Old Milk Container - Simon Seed

Last for the month of February.  I had a goal to achieve 28 journal entries and I bypassed that days ago.  :-)

This is another old time relic that captured my attention at Simon Seed Garden Center.

Hand Sewn Journal / Fabriano
Pilot Prera Lamy Safari both with Lexy Gray Ink

*Note.......had to switch off from the Pilot Prera as the feed is wetter and for some reason took forever to dry on the surface of the paper.  I don't always have that problem but this time I did.  I found I had to lay a paper towel across the page and press to get the excess ink off before continuing.  The side of my pinky finger was picking up ink and I knew I wouldn't be able to apply paint until that dried.

Loved the way the boards were angled......just kind of went along with the old time milk container.

What Is This Plant

When I first started out sketching this plant, I had no idea what it was.  I saw it hanging at Simon Seed Garden Center and took a picture because of how unusual it was to me.  I'm very unfamiliar with plants that do not require soil to grow.........at least until I worked this journal page and inquired.

Now I know this is a Staghorn Fern.  It's an "Epiphyte" which means air growing plant that attaches to other plants via their roots..........mainly up in trees.  These plants get their water and nutrients by other than soil.

Bromelaids and many orchids fall under this category as well from what I'm understanding.

The Staghorn Fern has the three main parts.......the root ball that attaches to surfaces, the shield fronds that start out green and then normally turn brown that protect the root ball, and then the leaves or antler fronds that grow producing spores (seed).

From all I've read, some young plants may be sold in pots but this plant is normally attached to a board you would hang vertically.  In this case, Simon's had it on this piece of wood shown in the illustration.

Hand sewn journal/Fabriano wc paper and Lamy Safari fountain pen with LG ink

Simon Seed Continued

Another page worked in my journal covering Thursday's outing at Simon Seed Garden Center in Leesburg, FL

I could possibly fill several pages of little illustrations sharing various things from this place.......from old time farm equipment to plants, to birds and I believe there's a rabbit there as well.

As I go through my photos taken, I realize I need to go back and take more.  My camera decided to first run out of battery juice but found I did bring a spare with me. Thought I was good to go only.......what happens????  I get a message on my screen that the memory card is full. Oh well, gives me a good excuse to go back (not that I really need one.)

Worked in the Hand Sewn journal with Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper

Lamy Safari fountain pen with Noodler's Lexington Gray ink.

Sketch Crawl - Simon Seed and Garden Center

Yesterday several met up at Simons Seed in Leesburg to sit and sketch for a few hours.  Most of the folks were from the Leesburg Art League / Leesburg Art Association with a few of us from Lines and Puddles (group out of The Villages)

The owners of this establishment were very accommodating and have no problem with folks coming to sketch or paint or even take photos to work from.  Inside you'll find various garden supplies and lots of seed displayed in various locations.  Outside is a covered porch where caged birds (like the Macaw) spend their time as well as many gorgeous plants and flowers you can purchase.  Off and surrpounding the porch is a beautiful landscaped area including a little pond, potted plants you can purchase, a few old time pieces of equipment, and even a chicken coup with a few chickens inside.  A nice quiet and relaxing atmosphere to set up and work your art.

While others were seated or walking around sketching, I took photos.  Although I had my sketching gear with me in the car, it was just one of those days I preferred to take photos, go home, and start working in my journal.  I hope to do a few more after this one.

For my first page or two, I decided to document one of the main sources of what this shop is all about..........seed.

Hand Sewn Journal / Fabriano Art wc paper
Lamy Safari / LG ink

Legs and Feet/Shoes

A couple areas I find I'm weak in or find extremely challenging are rendering legs (to depict coming or going) and peoples' feet/shoes.  Especially on a small scale working in some of my sketchbooks.

Thought I would practice a bit by breaking down and only concentrating on legs and feet/shoes.

Stillman & Birn Beta 3.5 x 5.5 sketchbook

Pilot Prera fountain pen with Lexy Gray ink

The left two I worked first.  The guy's shoes are really too small for his body and I lost focus when trying to capture the pattern in his shoes.  With the little girl's shoes...........just not quite there (to my eyes) but haven't quite spotted what it is that looks off to me.

The right turned out better and I think I even caught the bend in her left leg with the shadowing and slight angle plus the way the shoe looks on bottom.

UPDATE 02/24/17:  Adding another here I worked for today in the same lines practicing legs and feet.

