Jane Davenport's Blog, page 5
December 2, 2023
Artvent Calendar – Daily Lovestreams
Daily Lovestreams to celebrate this year in art supplies.
This will be my third time I have ended the year with Advent Calendar! I do daily livestreams through to Christmas, and it’s always really fun, inspiring and has gives me extra energy in a busy time of year.
The ARTvent advent calendar features a different JD art supply released this year.on each day. The Livestreams are unscripted, unedited, imperfect and intended as a little celebration of the supply at hand with secrets behind its creation and ways to use them…
and we start with Pigment Pebbles!
Pigment Pebbles have a unique 3D form that not only will make you smile with delight, but they are SO PRACTICAL! This is because Pigment Pebbles™ make handling pigment easy! No measuring, no mixing, just smiling.
Next we have The Gods and Monsters Inks!
and for 3. we have the Brush Ballet:
Join me on Youtube each day at 9.30 am Sydney time for more!
or catch the replays here.
xoxo
K\Jane
November 30, 2023
New ColourWheels!
The ColourWheel was invented by Sir Isaac newton in 1666 as he isolated during the Plague, playing with colour prisms… and the story of my ColourWheels isn’t too different!
The New Layercake ColourWheels are so beautiful!
See them here: click
November 28, 2023
Art Foamies Collection is in store!
The entire ‘Myths and Muses’ Collection has arrived!
November 27, 2023
WaterColour Gess-oh!
Watercolour can be quite fussy with what it will ‘perform’ on so rather than continue to be restricted with paper choice, so in playful terms, we can add a ‘blankie’ to any paper and give watercolour what it needs to feel happy and perfectly confident!
The Watercolour Ground isn’t a ‘pulp’ type of medium, and it doesn’t replicate a particular watercolour paper. Greater than that, it is an acrylic primer that you paint on to create a surface that allows watercolour to flow with the freedom it loves!
This concept is best explained visually. In this image I applied the WaterColour Gessoh on the right side over watercolour paper and you can clearly see a difference in the behaviour of the colours. They blend and interact differently, and I find that colours appear more distinct and more vivid.
You can Watercolour Gessoh with a palette knife or old credit card for a smooth effect, and even sand it for an eggshell surface. But I apply it with messy brush strokes to create texture that allows for extra interest when I add colour!
Find it here:
The Brush ballet goes On Tour!
Imagine a brush that is so delightful to hold that it actually encourages you to be more creative…
it’s the greatest quality an art supply can give us!
Each of the brushes in the On Tour Brush Ballet is so satisfying to handle, you will never save them just for travel, you will be drawn to use them over and over as they deliver unending beautiful brushtrokes.
Find the new brush set here:
November 17, 2023
New Collaboration! Jane Davenport x ArtFoamies
I believe that the voices of artistic muses echo on in us and guide creativity… how else would I account for the way this Collab started? I was literally reading a lovely book about art supplies and mid-chapter I stopped to check my phone… and I had a message from Kristen Powers (KP) of ArtFoamies … I nearly fainted, because what was I was reading about? ARTFOAMIES! I literally had the book open in my lap, with images of ArtFoamies, and KP floating the idea for a Collab in my DM’s! Talk about serendipity!
Www.artfoamies.com has all the details!
ArtFoamies can perhaps be best likened to a giant foam stamp that allows for very artistic interpretation. Where they don’t have the delicacy and detail of a traditional stamp, they have a more accepting surface that makes them an unbelievably versatile tool. The art foam accepts all media and every time you use one, it tells a different story!
I have loved using them because they work so well with my art supplies. LayerCakes, all the inks and paint, plus Aquapastels, Marzipan Twists and watercolour… all can be mixed and matched, layered on the ArtFoamies design and stamped in layers onto the surface. They are just a whole lot of creative fun!
I am BESOTTED with learning about ancient cultures and beliefs, especially the relationship between women and the deities they looked to for safety, for love and peace in their lives. It fascinates me that over countless generations from past to present so much has changed, but we remain so connected with our ancient sisters by the same dreams and desires!
