I'm a mixed media artist because I haven't seen a medium that I didn't like; couldn't wait to get my hands on to experiment with. Unfortunately, of course I (impulsively) collect an eclectic mix of supplies that (sometimes) get stuck in drawers and go unused...
for chunks of time. I also tend to forget which colors I have of which media, so it's easy to duplicate when I'm visiting a city which has a FABULOUS art supply store (Hobby Lobby is "it" in my city), or, worse, not buy anything at all for fear of duplicating an existing color. Problem solved: in my "Backgrounds Practice Journal" I've created pages which which compare brands and/or include a sample of each color choice within a particular type of media. For some, I did the sampling on white
and black gesso; others only on white
or the plain journal page.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfS3PMNIYQ-z1vfrcGFH5CpZTrPxq3omcOEZ09tvnd8sxTb5WiESsXyiQ0apUz8uu-XojOV5InuvTWKXfJPKrgj72EJpBvq5pjCFCcKZvU_hZvNzqI4X1siLtkfHukAbjrkBKybVSf82U/s1600/IMG_2969.JPG) |
High maintenance need to remove dry skin before each use. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IK7p0KdlduiHA_s9Kcin3IxA-_iCsWOztkQzjI6sc6yvWvqdOnu5n0dgjetS-8cr5alvfqi84nygTCIz8F81rAihCaEHZgVawNej74ndxJMCPmDvaC2WDPTM880j9oPX0s7_EtUUboU/s1600/IMG_2972.JPG) |
Annoying need to cut off dry skin. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNvVKBumR-HX8NjX_jPoqV-HNQCdfsy5k_BM79w82GF4_OANH9461PEKcyt96UFzcXd-Uy-pW1opb-nkWBzYipYzFf0ip-KROP9ZD1IiMnucS6qJesixzJ9ikX_79JWzNWsfEb0O4Ojk/s1600/IMG_2980.JPG) |
Very pretty super smooth application. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gMyEiaRxBE8HeKyXcUK1LhErC4JHh6JGmeR1RbFpZA2uR00FRSdtYaCcgA1RrQDvHmeLhJT2gETrQ6V6eMb5XK6AoiBRBGGi7SJrB9x6A52xDtLeqoB98UbvjMx7psjHQYsnFQRSYtA/s1600/IMG_2982.JPG) |
Slow to dry but great versatility in application. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8xo-NhP5PlM6xky795vXYEOwYkh-2ulNjrPas4DNZuwJEKVMLnwr8Lu5URJJwy_Yw93eTkNe7vC6tWggLC_GGiOXaWrgf6AdLcYY2Gi01jNV4evkOFE1fS0uFdpWuZMfn_32Ky_V_Es/s1600/IMG_2983.JPG) |
Inexpensive and wide color selection; but SLOW to dry. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhYaocI_ucwSjMe6nBLBldryRjdD3NTe5P8wZPpGrzcayxNlQATbfq2CVJhBOXT9SaoxsNQmfCR1XIdSTpl4P8UMu7ZQJENp-wIe74KiYb-__UskO9DaJTRPaSgWsQ4HYvigHcisa5Og/s1600/IMG_2987.JPG) |
Inka maintained the most vibrancy on the black gess. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPt_XrJ4Nii769dK1z96Ey8Z2fGJcFa4si2qVB8LgvSfjbje7sf-dIqJTvqLRGnFvppOOPywxsOLG2vtx3lXMu5Z8GYFhuqjrO_wJOMfWlg8unFp4cSvx9m1jKlqI8VGStcbFWYQfzNU0/s1600/IMG_2991.JPG) |
It's obvious why these are the least expensive as soon as you compare to the others. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKeCNFqOptkrn_FWiQtoLUOEoR7ufPVw5mTwg4SQpLO3D7W_X1kYHT8gOOaFq49O8D9vrVcXP6TNGBc362tBgx-880AbxN-LCFr6UIZ3HiiYGE6mBuM634gbtKU2YIMaQN3FGwPA-EZA/s1600/IMG_2994.JPG) |
Inka goes on like shoe polish with a rag; little bit messy but good for wide spread. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YObzJiEB20iDYr1zpG3XA5i6HNJhYAxzbRdH-C2tAc9PAGGwKiK_MgS9RiWV3u4E2UxrA7FVmfDZgRL_oaaYnQ7J30-SvMwI9SMkYxcjSSAoxCAHeXtykwOYnymUpBgSvdneYyBv9bA/s1600/IMG_2996.JPG) |
Four types of oil pastels on white gesso. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggQ4KCi2tFYbP1TFyqQogvoE-Fwj9dnC_SR1CieihAIuZE9HuhqFoT0fUnkPunHxMX_ic30lPxpPbVT-5HANe7YlWNnsahjPuJFnr2JqBoNs97HkSdtH91TFeKTKADhibBGWDxcPGznE/s1600/IMG_2998.JPG) |
Sennelier scored points for variety of colors & ease of application. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSaKhJTtAzTLTl5giAKFLMi_MeUDPZMwvd8-xFyYCuxpOl_gx47fnHwTCEplCRqtcUWR8s4pPhtyXkqi2YCca33liu26Ia1XdvzoZbKGbRzFqfQ8jQqKB_mXXpLuiIZWN-XbKxmK-RW0/s1600/IMG_2999.JPG) |
Shiva scored points for drying faster than the other brands. |