Why You Should Carry a Sketchbook

This is an article from The Huffington Post that was shared on Facebook last year and again posted by Cathy Johnson in her Artists Journal Workshop Facebook group this morning.  Thought others might enjoy reading this if they haven't seen it already.

9 Things That Happens When You Carry a Sketchbook Nonstop

Pen Pouch - Continuous Line

After working a couple of pages of blind and seeing continuous line exercises, I decided to try an actual watercolor sketch using the continuous line concept.  I did so after going back to Brenda Swenson's site and re-reading all posts related to the continuous line approach.  I've always liked how hers look.

From her posts I also decided to try using a Tombow marker pen to work the ink sketch to allow it to bleed into the watercolor wash as I painted.  Here are my results.

The one thing I need to work on is not feeling the need to go back filling in gaps that would be created by not going back over previous lines.  It's a natural tendency on my part to "complete" the line sketch.

The other area I need to work on is making sure as I move from one end to the other, not to leave out any areas that would cause me to have to re-trace my steps over previously laid ink lines.

Now this sketch I really enjoyed.

Worked on Saunders watercolor paper

Continuous Line Exercises

For today (started last night) I decided to work on some basic drawing exercises.  Blind contour or continuous line drawing versus continuous line drawing and looking at the paper.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the major benefits of blind drawings.  Who does that in real life beyond a couple of seconds at a time when viewing something and wanting to capture quickly on paper?

And it doesn't matter how many times I might practice........I honestly don't see how it can help anyone with eye/hand coordination if you're working blind.  But that is just me.  The major benefit I CAN see is having fun and at times a good laugh, warming up, and what I read from another artist......... "it can help face your fears about screwing up."  Now THAT makes sense to me.  I can see it might benefit in loosening up too before going into an actual drawing......especially if you're using pen and ink and anxious about making those marks.

As for the continuous line and viewing the work along the way, I definitely can understand how that exercise can benefit people.

I started with the self portraits last night.  Now I had fun and a great laugh when viewing the results.  In fact I like them better than the one I did looking at the paper.  Today I worked on other objects.

One thing I need to work on is my need to close in all gaps which means I have to cross back over previously made marks as I work.  One of my favorite artists who works continuous line drawings is Brenda Swenson.  She leaves gaps and they look great.

Another thing I need to work on is not getting lost or confused in where to go next without skipping an area that I should have done before moving on.  Another reason for going back over previously drawn marks.

Triple Challenge - Faucet Fixtures

Another photo reference sent to me by my dear friend, to try my hand at, definitely challenged me.  Not counting the intricate detail, I had to find a color mix that would come close to the faucet colors I saw in the photo, try to mimic the marbling in the sink, and work out how to suggest the pattern on the wall.

Playing on scrap paper, I tried various combinations and ended up using Olive Green Yellowish Albrecht Durer watercolor pencil, along with Burnt Umber and Fr Ultra watercolors.  With the watercolor pencil I pulled color from the tip of the pencil with wet brush making a pool of color or straight from tip to paper.  I had to glaze or layer beginning with the greenish color, alternating my colors until I achieved the results shown.........letting each layer dry.

The marbling was achieved with Cerulean Blue base color and Cobalt Blue for the marks using brush and slight spattering and smearing with my finger.

The wall is a loose mix of Cerulean and Cobalt Blue base color and Fr Ultra tipped in while 'just' damp and then spattering and dabbing with finger.

Hand Sewn Journal w/Fabriano
Lamy Safari w/Lexington Gray Ink

Timed Sketching

For days and even weeks, I've been working a bit too tightly and finding myself falling back to some bad habits of wanting to fidget and get everything just so so..........some watercolor sketches taking me hours to do.  One of the reasons I took to journaling was to get away from that.

Well tonight I decided to do a timed sketch to include the added watercolor.  No pencil guidelines.......just jumping in and letting my pen quickly dance about on the paper making lines and shapes resulting in this little landscape.  Reference incentive was from a TV stand.  Then quickly slapped some color on and called it done.

I should probably do more of these to try and loosen back up.