In this Collab, I was inspired to pull elements from mythology to create versatile designs that could act as little muses in your artwork to express ideas of sisterhood, support and connection as well as just be fun designs that lead you down a creative path of your own.
Ancient Greece had a plethora of fascinating female immortals that were part of people’s daily devotions. Ancient Greeks truly believed that these immortal beings were part of their physical world and that their goddesses, muses and nymphs lead passionate, adventurous lives of their own as well as dabbled in the affairs of mankind, even walking amongst them in disguise…
Different goddesses had their own personalities and interests that became synonymous with important aspects of peoples lives such as : love (Aphrodite), marriage and childbirth(Hera), the safety of children (Artemis), fertility of farming land (Demeter) and wisdom (Athena). Temples were raised and devotions were left as people pondered on their lives and the improvements they needed. (It seems like a good idea to ponder challenges and articulate wishes as you are really setting the intention to move forward, whether a goddess intervenes or not!)
This collection is called by the ‘Myths and Muses’ and isn’t a retelling of the grand moments of Ancient Greece, such as the war of Troy and Sparta or Jason and the Argonauts. Rather, the designs are inspired by elements by some of my favourite myths from that epoch, but are not purely representative.
Some characters you will recognise, such as Medusa (misunderstood and magnificent) and Pegasus ( who arrives in ArtFoamies form with seperate wings and a unicorn horn- hello versatility!).
Other designs celebrate purely female forms inspired by the goddesses themselves, such as Aphrodite, Hera and Artemis.
Some designs call to the marble artefacts left by the incredible artisans of the ancient world, soaring columns to elevate your ideas and frame your work, arches to bring focus and busts that can be used to create new lives.
Other elements are so essentially of their time, but have become symbols over eons. The Greek key is thought to go back to the King Minos’s labyrinth and finding your way through twisting paths of life, and the laurel wreath is still a sign of triumph through great endeavours made with pure intention. But they both are just beautiful designs that can be used as background elements. You wouldn’t even know were inspired by anything other than a designers mind trying to give you versatile designs you can stamp over and over again.
Ancient Greek writers loved to include stories of sisters in their myths, such as the Creative Muses, the nymphs of Artemis and the Pleiades ( who live on as a constellation to this very day, sometimes called the Seven Sisters), each is named in the tales and has their own sphere of interest, own loves and family trees. Their stories tell us just as much as the bolder tales of demigods such as Hercules and Theseus. I am inspired by these individual feminine faces in different formations to celebrate support and friendship.
One of my favourite designs is called Persephone. The design shows a beautiful face resplendent in flowers and calls to the flower and Frida lover in me.
The story behind the design tells of the agriculture goddess Demeter and a mother’s great love for her daughter. Demeter stopped the seasons themselves when Persephone suddenly disappeared (As a side note, the Sirens have their origin here as well. They were once Demeter’s nymph attendants and were sent out to call for Persephone, but they could never find her because Persephone was being held in the Underworld by Hades. Eventually the winged nymphs were completely spent and collapsed on a stony island. But they never stopped calling out to find Demeter’s daughter, and their immortal voices possessed passing sailors, dragging them to their doom on the rocky shores. Over time they became half fish in the stories and the myth of mermaids came into being).
Plunged into an eternal winter, mankind suffered with a great famine and offerings to the gods stopped, as there was nothing left to sacrifice. Finally Zeus, the King of Olympian gods, intervened as it was his brother who had stolen Persephone and taken her to the Underworld. A visitation schedule was brokered with Hades, and Persephone could return to the world for a few months each year.
Spring heralds Demeters anticipation of Persephone arriving, which gives us Summer. Autumn is bought about as Persephone goes once more to be Queen of the Underworld, and winter is Demeter’s deepest despair and missing her beloved daughter.
This last element is an application tool called a ‘Muse Mop’! It allows paint and ink to be spread on your ArtFoamies in just the right amount. Add individual colours to different areas of the designs. But of course you can use them to spread paint and ink on your surfaces too! They are essential washable and reusable tools.
