Questions & Answers Updated 10/17/2005   Email Questions Paint: Hansa Yellow  Q. Birgit:   I received your video and it is wonderful.  I intend to order more of them.  You are a very clear teacher and I am very  inspired.  I ordered the "within the flower" video and I didn't hear you mention the brand of watercolor you use.  Could you please tell me what the brand you prefer.  I am having great difficulty finding Hannsa Yellow. Thanks. Charlene Wooden  A.Hi Charlene, Thank you for your comments. Hansa Yellow is a Daniel Smith color http://www.danielsmith.com  a good replacement is also Windsor or Cadmium Yellow. Each video has different information Within the Flower was really to show more of my painting process without, exercises and brands. I always learn new way to approach the next video or what I want to say and get across.  I like Windsor & Newton, Daniel Smith also sometime Schimnke.  Brushes  Q.   Berry Lynn wrote:   Hi Birgit,We are having a blizzard out there. Hard to imagine that next month we will be outside painting.I have one question for you at this time.  Are the alternative brushes that you mentioned to the Cosmos #30 really just as good?  Do you know who carries the best deal on those brushes?I am also going to have my students purchase a small paint set  of pans for outdoors and some tubes for inside work. What brand of pad paper do you recommend for them.  They have a $90 materials fee so I have to shop around. But that should get them pretty well set for the summer session which is 12 weeks.Thanks, hope you are doing well....Lynn -A. Hi Lynn  A.     From what I see Cheap Joes has good prices on both The Cosmotop Top  Spin,  Cosmoto Mix.  I think these have got to be the same as I have found in my local art store, the Isunami also looks interesting and about the same price (Cheap Joes) it look they give bulk discounts for this brush, this one looks like it will hold a good amount of water, (haven't tried it yet) For a tighter budget but I don't know how good the brushes are  their Starving artist brushes  and Da Vinci Junior  for student, teachers and kids might work well. ( I should try some of these myself)  Jerry's catalog just sent me some Pro Arte brushes to try, just got them so no comment yet but they look good. From the Cheap Joes Catalog 800-227-2788 www.cheapjoes.com it looks half of the price I paid for them in the local art store.  Brushes  The Cosmotop Top  Spin is a synthetic brush it will hold an atiquite amount of water and pigment. The tip will be a little stiffer and you can have more control over your strokes of color such as veins in a flower. Cosmotop Mix.  Is a synthetic blend this is a combination of Kolinsky Red Sable, Russian Blue Squirrel, and Russian Fitch. (black sable with a different name). This brush has a large water holding capacity similar to a wash brush.Wonderful for applyingwater and covering large areas. I like them both; I would use the larger Cosmotop Mix brush for covering larger areas with water and color and theCosmotop Top Spin for my smaller details and controlled strokes of color within washes..  Basic brush tips:  Brushes  Do not leave your brush tip down in water, it will ruin the tip. Hold your brush  midway up the shaft so you have freedom in the stroke.  Do not hold your brush close the tip or your painting will look tight and dry. (only if you areworking on tight  details.)Use a good synthetic or a synthetic blend brush.Sable brushes are wonderful and hold lots of water but are not necessary for many techniques. I prefer the synthetic blends because they hold lots of water and color and spring back to shape. Brushes  Q.    Birgit,  First let me thank you for a great day of painting yesterday at Pt. Reyes.  I really learned a lot and a couple of things became a little clearer for me.  Of course, practice would help a great deal.I have a quick question on the Cosmotop brushes.  I am not sure if you mentioned the Cosmotop Top  Spin or Cosmotop Mix.   Does it matter?  I don't care about the price difference.  I just wasn't sure which is preferred.  I think the Mix probably is best, but don't know.  I found them on page 86 of Cheap Joe's 2003 catalog.  If you have time, could you please let me know? Thanks again, Patti Van Steenberge  A.     Hi Patti,  The Cosmotop Top  Spin is a synthetic brush it will hold an atquite amount of water and pigment. The tip will be a little stiffer and you can have more control over your strokes of color such as veins in a flower. Cosmotop Mix. Is a synthetic blend this is a combination of Kolinsky Red Sable, Rusian Blue Squirrel, and Russian Fitch. (black sable with a different name). This brush has a large water-holding capacity similar to a wash brush. Wonderful for applying water and covering large areas.I like them both; I would use the larger Cosmotop Mix brush for covering larger areas and the Cosmotop Top Spin for my smaller details.  