Stillman & Birn Soft Cover Beta 3.5 x 5.5"
Pilot Prera with Lexy Gray Ink
15 minutes total (minus drying time)

Ink and Wash Quick Sketches

Not a whole lot to say about this one..............just playing around with water soluble ink.  I like working these for value practice now and then :-)

Visual Journal Bristol
Sailor Fude 55 Fountain Pen
Cartridge Ink that comes with it

Old Time Water Fountain

I was trying to decide on what I was going to sketch or paint last night and a dear friend helped make my decision.  She sent a couple photo references for me to try my hand at.

I'm not crazy working with black objects but I think this turned out pretty good.  I had to add several layers to get it dark enough and wasn't sure my Fabriano Artistico would behave (due to the sizing).  But it did as long as I used a light touch.

Used Cobalt and Burnt Umber for my black mix and a few areas used straight black watercolor.

And this time no shadows were added.........only because I put in the suggested pattern on the wall with watercolor pencil without thinking before adding the shadows.  I can't add the shadows now without activating the pattern so it's going to be as it is.

I absolutely loved the perspective in the photo and wanted to work this page just as I saw it.  Great practice for me!!!

Hand sewn journal / Lamy Safari with Lexy Gray ink / watercolor / watercolor pencils.

Thank you Becki for the photos!!

Playing with Zentangles

Now and then I try my hand at working zentangles.  Mostly what I've done in the past was more on the lines of Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIAs).

I'm so looking forward to a class/workshop being given towards the end of this month by a certified zentangle teacher.  So far I've just been winging it looking at books and looking at examples on the web.  I also look forward to learning about proper shading and eye movement within the tangles.

In the meantime, I'm just playing to see what I can do on my own :-)

While at the hospital Wednesday sitting with hubby, I tried the traditional method of frame/border and string.  This is what I ended up with.

Now this morning I thought I would try working one without any confines of a string or border.  I wanted to see how it might end up starting in the center and working out around the first pattern put down.  As of right now, I think I prefer this over the border and string method but that might change once I take the class.  I really don't know what I'm doing at this point but feel a sense of freedom with this method over the other.

Pen and Ink Only Personal Challenge

So that I continue to work towards feeling confident with the pen, I like to challenge myself occasionally bypassing the pencil.

Here's a sketch worked with Microns only.

My 005 was misbehaving but there's a good chance it might be running dry.  Then again, it could be the super fine point not doing well on this slick bristol paper.  I'll have to test the pen out on other paper surfaces to know for sure.

This is another section of St Timothy's Catholic Church in The Villages.  This section was in shade the time of day we went.

It was quite a challenge for me to try and capture the variation in shaded areas with hatching and cross hatching but it was fun to see what I could do.

Visual Journal Bristol Smooth journal.

Macaw at Simon's Seed and Garden Center

I've been stuck on this for the last couple of days.  I made the mistake of trying to "plan" a layout investing way too much time in thinking rather than doing.  I think I do much better when I just let everything happen on its own as I work.

This guy is at the Simons Seed and Garden Center in Leesburg.  In fact there were three cages of birds.........one with doves, the macaw, and not sure what kind of bird was in the third cage.  Another very colorful and beautiful bird I hope to paint.

I sent an email to the shop asking if I could get some information on their Macaw (like name, age, male/female, temperament, etc.) but I haven't heard back from them.  So I just looked up information from various sources and made a list about the species in general.

Update:  I was back at their shop this morning (Thurs Feb 23rd), and was able to get information on this beauty.  

This is a Blue Gold Macaw who is 22 years old.  His or her name (they are not sure but think it's a female) is Mango and has been with the shop owners for about 8 years.  Mango is a rescued bird who had/has special needs.  One is due to a deformity of the beak probably caused by incorrect hand raising.  Also had or has a limp due to a broken foot.  Although Mango might have these issues, it wasn't apparent to me and is quite a beautiful bird.

I had the pleasure of being near Mango while out of her cage and also witnessed her giving herself a shower.  That was fun to watch.

Hand sewn journal with Fabriano Artistico wc paper
Beaumont Fountain pen with Lexington Gray Ink (that wanted to smear on me after I thought it was dry)

Little Sketch Just Playing Around

This is just playing with a simple still life set up from a photo taken of nic nacs a friend of mine has in her home.  Was also experimenting to see how close I could come to a marbling effect on the brown and blue vase.

Stillman & Birn Beta Soft Cover 3.5 x 5.5 journal
Beaumont Fountain Pen w/Lexy Gray Ink
DS Watercolors

Leesburg Center of the Arts

This is the Leesburg Center of the Arts where I went last Friday as I consider joining the league.  We live close to a few city art leagues which include Eustis and Mount Dora.  I want to check each out to see which I might want to become more involved with.