Myths are a way of explaining the unknown and bringing some sort of reason and peace to the cycles of life and nature. Muses help us feel connected to our own desires and wishes. Together they allow us to experience the wonder of life and creativity. It may seem like a grand design, but I hope that this ‘Myths & Muses’ Collab with ArtFoamies delivers those same creative pathways to imagination and wonder via your artwork!
August 28, 2023
Pantastic Palette maps
The Pantastic Palette is a custom created watercolour pan set that features 20 magnetic pans.
if you turn the pans sideways, you can fit 4 extra pans in the palette – which means a whole Colour Library can fit in one for example!
You can download the new and original swatch map here!
Click the links below:
New: pantasticpalette sidewaysOriginal: pantasticpalette 2
June 7, 2023
You simply need this paint… A LayerCake Celebration!
LayerCake is a layerable, opaque, matte watercolour paint. It tops the list of what I would recommend for a new or new-to-Jane-Davenport artist as it is just so straight-forward to use. It can be applied in thick, creamy opaque layers, or as a wash of lightest watercolour. It’s regularly touted in my Mixed Media group “as the best paint ever by fans of its practical application, robust nature and high-intensity colour. It really is a creative game-changer.
LayerCake feels rich and layers on itself so deliciously, hence the quirky, yet perfectly suited name! As I was using it yesterday, I got to thinking…
“how do I tempt the peeps who haven’t had the heavenly experience of LayerCake to try it out?”.We have a fabulous celebratory special Offer!
So I have devised a HUGE promotion that will allow you to start small or go ALL IN! And you will get bonus gifts of my essential art supplies as you treat yourself to the magical Layercake paint!
Ladybug Dotters are another exclusive Jane Davenport art supplu and they are fab with the LayerCake paints, so why not combine them?!
dip your toe into Layercake with the First Steps Bundle and receive the ‘Have a Ball’ Ladybug Dotter set!or
Dive in to the marvellous world of LayerCake with the entire bundle of all 6 palettes and we will gift you all 24 Ladybug Dotters!
We will also include the Blow-by-Blow Art straw set in any full size LayerCake order
Click here to see the LayerCake!
There are include 96 different colours in the full size palettes!
Rainbow Cake: includes 10 “cake pans” and 2 of the cakes are tri-striped that brush out a stunning stripe of vivid colour!Ice CreamSlice: includes 10 and 2 of the cakes are mini-rainbows of 2 colors that brush out a stunning stripe of gelato colour!Neon & Pastel Lollies: 20 co-ordinating duos of Fluorescent and Pastel hues!Lustrous Eclairs: 10 Gleaming solid pans of pearlescent and metallic paints!Sushi Roll: 20 new colours across 10 pans of highly desirable muted mixes!Food Truck: 20 new colours that expand your portrait possibilities.
LayerCake is a gouache-adjacent, layerable watercolour paint, housed in moveable pans.
It feels rich and layers on itself so deliciously, hence the quirky, yet perfectly suited name!
I created it to satisfy my love for the opacity of Gouache, the layerability of acrylic paint and ease of watercolour pans. Layercake takes the best qualities of these three paints and with it you can create something entirely new.
May 30, 2023
June Bug creative challenge!
Looking for some fun creative prompts for the new month? Look no further than June Bug!
May 15, 2023
The Colour Library is here!
24 tubes of deliciously pigmented watercolour paint to remind us of the intense beauty in the world, and that we can create it ourselves.
Each hue in the Colour Library is named for a wonderful book that has captivated readers through time and the world over. The way I name colours in Jane Davenport® art supplies is my special way of expressing the love, the thought and playful spirit inherent in each of them!
The challenge to deliver colours truly worthy of such beloved literary classics was one I relished! Take ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for example, as one of my favourite books, I had to capture the highest point of pink possible to match my passion for the characters. As Darcy put it “You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”
And that’s how exactly how I feel about this incredible colour…
Watercolour is a muse, an inspiration, a love. It fills the artist with wonder and excitement, and brings life to the day.If you have never tried it, now is the time. As Rhett Butler advised Scarlett in Gone With The Wind, “Never pass up new experiences, they enrich the mind.”