Paper Paper I preferArches  is the most consistent and  I love to work on 300lb but 140 lb is standard especially forstudents. check the prices, pads are great when you are in the field and for connivance but I like sheets.  I think I would suggest if possible they get a pad and maybe later some sheets. I am working on a workbook and breaking it into sizes etc. White Flowers for right now.  cold press is again standard, rough is also good to try ( Ilike rough press paper) you will be the successful with Hot press in for looser,  fun  more watercolory effect paintings. maybe you would like them to get asheet of that to to see howdifferent that is but not to expect the same results.Hope this helps. Birgit  40 x 60 paper Q. Hi Birgit, Where is the best place to get large format, heavy weight paper?? The best I've found is Arches on a roll at 40" by X many yards, but the thinner weight of the paper makes large format paintings very rippled. I've soaked and taped the paper but warping is unavoidable. It's fine once matted and framed, but I noticed your large format paintings in Palm Desert were floated, wrinkle-free, and on heavy weight paper. By the way, I think you'd get a kick out of my watercolors - also large format florals. Thanks in advance, Lisa A.Hi Lisa You have a wonderful site and great work!   try these links http://asw.com  http://www.Misterart.com Paper weight  Q.   Dear Birgit.  Thanks for such quick service. I received your video and really enjoyed your instruction. I was wondering what size paper you were working  with? and also how you can use that method with 140# paper without a whole lot of buckling. Do any of your videos of flowers show you using stretched 140# paper, or can you do that without stretching? Thanks so much    Donna McConkey.  A.     Hi Donna,  I never liked to take the time to stretch paper. I never have done that with the 140lb. if I have a puddle I will soak up the excess with a brush or tip ofa paper towel. I prefer the 300lb cold and rough because of the surface texture.I have worked with all sizes. 30x40, 40x60 up to diptychs 60x 120, at this moment I prefer the 22x30 full sheet size. You also might be interested in the Flower poppy video there is alot of information on that I am using 140lb with this one and als the white flower which is an older video that is also 140lb. Thank you so much for your questions and comments, Best wishes Birgit    Excercices paper Washes Values & Textue,  Q.    Jaye Andre wrote:     Dear Birgit, I recently purchased your Poppies video. I have some watercolor experience, but not a lot. I love your painting. However I'm a bit frustrated in attempting to try it myself. I tried the rectangle exercise after watching the video the first time. My rectangles didn't look at all like yours. I was using Swathmore paper and decided that might be the problem. Today I tried it with Arches 140 lb.cold press to not much greater success. The colors don't seem to spread nearly as much as yours. I realize it might be due to different pigments but a couple of the colors that I used were Quin. Magenta and Alizarin Crimson (W&N artist). I tried more pigment, I tried more water. Sometimes I get what I think are called "blooms" which you don't seem to get. Too much water? Is the exercise on your video in "real time" or does some time elapse in which the colors spread more? I'm also wondering if your paper ends up quite wavy after being so wet and what you do about that. I've ordered a lot more 140lb. paper and also a couple of larger brushes (12 and 14) so I'm hoping tocontinue with the technique despite feeling a bit discouraged at this point. Any suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely,Jaye Andres  A.     