Here at the Leesburg Art Center they have what's called Open Fridays where members can meet at the facility to informally get together and work on their artwork with each others' company.  Some will work on crafts as well and share with anyone interested the how-tos in making various things.

This Friday, Shari Williams, was sharing how to make imprints on watercolor paper that one could use as covers to make their own journals.  In searching the web, it looks like this process is called "Boiled Books" or "Eco Printing."

The idea is to lay flowers, leaves, seed pods, etc. onto the watercolor paper and then press between metal plates and tie together.  Then place in a boiling pot of vinegar water (about a cup of vinegar) for about an hour and a half (I've also seen where some will go up to 3 hours of simmering in a pot).

Shari stacked several of these layers between metal plates using twine to tie the stacks together.  Tight enough to hold everything in place but not so tight that the vinegar solution couldn't penetrate all paper layers.  I've also learned that you can add a little Ritz Dye to the water  by watching a video by "wickedmessenger1" on Youtube.

Old Sunken Boat - Smoke Stacks

This is another watercolor sketch done from my outing yesterday in The Villages with Becki.

The lake at Lake Sumter Landing has various boats positioned to include one large that is partially sunken.  Talk about a boat with character.

I chose this for my subject as the smoke stacks stood out to me most at the time.

Worked in the Stillman & Birn Beta Soft Cover Journal
Beaumont Fountain Pen
A little more defining with the Platinum Carbon Pen
WC

Gorgeous Day in The Villages

What a day this has been!!!  And a glorious day at that!!!

Started out early going to the post office to send off some sample sheets of watercolor paper to a friend of mine in NC.  From there stopped at DK Art Supply & Framing to pick up a few things and then drove to downtown Leesburg for a quick stop at the Leesburg Art League Center.  Yesterday I was there and started a sketch only to forget colors of the building.  Duhhhh.  And then once I took pictures, I drove on to meet up with a dear friend who lives in The Villages.

Via golf cart (which is fascinating to me where many people drive carts rather than cars to get around) we drove a good distance to St Timothy's Catholic Church to sit on location and sketch the building.  What a beautiful site!!!  The architecture is unbelievable.  We stayed there until the parking lot started to fill up with cars for an evening service.

From there we ended up at Lake Sumter Landing and did some more sketching before calling it a day.

Returned home and tonight I've managed to finish off two of four sketches I have worked (three from today and one from yesterday).

Hand Sewn Journal with Fabriano Artistico 140lb CP watercolor
Beaumont Fountain Pen with Lexington Gray Ink

This first one was done while sitting in the car waiting for my friend to return from DKs.(inked and painted at home)

 Sitting in the parking lot of the Church (same deal......pencil sketch on location and finished at home)

Neal - Graphite Practice

Although I still have a lot of practice ahead of me, I do think I'm on the right track.  Worked early this morning in a generic sketchbook with only a 3B pencil.  No blending with a stump for this one.

Practice Drawing Hair - Graphite

I am currently checking out an instructional site called TheVirtualInstructor.  Found the site after viewing some of the instructor's free videos on YouTube.

So far I am finding it's quite informative.  I'm picking up things that's never been explained in the same way that I have come across through other videos or books ........... that really makes sense to me.

Quick Sketch Versus Using the Grid Method

For years I have wondered about using grids to capture subjects with more accuracy.  My problem was wrapping my head around all the prep work and then wondering how on earth to erase the grid lines without disturbing the drawing.

A friend who's like a sister to me out of the UK has used the grid method for years and I sit and drool over the portraits she turns out.  So I know for some people it works wonderfully and they are able to work around the two issues I have.

Finally I tried it but on a super small scale.  (This is actually my second attempt at using a grid although until tonight had totally forgotten about the first time.)  I'm still not sure about erasing remaining lines but it would definitely take a lot of preliminary work to set up before actually drawing.  My wish is to draw portraits of my family at some point and feel that even with all that prep work, it would definitely be worth investing that time to get the accuracy I would hope for.

Here's comparing a quick sketch of a lady versus taking my time and using a grid.  The illustration pretty much speaks for itself.