I feel that Watercolour has a language that speaks to the soul. It can evoke memories, stir emotions, and connect us to something deeper as we use it. When we paint, we are not just creating a pretty picture, we are creating a world of emotion that speaks directly to the heart. In Around the World in Eighty Days Jules Verne wrote “Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real”. As artists we can imagine and make real, that is our gift. Especially with art supplies that support your journey!
I hope you will be as captivated as I by the way the Colour Library hues dance and play together, how they blend and shift, and how they can express emotion and tell a story. Here is Anne with an E in the fields created with ‘Green Gables’.
In a world that can sometimes feel gray and dull, color is a beacon of hope and joy.
So let us embrace the love of color, and let it fill our hearts with creativity and light. Oliver Twist is a magenta-purple that always makes me ask “Please sir, can I have some more”.
I am constantly inspired by the beauty and diversity of these superb colors. 20,000 Leagues holds an ocean’s depth of intense cobolt turquoise.
Jules Verne inspired the search for this colour: “The sea is everything… Its breath is pure and healthy… The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the Living Infinite. ”
There is nothing quite like the rush of excitement I feel when I mix an unexpected, new color, or the thrill of seeing my palette come to life with a rainbow of hues. When Homer penned The Odyssey 3000 years ago, he said
“some things you will think of yourself,…
some things God will put into your mind”.
Maybe we could add, “and some will be put on your palette”.
There’s something truly magical about using a watercolour paint that brings a sense of joy to the creative process. With just a few brushstrokes and a splash of water, colours blend and bleed together in a way that feels almost alive, creating a beautiful, ethereal effect that can capture the imagination and ignite the soul.
“Vision is the art of of seeing things invisible.” Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels.
In The Secret Garden we read “I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get hold of it and make it do things for us” until now…
because these watercolours interact with us in a truly mesmerising way as the paint seems to dance and flow across the page, creating unique and organic patterns with each stroke.
Whether you’re using vibrant, bold colours or soft, muted tones, there’s a sense of lightness and airiness to watercolour that can make any piece feel alive.
As Mole says in the beautiful Wind in the Willows:
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about with watercolour.”…
( well actually he says boats, but it may as well be!)
Watercolour paint is truly a joy to use, and whether you’re an experienced artist or just starting out, it’s an inspiring and uplifting medium that can help you to express your creativity and connect with your inner self in a truly beautiful and magical way.
So go ahead, pick up your brush and let the joy of the paint in the Colour Library wash over you!
What Jane says
I loved the challenging task of developing these paints! As I was creating the 24 hues in the WaterColour Library, each one grew a personality, its own quirks and charms! I love discovering more unique qualities every time I paint and falling deeper in love with the possibilities in each tube.
Use the Colour Library to full any paint palette your like! The 12ml in each tube will allow you to fill multiple palettes and to create sprays and watercolour inks to fill your own markers.
They are brilliant in every way!
The colours form a gorgeous full-spectrum rainbow!
The 24 colours in the Colour library form a full spectrum of brights, neutrals and shadows.
The hues are a mix of pure, master quality pigments and ‘convenience colours’.
A Convenience colour is a custom blend of pigments that forms a fabulous, useful colour such as ‘Wind in the Willows’ ( an ideal foliage green) and ‘Pygmalion’ (perfection for adding life to a face).
To achieve perfect colour mixes there is a set of cool and warm mixing colours.
The Colour Library is the ideal set to explore the world of mixing. You can go for an incredible journey without leaving your paper.
What you might like to know
On the box of each set you will find the colour name, description, permanence, Pigment info and Lightfastness ratings.
Lightfast and PermanentRated AA and A for Excellent and Good lightfastness, the Watercolour Library gives you the reassurance expected from a quality watercolour range.
Ideal TransparencyFormulated to create uniform consistency, the transparent quality of the Watercolour Library are perfect for new users.
Fine Art Pigmentsthe Watercolour Library uses fine art pigments uncompromising on quality.
There are 2 sets and each is named for a lovely place to cosy up and read, by the fireplace and by the seaside.
the Watercolour Library!
