Testing Google Documents with Photographs...

Today's note pertains to my frustration viewing Carol's most recent blog entries (watchmepaint.blogspot.com): I cannot see the pictures as clearly as I would like.

I know, from experience, that putting full-sized pictures onto a blog brings with it a lot of problems, so I use PicSizer to shrink mine to 320 pixels x whatever ...

Here is a small photograph of my most recent painting of Jensen's Hill:

If Google is kind to me (doubtful) and my husband is correct (usual), you should be able to click on the photograph above and open another window or tab with a more detailed view of the photo, which I've stored as a Google Document.

It turns out that, using either computer screen (laptop or monitor), 1024 pixels x 768 pixels high wide works pretty well. Comments?

Instructions for doing this

First size the pictures correctly. (I use 320 pixels wide for my blog and 1024 pixels wide for the larger photo.)

Insert the smaller photo in your blog.

Upload the larger photo to Google Documents. (Upload the photo you want to come up when someone clicks on the 'thumbnail' in your blog.)

PUBLISH the photo as a Google document. Once it is published, right click onthe URL they provide, select "Copy shortcut" and move to your blog, in EDIT mode.

Left-click on the photo in your blog, then click on the icon to the right of the Text formating icon (some chain link and a green globe). When that comes up, PASTE the URL from the Google Documents (i.e. Ctl-V or Edit / Paste) into the dialog box. Select OK.

Publish your blog. Test it.

Done.

More on creative shopping for painting tools and toys

First, note that I have changed yesterday's post, and marked it up with bold, red italics.

Last night I was struggling with blogspot and losing. I lost a lot of text and recreated most of it last night. Today I've got a process going, so I was able to fix omissions and add pertinent information.

In Michael's today I found two interesting items:

1) a metal clip (canvas hanger) used to hang oil paintings. It wraps around the frame and creates a small edge for hanging on a nail or something. This could be used to attach items to the drawers and sides of an easel.

2) They are having a sale on Krylon Spray Paints in 3 oz containers. $2 each instead of the normal $4. I think it's a close-out. I am (barely) willing to pay $2 for 3 oz when $6 gets me 12 oz, because I want something I can carry with me, to protect my painting when I am not at home.

And then there is OfficeMax. I am addicted to the Iris 6 drawer mini-chests. At about $35 each, they are much cheaper than taborets.

So I found that they will sell them to you via the Internet, 3 for the price of 2. I called my local OfficeMax (you may need to speak to a manager) and asked it they would sell them to me for the same price. They agreed. They'd be stupid to refuse: OfficeMax would give me free shipping for an Internet order, since 2 chests exceed their $50 threshold.

One last funny item: a Helix swing arm protractor (protractor with a pivoting ruler) attached at the center for measuring angles more accurately. $1.50. Found it in the drafting supplies... It looks a lot like those tools they sell in art stores ($15) for setting angles in drawings!

Painterly uses for common items UPDATED Saturday 21 July

Changes are in bold, red italics
Organization

• Wrap a small piece of electrician's tape around key items that belong in YOUR painting box and that you or someone else might carry off to another part of the world, e.g.:
  ..........drawing pencils / pens / straight-edge / eraser
  ..........scissors / hole punch / stapler / cellophane tape
  ..........brushes
  
  NB: I have labeled many things in my house. (We pause now, to give Chuck time to recover from his laughter!)
  ..........Yellow: the instruments on my desk
  ..........Green (2 groups): home toolkit & master bathroom (different contents)
  ..........Blue (2 groups): sewing room & sketch box (pencils, charcoal, etc.)
  ..........Bright pink (2 groups): gear for clinicals & desk stuff in my study
  ..........Black: pencil for my chair in the living room
  ..........Gray (3 groups): contents of box on French easel, bedside table & household bill paying area
  ..........No label: kitchen
  ..........In process: distinguish painting box from sketch box and box on French Easel

• I also use Sharpies to write on electrician's tape, regular cellophane tape, and packing tape. If I want the label to resist all solvents, I cover it with cellophane or packing tape.
  
  NB In most situations, Sharpie ink comes off when rubbed with 91% isopropyl alcohol.
  
  
• Hugo's Amazing Tape. No glue or adhesives, nothing scratchy (not like velcro) but holds many things when stretched a bit and pressed against itself. I use it to wrap around spools of thread, to keep boxes closed, etc.
  
  
• Velcro one-wrap cable straps: you can join them at the slotted end (put the narrow end of each strap through the other strap's slot and pull carefully). These can be applied as designed, using the slot to hold the strap to the item, or they can be used either free or stapled or glued to things.

• Swim noodles: so, you didn't know that these were really designed to hold your paintbrushes at brush-safe angles while you paint? $1 at the Dollar Tree (right now), use a utility knife and a Dremel tool or a drill. Be careful to avoid routing the handles of your brushes into the wooden frame of the door or leg.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Canvas stretchers: I have used 2 @ 40" and 2 @ 20" to make the equivalent of a side table on each side of my French Box easel.
  
  Plus, I realized today that I could buy different lengths for the long stretchers and have tables of different widths. The only caveat is that the tables need to be of relatively balanced weights. I am still figuring out how to have a one-sided table.
  
  The 'easy' answer is to use my hiking stick as a monopod, insert a nut of the correct size for a camera tripod attachment, and use that to support the unsupported side... This would work, but not everyone has a monopod ready to hand!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I put spring clamps (3/4", 4 for $4.00 at Sears) on the frame at each side of the box at the back. This keeps the table from slipping sideways. Now that I have 4 more clamps, I'm going to use them to fasten the masonite to the stretchers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Right now, I am using tempered masonite to form the table tops, but hope to replace that with canvas one of these days.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  With this arrangement, I can reach everything inside both the drawer and the fixed box. I can get as close to the easel as I need, by closing the drawer almost all the way. It allows me to use the easel almost flat (for watercolor). Cost: about $20. Compare to $20 for one Shelf-Help...
  