UPDATE:

Filled in some background and tried removing as many of the grid lines that I could.  Should have done that before shading in the background...........would have made things easier.  Good learning experience though :-)

Today's Sketch - One of the Guys at the Packing House Gathering

For today's sketch, I went with graphite.  I still have a ways to go as I practice people........capturing their likeness.  I had problems with his hands as I captured him holding them in a strange manner.  His beard is what caught my eye..........so black and thick!

Worked on newsprint paper I'm not crazy about as it will only let you go so dark even with the soft pencil leads.

2B and 6B Staedtler Mars pencils

Capturing Historic Landmark before being Demolished

An email was sent out to folks at the Art League inviting artists and photographers to meet up in downtown Leesburg to sketch, paint, and/or photograph this old building.

It's the A.S.Herlong & Co Citrus Packing House that's been around for over 100 years and new owners of the property plan to have it taken down around the first of March.

We're still trying to find more information about the business and founder but what little I've learned so far:

1) A.S. Herlong Sr. moved to Florida from Atlanta back in 1911 and started the citrus packing company during the citrus boom era in Lake County.

2) A train station near by (still standing) with tracks that ran right up next to the packing company where the company had docks for loading the crates on the train.  Tracks are no longer there.

3)  Herlong's family became one of the most powerful families in the county owning 100s of acres of citrus as well as several houses/properties.

4)  One of Herlong's Senior's sons didn't follow the family business but instead became the youngest judge serving Lake County and later ended up becoming a Congressman.

Hopefully we can find out more about the business itself.

Update:  A little more information:  http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/20170211/leesburg-packing-plant-to-be-demolished-replaced-with-student-housing

A Change of Pace

Many, many years ago I used to paint with acrylics mainly tole painting on wood, glass, metal, etc.  I remember the simple brush strokes used to depict subjects.......particularly flowers.

I came across a video where a lady used similar brush strokes painting in watercolor.  I watched it a couple of times and then decided I wanted to have a go.

This was fun and oh did it bring back a lot of memories :-)  Felt strange though working with watercolors as thick as I did to produce these.  I combined the one-stroke method of creating the petals (push/pull/roll) and wet in wet to create the centers.  Then with a rigger brush, I added a little line work and definition but not so much to take away from the simplicity and patterns of the brush strokes.

This is something that would look good as a greeting card.  And to me something I would like mounted and framed...... only this particular one was done in a sketchbook.

With thoughts of how it might look mounted and framed, I thought I would play a bit by creating a digital mat.

Hand Sewn Journal of Fabriano Artistico 140 lb CP Watercolor Paper
W&N Watercolors

Brush Figures

Not a great deal to say about this page except that these are fun to do.  Straight in with brush and paint.

Meandering Journal made with Arches 140lb Cold Press Watercolor Paper
#8 Synthetic round

Mini Folding Palette - Jackson Art's Supply

Anytime I set up a palette, I like working pages in my journal that I can refer back to on what colors I've chosen.  I have been adding pages like this to a dedicated Journal so I can easily look up the charts.  Before that I had them in random journals and could never remember which one.

This palette is similar to the Whisky Palette but they were out of stock and I found this through Amazon which is very similar.

Closed it's only 5" x 2.75" and open it is 5" x 8"

I took the metal tray with rails that hold the 1/2 pans out of the palette so I could fit more 1/2 pans if I wanted or replace with whole pans at some point (or a combination of both).  Plus have room for my mini waterbrush and a sponge.

With this palette, I decided to start out with W&N watercolors although I do prefer Daniel Smith.  But I have several small travel palettes already set up with DS pigments.

Stillman & Birn Beta
Micron 03
W&N watercolors

Another Steampunk Memory

Now this one I could have done without sharing to the world but I thought why not.  It definitely has its flaws (as I see in a lot of my work) but it's still something I did and I don't feel I have to share only those things I think is worthy of going on display.  Hopefully by sharing my less than perfect accomplishments, other people will learn from it and not make the same mistakes.  Or if they do, they can find something positive about what they've done and not be fearful of sharing with other people.

As usual, I misjudged where I started my sketch which was the guy on the left.  In order to not cut his legs off at the bottom, I had to "stunt" his growth........lol.  So his proportions and height are by no means spot on.  The guy on the right has his issues too in size and proportions :-)

But.......this still represents our trip to the Steampunk Festival and even with my known boo boos, it still looks close enough that I'd know exactly who these guys were and where we were.

The guy on the left is one that really captured my attention due to his wearing apparel.  And notice his boots.........that's not a mistake on my part, he was actually wearing two different type of boots.

