Every job has it’s essential tools. As artists, we must have implements that help us do our job. The right brushes or pencils, paints of all sorts, surfaces and surroundings, allow us to be somewhat successful at what we do. We can get along with substandard equipment, but for how long?
What do I mean by substandard? I know I can get along very well with non-professional equipment if I just think about the process of creating art. Will I be thrilled with the result is another story. As I go along this art journey I’ve learned that having the better supplies makes the journey easier. Knowledge is power, as they say these days. I know I should have signed up for those iMac classes when I purchased this computer, as an example, because using it wouldn’t have been such an uphill climb.
Same thing with art supplies. Except that sometimes we can over indulge and end up going overboard. Like those watercolor paints I bought a while back. I always used tried and true Windsor & Newton paints or Grumbacher. The colors were what I expected in these companies, but I was lured to MaimeriBlu and now I’m not so happy with them. Through the wonderful blog commenters I have stepped up to a better watercolor surface though. Now I’m very happy using Arches papers. I’m learning.
The down side is that now I have plenty of MaimeriBlu paints and I would rather paint from my teeny travel set of Windsor & Newton half pans. I love how the former paints look on the paper, but the latter colors are exactly what I expect. Alizarin Crimson in MaimeriBlue is not the same hue or strength as in the other company’s paints. Okay, so I’ll just have to live with it for now.
Which leads me to my new venture. Tomorrow is Day One and I think I have the equipment I need. Take a look at this:
This is the carriage I used when Son #1 was a baby. Twenty eight years ago there was no sparing any expense for that precious newborn. Remember Perego carriages? Who uses this kind of thing today? Nobody! I used it for a while with Son #2 and then that was it, we went to those little umbrella strollers. This carriage is a classic! It’s practically brand new the way I kept it covered up and put away. I wish my mother could have kept my carriage. Now that was a piece of equipment. It was so big that my mother would go food shopping with my sister in it and have room for bags of groceries. You can’t find those anymore, but I kept this one.
Tuesday is the day. Our princess will be with me a few days a week and with her other grandmother a few days a week so Gorgeous can return to her job. The weeks flew by and things are what they are.
If the weather is good we’ll be taking a nice walk. I’ve got the equipment!
Now that looks like a classic Cadillac of a buggy! Much better than those oversized, ugly SUV type things that are around these days. Lucky baby!
It is definitely a classic Lorraine!
Love the stroller- I used those fold up umbrella things! I also know what you mean by going overboard on the art supplies- it is easy to do. Now I try to buy online where it is easier to not get tempted!
Sheryl
Sheryl, I used this carriage until my boys were too big, and then the fold up umbrella stroller! A buggy like this is good for infants because they can lay down flat and still see the world!
You must be so excited about the “little princess” and your pram. I remember holding onto my mom’s buggy, we called it, when walking home from the doctor’s office. I almost fainted after getting a shot and she said, “Grab onto the buggy!” There were five of us kids. She had her hands full. That was before the last two were born. I wanted one for my children, but I got a stroller instead. What a lovely pram, buggy, carriage…
Therese, I am thrilled to bits! Right now I’m waiting for Day 2 to start all over again!