I was at a ceramic show today and I came away very excited. The world of ceramics is never boring and today was proof of that. I found many new products which, over time, I will probably highlight here, but what really got me today were the Watercolor Pencils and Aqua Pens.
Manufactured for Royal Langnickel these two items are so easy to use. Let me first mention the Aqua Brushes. Such a simple concept – where have they been, or maybe where have “I” been, because I’ve never seen them before. The brushes I picked up today come in a set of three sizes. Instead of a wooden shaft, they have a soft plastic barrel which holds a reservoir of water. A slight squeeze and the water enters the ferrule and then the brush bristles. I can see many uses for these brushes; but at hand today is using them with the Water Color Pencils. These brushes are a crossover from other art mediums and a welcome cross to the ceramic side.
Watercolor Pencils – these are actual pencils and the ‘leads’ are watercolors. The set I picked up has a rainbow of 24 colors. They can be applied to your ceramics (or other canvases) several different ways. One way is to color your bisque with the pencil, outlining areas, darkening some not others etc. Then use the Aqua Brush to moisten and ‘move’ the paint around the bisque shading and blending the colors. Add one or more colors at a time. A second way is to take the Aqua brush and run it around the tip of the pencil, picking up color and then painting it on the bisque, again blending and pulling colors to give the shading and highlights desired. The last method is to wet the bisque and then apply the colors and then move them around with the brush. These pencils work well on plain or detailed bisque and I see having a lot of fun with them. I am thinking these will work best over a base coat, but it is going to be fun playing with them.
The Aqua brushes can also be used with chalks in a similar fashion as with the water color pencils. I would even dare to say, the traditional pots of water color paint will work with them also. I think I am more excited about these Aqua brushes than I am with the pencils.
One last note. It is a must that all finished items be sprayed with an acrylic fixative or a brush on sealer giving whatever range of matte or gloss effect you may desire.
Our favorite source for these brushes and paints is Nowell Ceramic Mold Products www.ceramicshop.com
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