Stillman & Birn Beta
Micron 03
W&N Watercolors

Mote Morris House Leesburg

One of those nights where I am having trouble sleeping.  Definitely tired after a really beautiful day but the brain wouldn't shut down.

Got up and although half out of it, I worked this watercolor sketch.

Stillman & Birn Beta soft cover journal
W&N watercolors
Platinum Carbon Fountain desk pen

Golden Pothos

I've been eyeballing my two plants for weeks and finally decided to capture one on paper.

With this one I decided not to use any pen and ink.  It's been awhile since I worked any watercolor sketch without it and really feels strange not doing so.

Stillman & Birn Beta soft cover journal
Daniel Smith watercolors

Oh Nooooooo, Not Another Gadget - Portable Painter Indiegogo Campaign

As if I really needed more in the way of art supplies!!!  I couldn't resist this new find after seeing it posted by another member on the Facebook Artists' Journal Workshop Group.

Note:  My own personal photos after receiving this today.  Better photos can be found with the link at the bottom of this post)

This compact little palette (the size of today's mobile phones), opens up and is put together to fit across your leg.

It comes with a double ended travel brush which looks like a size 2 and size 4 round.

The two end pieces act as water cups and each have an indent where you can lay the brush across when not in use.

It comes with removable 1/2 pans you can fill with tube paint.  It WILL hold the W&N 1/2 pans but other empty 1/2 pans may not fit down in the slots..........but the ones I have will still sit most of the way down in the slots and the palette will still close.

The only drawback I can see at this point is that little metal clip that closes the case up.  Someone like me could easily lose that piece when palette is in use.

UPDATE:  Going to see how this holds up to save from losing the metal clip while palette is in use.  It's a camera lens cover keeper.  Attached is a carbine hook I can quickly hook to my jeans belt loop or a loop/ring on my bag.

And if I were to make a suggestion to the creator of this little palette, it would be to consider offering one to hold whole pans for those who prefer them over the half pans.

 

Closed up next to a Samsung S5 Cell Phone

The set comes with empty half pans you can fill yourself, but just to show W&N half pans fit perfectly in this portable painter

For more information about this little jewel..............

Portable Palette Campaign On Indiegogo

Another noteworthy tidbit of information, if you need to write the founder/creator of this palette, they are quick to respond.

Liquid Pencil on Stillman & Birn Beta Paper

This morning I wanted to try out the liquid pencil in my newer purchased Stillman & Birn Beta mini sketchbook......which is one of the new soft cover landscape orientation books (3.5" x 5.5")

As I was working the little illustration, I noticed right off that I would have a problem getting even coverage.  It was like working on glass or any slick surface.  It was too easy to lift back off the paper not even trying.  Of course that may not be a bad thing depending upon the subject and depending upon the results you are after.

I have mixed feelings right now so can't say if I like how the liquid pencil goes down on this paper or not.  I will have to try again before making up my mind.

What's strange is that I've worked the liquid pencil in a larger older Beta sketchbook and had better control with the coverage.

http://sbwatercolors.blogspot.com/2016/10/derivan-liquid-pencil-testing.html

Maybe I didn't mix the liquid pencil well or maybe the newer soft cover Beta journal paper is different?  Maybe the Sepia (or any of the colored) liquid pencil behaves differently?  The crane is worked on the back side of a page so maybe that's the reason.  At this point I honestly don't know.

My best results, so far, were worked on Fabriano Artistico 140 lb CP

http://sbwatercolors.blogspot.com/2016/10/new-medium-liquid-pencil-by-derivan.html

UPDATE:

Trying to answer my own questions, I worked these boxes between the Beta paper and Fabriano that I used when I worked the light fixture months ago.

The Fabriano feels like it has a little more tooth to the paper to include the back side and maybe allowed a little more control for an even application......still streaks a little but I didn't "seem" to have quite the same problem with it wanting to lift as easily as it did on the Beta.

I didn't see much difference in behavior between the colored liquid pencil versus the regular gray.

I'm now wondering what brush I might have used with the light fixture.  I might have used a soft natural hair brush versus the synthetic I used with this crane and the box examples.  I don't always think to include what brush I'm using in my individual posts.

Oh well........was interesting to say the least even though I'm still left with questions.  It might just be the nature of the beast (liquid pencil) or it just might be the user............lol.