Dear Jaye  Thank you for your email. there is so much to say about watercolor and difficult to cover it all at one time.Your paper will make a huge difference; Strathmore paper will not react in the same way as Arches.What might be happening with your rectangles. If you soaked the paper and removed the sizing the colors will not move in the same way. only work one rectangle at a time. I think you might need more color on your brush so practice mixing your color to water consistency on your pallet so the brush is holding a good balance.you might need to have more water in the rectangle, if it is becoming at all matte in appearance the water is drying faster than you are working. Your environment can also affect the paper drying time. The colors should be fine. Yes the video is in real time; you are seeing what is actually happening. If you have too much puddleing use your brush to soak up the excess water or the tip of a paper towel. Don't be discouraged with practice you develop a feel for water and color, how it moves and what works for you. yes 140lb can get wavy, again practice if you want to make it easier, try 300lb. Arches paper. I used 140lb for a long time and still use it but I do like 300lb quite alot. some of the other videos might answer some of your questions, "Within the flower' perhaps. remember in the video when I am working on the petal for the first time, I say I do not remove the sizing. paper can vary even within the manufactures own brand. such as too much or little sizing in a batch of paper. 140 lb 16x20 Arches paper reacts differently than 25x40 140 lb. Arches paper I had a bad batch once where there was too much sizing in the paper and the water would bead up . the most consistent paper I have found is Arches 22x30 140 lb. or 300 lb but work with full sheets then fold in half tocreate your sizes. I hope this helps; any other questions let me know  Best wishes, Birgit  Here is the other possibility I forgot to mention.  use the side of the paper with the watermark, meaning the side that spell Arches correctly.  you can use either side of the paper, but perhaps this might be some of the problem. one side is smoother than the other. if you cut your paper down mark the back so you will know what side to use take care Birgit  Paper Schollershammer  Q.     Dear Ms. OíConnor: I recently bought your videos, which have been very Informative and interesting. I am an 80 yr old retired neurosurgeon  just starting painting, although I did paint and draw as a youth. I have been trying to locate an artstore to buy Schuller-Hummers [sp?] watercolor papers, none of the stores in my area carry the paper. Could you give me an art store contact? Thanks.     Blaine Nashold  A.    Dear Blaine,  Thank you for your email.  I am going to suggest that you don't start with Schullerhammer paper, you might find it frustrating to work with. it is fascinating but the same techniques that can work on the Arches might not work as well on the Schollershammer but it is good to experiment.One thing I have found with some supplies is that the manufacture decides to improve their product then things changes which can make it difficult when you have gotten use to a certain brush etc. If you want to try the Schollershammer paper, here is a list of suppliers  WorldWin Extraordinary Papers,1545 Corporate Center Drive  Sun Prairie, WI  53590   608.834.9900  OrangeArt, 1011 Route 169, Woodstock, CT 60281, 800.253.8975 orangeart.com  C2F, Inc., 6600 SW Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97008, 800.547.1544, Web: c2f.com  Best wishesBirgit     Field studies: tiny details   Q.     Rroger drake wrote:  Thank you for your gracious reply. I'm sure you get inundated with E-mail, and you can only answer so many. I have the March issue of Watercolor Basics with you on the cover, and wanted to ask what you use when you do  want to get tiny detail like the windows of the church, or the roofline in the "Field Study". I plan to purchase at least one of your landscape videos. Thanks again. Rroger.    A.     Hi Roger,  The trick with painting out of your pocket is to think small. For the all around basic painting creating the background, wash etc. use a size 8 or  10 brush. Then after it dries work down to your details with a 6 size (or similar). then for the smallest details such as the windows, roof line, grassesI use the compatible brush which comes with the set I believe it is size 000 or 00. For the windows they are only suggestions. For the best successthe paper size is aprrox 2x3 and I prefer 300lb rough for these minis it give the best appearance. If you want to work larger use the same techniquesand start to increase your sizes, such as brushes, etc.Best wishes Birgit    Using photos from magazines  Q. Hi Birgit,  It's Michelle again.  When you do a piece, what do you use for reference material?  Being as I live in Northern Canada, there are a lot of things I'd like to draw/paint that aren't around here.  I don't have a car yet, or money to travel, or even a good camera.  My only references are what I see in books and magazines.  I wrote to a photography magazine regarding a pencil study I did from a photograph I saw and found out it was a copyright infringement to do so.  I emailed the author of the photo, and as the lawyer from the magazine suggested, I asked his consent to have/sell the piece I made, and the lawyer also said I need a waiver of moral rights from the photographer.  