Favorite Artist Finds
I’ve met so many wonderful artists in my travels!
The items below are from artists whose work I know and am excited to share with you.
Many of the links below are affiliate links.
Meet Tracy Lebenzon
Fine Art Brush Maker
I’m a one man production facility and am proud to write in this era of robotic automation that I do everything that goes into making the brushes with my own hands. That is a rare thing in America.
I get most of my bamboo from around Seattle. My favorite bamboo groves haven’t been trimmed in years. When I clean up this kind of bamboo stand, the grove owner gets a beautiful stand of bamboo that looks like a work of living art, and I get a sore back and trailer full of older bamboo. It is a win-win thing.
Dealing with hair is delicate, elaborate and requires lot of care and patience. I like to say the difference between working with hair and air is the letter h. Hair fibers are delicate and often surly. The hair has to be straight as possible. The tips are lined up so they all point the same way. Most importantly is that the hair is securely seated in the handle. Some hair types are extremely fine. Kolinsky, Russian Sable, and some other hair types are as fine as about 1/10th the diameter of human hair. Hold a single hair from these sources in your hand and you may not even see it without a magnifying glass.
My entire brush line provides the ideal blend of responsiveness, comfort, and delightful performance. Lebenzon Paintbrushes are made to last for decades. They are a pleasure to hold and designed to make it easy to shape your sweetest creations.
-Tracy Lebenzon
Watch a video demonstration of the brushes being used with watercolor
Purchase brushes directly from Tracy Lebenzon here: https://lebenzon-paintbrushes.com/
Use code ANGELA for 10% discount
Find Tracy:
See all Lebenzon brushes: https://lebenzon-paintbrushes.com/ My favourite is the 1.5 inch goat/synthetic wangi brush.
Use code ANGELA for a 10% discount!
Meet Steve Padden
Portable Painter
Portable Painter® creates compact, ultra-light watercolor palettes for travel. They range from smaller than a credit card, to the size of a standard smartphone. Yet they convert in seconds to versatile, professional watercolor palettes.
The original Portable Painter Classic is just 5.5” X 3” X 1” and weighs only 5.2 oz (148gm.) It features two detachable water containers, plenty of mixing wells, twelve empty half-pans ready for your favorite colors, plus a unique double-ended brush. When the set is open, the water containers act as a sturdy pedestal base. It’s great on uneven surfaces and can also straddle a knee for hands-free use.
The new Portable Painter® Micro, is literally smaller than a credit card, just one inch thick and weighs an astonishing 1.5oz (44gm.) Yet it features a convertible water container, plenty of deep mixing wells and six empty half-pans ready for your favorite colors. The Micro can be securely attached to your sketchpad with a simple bulldog clip. This allows both to be held comfortably in one hand, while freeing your other hand to paint or draw.
Watch a video of the portable painters in action
Purchase the Classic and Micro Portable Painters here: https://www.portablepainter.com/
Use code: ANGELA for 10% discount
Meet RockWell Art Supplies
Self-Evolving Handmade Watercolors
RockWell Art Supplies Inc. is a world-renowned high-quality pigment supplier based in Canada. It is widely recognized for its fine-grained natural mineral pigments, especially in the development and creation of hand-pigmented pigments. Recently, they have accumulated 32 years of experience and technology precipitation, selected representative artists from around the world for laboratory research and exploration, and finally succeeded in developing a new generation of natural gem-quality products with excellent quality and easy expression. They have a professional dedicated partner, in North America, Europe and Asia, and promotes their products in more than 17 countries and regions around the world.
Their motto is to gather the world’s leading pigment experts, to have the best pigments ever, and to be proud of their work.
Watch a video of their self-evolving watercolors - my favourites are Magic Wizard, Opal Yellow, Lapis Brown, Obsidian Brown. You will love them too!
Purchase RockWell Watercolors here: https://rockwellart.ca/
Use Code: Angela01 for 10% discount
Meet EtchrLab
Sketchbooks
While all Etchr sketchbooks feature 100% cotton paper, my very favourite sketchbook is the limited edition Perfect Sketchbook Signature Series. It’s a keepsake treasure full of memories.
Purchase Etchr’s sketchbooks here: https://etchrlab.com/
Use code: ANGELA10 for 10% discount