all in an inch

Liquid watercolors on an ATC

If you follow Jill Foster's blog, Inspired By, you will notice that she switches back and forth between all sorts of coloring mediums from pastels, to pencils, inks and paints. Today she is taking advantage of the bright color qualities of Dr. Ph Martin's Hydrus Watercolors on a white ATC size Art Square that she stamped with a Penny Black image in waterproof ink.  

By using a vivid contrasting color for the background, rather than a subtle neutral, and then a simple jute tie in the same color, she completely elevates this image. It's a good lesson for the rest of us to not be afraid to use vibrant colors.  

And don't forget to 'go off the edges' with color because an Art Square is a solid core material and you can actually color the sides!

Distress markers, inks and paints on a 4" Art Square?!

It's grunge holly!

With lots of different layers of color and mediums it's easy to see why Art Squares are the perfect surface for all those water based coloring techniques.

But a 4" Art Square?!

Many of you have talked to us about how the material is just the right surface for mixed media, but wish that there was a size just a little bit bigger. We thought we would pass out a few test samples to our artist friends and Design Teams and get their opinions.

Let us know your thoughts as well. Please leave us a comment here on the blog, or on the Inchie Arts Facebook page.

And in the meantime, visit Jill's blog today for the specifics of this wonderful holiday card!

 

Use an Art Square to paint what you see

Very few of us have the opportunity to choose from such an exotic assortment of flora and fauna for the subject matter of our paintings! With such a wide array to choose from, Dina has committed to painting what she sees.   

In the post on her blog today you will be amazed at comparing the photo of this little critter to the watercolor painting she created using Shinhan Premium Watercolors and Twinkling H20's.  

Art Squares are the perfect surface for these paints because the surface of the matboard squares are very similiar to a hot press watercolor paper allowing for a great deal of moisture (for color blending) without bubbling or deterioration.

This ATC size would work well on a card or as a stand alone mini painting!   

Be sure to visit Mama Dini's Stamperia to see if you can tell the difference between her painting and the photo!

Pastels and a poinsettia on a light gray ATC

Day 3 of Jill Fosters Studio Session brings us another fabulous card created by stamping an image onto a colored ATC size Art Square and coloring it with Faber-Castell PITT Pastel Pencils.

In yesterdays posting she stamped and colored onto a dark gray ATC. Today she is stamping and coloring on the light gray. It's a rich pearl gray color and creates a subtle yet elegant background for this particular image...a Penny Black poinsettia.

The PITT Pastels are the perfect coloring medium to use on the Art Squares as their surface is similar to an artist quality drawing paper and blending is a breeze. 

Art Squares come in 5 different sizes:

1", 1.5", 2", 3" and ATC size

And 7 different colors:

white, ivory, dark cream, wheat, light gray, dark gray and black

Stop by Jill's blog and learn the coloring details for the fabulous holiday card! 

       

 

Pastels on a dark gray ATC size Art Square

We are often asked for suggestions on how to use the dark gray Art Squares. Jill's posting today is a perfect example!

She stamped the Penny Black candle image in black ink and then used Faber-Castell PITT Pastels to color the image. The opaque quality of the pastels combined with the dark surface of the ATC size Art Square really makes the coloring stand out. And the 'pebbly' quality of the top side of the Art Square mimics that of a fine art paper, making it an ideal surface for coloring with pastels.    

Be sure and visit Jill's blog today for the details. 

Check out this blog hop

The first stop on a wonderful blog hop with Gina K  Designs and Faber Castell is Paperfections; the creative blog of our very own design team member, Sharon Harnist. 

Sharon's Thanksgving card illustrates one of the most important properties of our Art Squares - absorbency without deterioration. After stamping she colors with both Aquarelle pencils and Gelatos and then uses water and brush to blend the colors. By beginning with an ivory ATC size Art Square she is able to create an extra richness and subtle tone that adds to the fall coloring of her materials.

To see the details, and opportunities to win free products, visit Sharon's blog, Paperfections.