I don't know what that is exactly yet, other than a piece of paper on which he says it's ok that I've used his picture as I've said i used it and signs and dates it.  But, this is a big runaround I think, and I don't want to have to make a paper trail everytime I want to paint/draw a picture.  Do you have any suggestions?  Or do you know of anyone who distibutes photography for use in other works of art?  Your help would begreat.      A. Copyright.  Yes that is a drag and a huge run around. All he infringement information you received is right and many artists start out the same way you have looking at magazines. If you want to use magazines you willhave to change the  reference material a little, I can't remember if  it is 35% or so. Perhaps you could use magazine collage them together to  help you with new ideas. Many publishing companies steal (borrow) from each other all they have to do is change the  image a little to get by.  It is better to use your own ideas, even if you enter a compition this will be a problem  You will develop more of your own ideas as you go along, but at first it is learning how to open your magination to see.  Art Reps  Q.    I got an e-mail today from "Richard Brooke" who signs his letter "President, ArtREPS." He says: "I happened upon your excellent  artwork and was very impressed with its potential for the print  market. As a professional fine art agent,..." and in a lengthy promotional e-mail he gives links to some of the artists that he says he represents. I have a feeling he is simply trolling art-related websites, which I  have one of. In fact, he might not be trolling at all  -  he might  have a program that trolls, comes across an artist site, and  automatically sends that e-mail wth  personalized greeting. So before  I go patting myself on the back for having "excellent artwork" and  respnding to this guy, has anyone else gotten the same e-mail? Does  anone know of this company  -  are they legit?, Cynthia Kelly  A.    Dear Cythina,  I am sure your work is wonderful but watch out. Richard Brookes  (Art Reps) has contacted many artist's including myself. I receive a email from an artist in Romania who was so excited. She asked me what I thought, Art Reps told her that her expense would be something like $ 5000. to cover the brochures that would have to be made plus the mailing expenses and ( I think) to also pay for some of the reps time. I told her she might want to think about it because there is quite alot she could do on her own without that much of an expense. In my opinion if a rep really believes in your work, you want  them to be as invested as your are and their participation should usually be financial. I was actually upset to hear the same thing from an artist in Romaina. This woman was going to spend was  her families life savings in hopes of it working. I told her in my opinion she might want to look at it and take the time thinking about it first and  focusing on the marketing  avenue herself rather than relying on someone else. If she took  the money she planned on spending with Art reps and instead  produce her own cards, brochures, sending a mailing, photo work, framing expenses and maybe even hang her own show, he might be better off and you never know who will see your work, and then she will have more control over what happens. I believe in following your dreams but there are many people out there that want to take advantage of emerging artists.  What also happens: Some publishers they say they love your style then when you sign with them they want you to change your style and  subject matter  or whatever to fit what they (or market wants)  beware that many times they may want you to make corrections and changes to fit within certain dimensions then your love of painting becomes more like work. Plus there is no guarantee that after you have made changes that they are still going  to accept it and pay you, which is usually a small fee approx. $ 350. or royalty.  Not much for the amount of time that you have spent on it. If you produce it for the company with them guiding you watch out for copyrights.  Then it is no longer a work that you produced on your own it becomes a job for an employer and they can own the copyright.  Contact some of the artist's they represent. Ones that your work is compatible with.I wonder if the brochures they send out are really for the publishing companies or to get other artist interested. No one is going to be as invested in your work as you and you know the old saying if it sounds to good it usually is.  Best wishes, Birgit.