continuing with the Summer Holidays 2019 sketches ….! After coming back from our wonderful holidays in Upper Austria, we decided to stay a bit in our home city of Graz before hitting the road again. Our first stop on this trip was the headquarter of one of Austria’s best ice-cream makers, Eis Greissler in Krumbach (https://www.eis-greissler.at/manufaktur/). The weather that day wasn’t great, it was cold, wet and extremely windy in the Bucklige welt (land of thousand hills) After entering the…
Watercolour sketching captured my heart only in the last couple of years. Before that, I didn’t know anything about sketching or how to use watercolours for that matter. It’s magic to me that with just a few squiggly lines and some paint, I can record a slice of our life! I wonder why I never did this earlier in my life ..? During summer holidays this year, we decided to travel within our home country, Austria. We spent most of our…
I live in the lovely city of Graz, Austria. Every morning I go for a run or ride along the river Mur, which flows through the center of Graz. I had never noticed the diversity of flora and fauna alongside the river until I adapted to my new avatar as an artist a couple of years ago Even though I have always loved being in nature it is only when I started sketching outdoors that I began to observe and…
Make your own children’s watercolor paints from plants! As, I learned and grew more into natural, toxin-free, and sustainable living; I was quite set on creating alternatives to traditional, non-natural toxic paints for my artwork. I wasn’t always an artist, I reconnected to this dormant artist within me four years ago, and since then I have only been working with my own natural and non-toxic handmade watercolors. For obvious reasons, I’m not thrilled when it comes to store-bought children’s arts…
I had started my blog Lost in Colours with an intention to raise awareness of the environmental issues involved in art materials and to provide non-toxic, low-impact solutions. Hopefully, I can be more regular in sharing not only my insights on this topic but also my struggles and joy of creating sustainable art! To date, I had only been using pigments from Earth in my daily art practice. I began foraging for natural pigments from plants last year after being…
What I love most about painting is to create art in an organic sensibility. To be mindful of the materials I use and how they affect the world around me. Every day I continue to be inspired by the intensity and strength of natural pigments and the beauty and wisdom of mother nature. As a scientist, I clearly see the impact art supplies have on our environment and I know it’s time to make a change. Working with natural pigments…
Green, the colour of nature, new life and sustainability can never be green ! It is ironically toxic to all forms of life and environment! “Nature in her green, tranquil woods heals and soothes all afflictions” –John Muir Green is the color of nature, which symbolizes renewal and growth. It also means balance, calm and harmony. It is no surprise that we feel so invigorated when we are out in the open surrounded by the beauty of nature. Such is…
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up” – Picasso My education over the years led me on a path of science, research, discovery and development– in other words nothing to do with art for several years. Life has a way of waiting patiently until you are ready for your purpose. I believe that my purpose was to become a watercolor artist. It was only two years ago that the long…
This is a guest blog featuring Elma Hogeboom My name is Elma Hogeboom, a sustainable artist from the Netherlands. I strive towards a sustainable lifestyle in every walk of my life. Art is a huge passion of mine and I apply sustainability to my passion too. After a long painstaking research, I found out that sustainable materials to create pieces of art were either very scarce or non-existent! It got me thinking: in this day and age, how in the…
It’s a delightful feeling when you get excited to create something, and then venture forth and share your creative endeavor with the rest of the world. I am talking about the current trend of handmade watercolors. I too am a watercolor paint maker and an artist who uses them. I started using handmade paints when it came to my notice that some of the commercial ones were quite toxic, not only to humans but also to our environment. I have…
Hazards in the art world often aren’t taken very seriously. It’s hard to see artists as people who are engaged in a dangerous field. Had I not been a scientist, I too would have remained oblivious about the perils lurking in an artist’s world! It comes as no surprise that artists through history have been called by many names-geniuses, crazy, dreamers, unemployed-but rarely chemists! There can be a lot of mystery when you go to purchase paints, especially if it’s…
The art of paint making has been existing for thousands of years. Today’s paint making process is perhaps no different than how it was several 100 years ago. At the time when commercial colors were not available artists made their own paint, or had an assistant or colourman make it for them. The pigments were ground by hand on a flat piece of marble or glass using a glass muller. Its no doubt that making beautiful pieces of art is…
Indeed, its health and safety issue in the Art world. Who would have thought that it matters? Perhaps, if I didn’t have a science background I too would have remained ignorant about the hazards that are associated with the art supplies. How many of you know what’s in an artist’s pigment? If any art material has a hazard warning mentioned on the back of the paint I take notice. Health and safety aren’t often mentioned in connection with fine arts,…