Shame it had to end.

If you want to, you can read the entire announcement at the Paper Zone's blog here, as long as it remains up.

[pdx] Big Water Main Break On SE Foster Road … But The Art Supplies Stayed Nice And Dry

2652.Submitted for your approval: a big-ass water-main break on SE Powell Blvd at Lafayette Street, as reported by KPTV:

Water main break creates big, wet mess: A water main broke just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday at SE Lafayette and Foster Road.

Lafayette and Foster is the corner on which one of the most important art supply shop is on … I've Been Framed. But was the store ever threatend? Shucks, no! As I chatted with Mark, who runs the store in the afternoons, I found how much they care - he even makes sure the storm drain out front stays clear, and that storm drain caught all the runoff from the water main break that surfaced.

It was a considerable rupture. Big hole in SE Foster, traffic down to one lane, big pool of water down Lafayette going toward 50th Avenue (right behind IBF, as regulars know), and water draining all the way down to the corner drain at SE Rhone Street (about 1 block to the east).

But inside IBF? Dry as a bone, thanks to Mark. No water from the taps, thanks to the water main break, but that's to be expected. And access? Those of you who approached the shop from the back side (which is sometimes a bit more convenient, given the store's unique location) found that the shop was open from the back door and you could get in and get to the main part of the shop via the framing department.

So … yay, Mark!

Like IBF and Portland Independent Art Stores, or you'll disappoint me. Seriously. I may cry.

Liquitex's "The Acrylic Book": A Unique Art Supply

2024.For a person who produces rathermuch less art than he's able, I am one with an endless fascination for art supplies. I just walk into an art supply store, and I feel refreshed. I don't know why that is.

But I do know enough about oils and watercolors to take 'em out, slap some on some ground, and paint away even if I don't know what end I'm working to. But there's one art material that intimidates me, and that's acrylics.

Acrylics are amazing, actually. They can be thin like watercolors, or thick like oils. They lend themselves to a great many styles and modes of painting.

And once they dry, they're permanent. You can't lift color as you can with watercolors. They're durable, but one mistake and you're forever, as several pullover shirts lost to history when I was a kid playing with acrylic paint-by-numbers would testify to – if they were still around. And that's what spooks me.

Seriously, I don't know why. Oil paints don't scare me, and they are just as demanding in thier way.

Anyway, we were at one of our favorite places a couple of days ago (I've Been Framed at Foster and Powell), and The Wife™ picked up an amazing little book. Doubtlessly compiled to help sell the brand, Liquitex's The Acrylic Book is also simply a very engaging book for any artist. It explains acrylics, what they can do, what they can't do, and shows what artists-grade acrylic paint can be made to do with a bunch of suggestions for techniques, crafts, and applications.

What really won me over about this book was, even though Liquitex claims copyright on it, and you can buy it off the shelf for about $5, you can copy it off and give it out to your friends, enemies, and frienemies.

Seriously. Here's the notice from the back page (emphasis theirs):

The ColArt Group, maker of Liquitex products, authorizes the reproduction of the copyrighted information included in the Liquitex Acrylic Book, s the information specifically appears in the publication. Excerpts and sections taken from The Acrylic Book may not be reformatted or edited in a way that compromises the integrity and accuracy of the publication. Information reproduced from The Acrylic Book and used in instructions, printed materials, or on a Web site must be credited to Liquitex®. The Liquitex Acrylic Book is under license from ColArt Group.

Which I just think is kind of nifty. They seriously want you to have a copy of this book. How seriously? Well, it's a bargain at $5 off the shelf ... or you can just download a free PDF copy.

An interesting and compelling way to get people to try out acrylics, at least. We approve.

Technorati Tags: Liquitex, Acrylic Paints, Artist Acrylic Paint, Free Art Stuff, The Acrylic Book

A Visit To Muse Art and Design, or Gamblin Torrit Gray; We Haz It!

2003.A few discourses back I mentioned stumbling on news of a new art supply store here in town, Muse Art and Design. Today, we got a chance to check it out, and we were well pleased.

It's a cozy little space tucked in just to the east of yet another vintage store on the corner of SE 42nd and Hawthorne, on the south side. It goes back a ways, and is a little store, but they pack a lot in there, oils, watercolor, acrylics, inks, the requisite endcap for Sumi-e materials (I joke, but you do seem to find them everywhere), Copic markers for the manga-ka, even beeswax for encaustic.

The web page touts affordable prices and this is one boast, I'm happy to say, that gets lived up to. There were a whole lot of affordable art materials there, including Daniel Smith watercolors (I understand you can't find those too many places hereabouts) and everything had a price break on it. My mind is hardly an eidetic store but I dont remember getting too much sticker shock there.

Prices were reasonable and the stock was of a rather respectable quality, with all the brands you'd expect to find in a first-rank art store. The fellows behind the counter were affable and approachable and loved chatting about what they were doing with the store.

Particularly this month they're having an artist a day come into the store and set up shop in the front window, to have the work product displayed on the walls, day-by-day (they already have the canvases up for them–speaking of which, they have an excellent selection of grounds as well).

Now, mind you, we have a powerhouse art supplier in Art Media and Aaron Brothers will do in a pinch. But I do think that the Portland area can (and ought to) support a few more good art supply sources in town, and Muse Art and Design certainly deserves support. We plan on returning there from time to time; I'm taking up manga, see, and they sell Copic markers ...

Anyway, the other thing to come out of this is that, well, y'all'l remember a few missives back I reported on Gamblin's unique and brilliant idea to take the particulate out of the Torit filters and create the unique Torrit Gray. Around the first of April, Robert Gamblin sends Torrit Gray out to art supply stores where it's free for the asking.

While at Muse, I asked. And they did. Here's the proof:

PROMOTIONAL, NOT FOR RESALE, says the label on the top; below the logo, we have In honor of Earth Day, we make this color from recycled pigments collected from our air filtration system. Which, as I've said before, is cooler than cool.

With the reputation for quality and the commitment to being awesome to the environment that this suggests, I, not for the first time, wish that Gamblin made watercolors.

Also I mentioned that Gamblin does a Torrit Gray painting competition, and it's on; you can submit three paintings made with Torrit Gray, white, and black (a value study; always challenging). First prize is $500, and there are two $350 Honorable Mentions.

Information can be found at http://gamblincolors.com.

I don't know if I'm going to submit anything. I will be playing with this though.

Technorati Tags: art, art materials, art supply stores, Muse Art and Design, Gamblin Artist's Colors, Torrit Gray

A New PDX Art Supply Shop: Muse Art and Design

1993.Just got wind of this one via a little bird: we have a new art supply star to add to the firmament.

Muse Art and Design is located at 42nd and SE Hawthorne Blvd and has a brief little page up, not too much on the stock and what they got yet, but some good basic information and enticing enough to get you to get a toe in and see what their all about.

The rationale seems to be professional-level encouragement for everyone to produce something, because creating something feels good! (We can relate):

Whether you've been creating art for years, or just starting, you'll find a full range of QUALITY ART SUPPLIES at Muse Art and Design, along with affordable prices, and friendly, knowledgeable service. Have an idea but not sure how to get started? We'll help you choose the right materials to fit your budget.

We haven't browsed an art supply store in a while (it's a wonderful experience). We think this one would require a visit, perhaps. Will report back.

Technorati Tags: art, art materials, art supply retailers, PDX art supply retailers, Muse Art and Design