  


• Heat'n'Bond Iron-on Vinyl, matte or glossy 17" x 72" $8.55 to $11.50 (use your 40% off coupons!):
  
  I used this to seal my tempered masonite boards because the masking tape destroyed them and they bled brown onto my watercolor paper. (see photo above)
  



• Shower baskets: I bought 2 at Dollar Tree, and hang them from the thumb screws on the front legs of my easel OR from the side supports if I am not using the table.
  
  I keep my notebook, my color cards, and my small spray bottle in them. They also pack nicely in my gear bag.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  




• Loose-leaf rings
  
  I use these in clinicals to keep my medication cards together, so it was natural to apply them to painting. They come in several sizes, from 3/4 " to 2" diameter. 2" diameter are 3 for $1.69 at Office Max.
  ..........They hold my color cards together.
  ..........They hold my home-made sketchbook together.
  ..........They hold things that I want to hang off my easel.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  





• Hair bands: My exchange student daughter left behind some thin, elastic head-bands. They are great for holding books open, including my sketch book, or closed.
  
  
  
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• Home-made sketch book: 1 tempered masonite board, 10" x 12" 1 piece of heavy weight quilter's template material, cut to 10" x 12" I used a 3 hole punch to locate the holes on the short end, and marked the left edge of the paper on the punch itself... I can put whatever kind of paper I want into the book and I can carry around quite a bit of reference material, including charcoal value studies, B&W photos and earlier versions of paintings.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  





• Small plastic storage containers: 10 for $1 at Dollar Tree. Good for clean water, good for mixing up washes, and the lids are great for mixing small batches of colors.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Paint dividers in the French Box Easel
  Originally I was carrying my tubes of paint around in a box made to hold 8 or 10 bars of soap. It worked great. So, when I got the French Box Easel, I took some cardboard and duplicated the insert in the box that held soap. Then I taped it all into the bottom storage area of the easel.
  
  To make the inserts:
  .....Measure the width of the space you have. Mine is 3 3/4" wide.
  .....Figure out how much space you want for each group of paints. I allowed 2 1/4" for each section.
  .....Measure the depth of your space. Mine is 1 3/8" deep. I used 1 1/4" in making the insert.
  
  Decide how many spaces you want. I chose 4 on each side because that makes it easy to reach all of my paints.
  
  Take a piece of light-weight cardboard that is long enough for your project.
  
  LONG ENOUGH = # of paint storage sections * (2* depth + space for paint)
  ..... for my project that is 4 (sections) * (1.25 + 2.25 + 1.25) = 19" long
  
  Cut it to the correct length and width. Carefully score the cardboard so that it folds easily. I scored between each 1.25" section on the back, and on each side of the 2.25" section on the front.
  
  Fold. Using double-sided tape and some masking tape, position the insert in your storage space as shown below.
  
  I store the paints by primary, secondary, unsaturated, and colorless (black, gray, white).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Spring-type Clothes Pins: I use for attaching reference material to masonite, for holding books open, for positioning items upright by using the clip as a tripod base...
  


• Cotton balls: Not my own idea but very useful. I keep a few in my box so that I always have one for my clean water source. I use it to dispense water into paint mixes in a highly controlled way. I actually can get only 1 or 2 drops, if that's what I need.
  


• Clear Fingernail Polish: I put a dab of clear fingernail polish on the end of each screw or bolt whose fastener would be easy to lose if the fastener was too loose, especially when carrying the easel. It took two applications, but works well. Wait until the polish dries thoroughly before testing! Have a pair of pliers handy for the first loosening of the nuts. And, of course, you can always remove the nail polish with acetone / polish remover.
  
  
  
• Craft Box:
  I bought this in Target for about $6.00. It has adjustable dividers, and works great for carrying around the material that I most need when painting anywhere, with or without the easel.
  
  The red cardboard box contains sticks of charcoal.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Other

• I put scraps of dishtowelling into the water jar when I pack it up to carry the equipment around. That way I don't have to worry about water leaking out of the container.
  
• I have a boxy notebook (it actually snaps completely shut) that I got at OfficeMax. (It's called a project case and costs about $6.00. It looks like this but without the clipboard, and costs a lot less.) It fits nicely between the wood palette that came with the easel and the lid of the box. With the notebook in place when I close the easel and carry it around, nothing falls out of any of the storage areas. Paints, for instance, stay where I put them.
  
• After much experimentation, I found and bought some gator board (The Art Store, Henrietta, about $17.00) for stretching paper. I protected the edges with clear cellophane packing tape. So far, this is working great. Not a cheap solution, but very light weight!
  
• I have some instructions on assembling and disassembling a French Box Easel.
  
• Also here are some other photos of easel adaptations I have tried and which work well.
  
• Dealing with the heat when painting, especially en plein air
  
  You may have noticed a purple bandana in my painting box. I soak it in water and drape it over my neck and shoulders when painting in a hot place. I don't tolerate heat well.
  
  JG & I tried to figure out how to attach her artist's umbrella to her French Box Easel. So far, no luck. I'll post a solution if we develop one.
  
  I found a set of photos of one woman's solution to the problem of using her umbrella with a lawn chair about halfway down the page, post #41, 5 pictures...
  
  
  
• Another approach to creating working space at the French Box easel:
  I also found a photo of a tool that expands the surface area above the drawer of the french box easel: opens to 34" wide, 13.5" high and is 3.5" deep. I think less deep would suit me better, but still, it's an idea. another reference
  
  At 8 lb, it weighs too much, too.
  
  More good photos / good ideas
  
  Cheers!