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Community Enthusiast News & Media Professionals This just in! New products we are excited about

Wet Paint Holiday Exclusives

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We work with artists and vendors around the world to come up with unique products and sets that aren’t available anyplace else…we have fun finding cool stuff and we often come up with some amazing deals! Here are the exclusives from our current holiday catalog:

YHTB3SETHolbein Acryla Gouache Custom Set Eighteen 22ml colors hand chosen by your friends at Wet Paint, packed into a limited edition collector’s tin featuring the drawings of artist Yuko Higuchi. $110.95 (MSRP $185.00)

Natural Pigments Ceracolor Custom Set Eight 50ml tubes of this unique, wax based, water-soluble paint. Includes three 5×7” Ampersand Claybords. $89.95 (MSRP $123.81)

Bee Paper Big Bee Custom Box One each of four 9×9” spiral bound books, each with different paper types. Packaged in a Bee emblazoned box, ready for gifting.  $31.95 (MSRP $63.80)

PEGGYThe Ultimate Brush Lettering Kit Everything you need to learn the art of hand lettering, chosen by our friend, Portland’s Peggy Dean. $44.95 (MSRP $64.75)

Natural Pigments Rublev Oil Custom Set Six 50ml tubes of professional grade oil paint formulated from historic pigments and without additives. Also includes a 50ml tube of Velazquez Medium and an 8×10” oil primed linen Artefex Panel. $145.95 (MSRP $179.84)

Marty Owings Custom Set Blogger & buddy, Marty Owings, developed this sketching set exclusively for Wet Paint…Hahnemühle and Stillman & Birn pads, Faber Castell and Derwent colored pencils, plus a sharpener and an eraser in an excellent zippered case! $39.95 (MSRP $56.22) PLEASE NOTE: Due to unexpected demand, we are out of stock on this item. Please reserve yours now for when we have more available. ETA TBD. 

Sally Jo Power Marbled Paper Grab Bags Hand marbled in Minnesota & only available at Wet Paint. Each bag contains over 15 uniquely sized sheets. $15.00

344747WPLeuchtturm Medium Dot Custom Journal Beautiful blue cover features a distinctive, limited edition embossing that makes a subtle nod to your favorite artists’ supply store! $19.95

Schmincke Horadam 2017 “New 12” ½ Pan Tin A twelve color “split primary plus” palette chosen from the 35 new colors introduced for Schmincke’s 125th Anniversary in 2017. The tin has room for eighteen ½ pans, so room for six more of your favorites. Indispensable for the painter, sketcher, architect or designer. $69.95 ($225.00 MSRP) PLEASE NOTE: We have our second batch of these sets arriving in late November. Please reserve yours now for when we have more available.

Angelus Shoe & Leather Custom Set Customize your kicks and jazz up your jacket…this exclusive set has everything you need to get started! $28.95 ($31.14 MSRP)

WP003Richeson Oils Split Primary Custom Set Only at Wet Paint! Featuring warm & cool primaries, plus a free white, this set is ideal for the beginner that wants to learn with professional-grade oil paint. $59.95 (MSRP $121.30)

Tara Fredrix 150th Anniversary Canvas Celebrate this 2018 milestone early with this 16×20” pre-stretched gallery canvas at an amazing price! $7.99 ($39.00 MSRP)

Princeton Watercolor 5 Brush Custom Set A curated selection of the best Princeton has to offer, including a 1 ½” mottler, ¾” oval & 3/8” dagger striper from the Neptune range (the “thirsty” faux squirrel filament is amazing), a #10 “long round” Velvetouch (unique shape, great feel), and a #6 round Kolinsky Sable Siberia, one of the finest watercolor brushes available. $89.95 ($168.70 MSRP)

PROCOMBOAlvin Professional Table Combo Stand or sit at this collapsible drafting table that’s so durable it has a lifetime guarantee. This is the table that Scott bought in college and he still uses it today! Comes with an extremely rugged, adjustable utility stool and a clamp-on LED lamp. $449.99 ($720.99 MSRP)

 

 

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Big News from Wet Paint

Pictured: Scott Fares, Beth Bergman, and Darin Rinne
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Pictured: Scott Fares, Beth Bergman, and Darin Rinne
Pictured: Scott Fares, Beth Bergman, and Darin Rinne

As Wet Paint enters its 41st year on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul owner Beth Bergman is excited to announce her retirement at the end of 2016. Long-time employees Darin Rinne and Scott Fares will become the new proprietors. After 33 years provisioning artists in the Twin Cities and across the country Beth intends to move to the other side of the counter and focus on making art herself.

Wet Paint is renowned for its excellent selection of over 35,000 high quality art supplies and papers and the knowledgeable staff that supports artists of all levels of intention. Located at the corner of Grand and Cambridge, Wet Paint has grown from a small storefront serving local students into a nationally and internationally recognized center for quality and expertise. In 2015 the store expanded to increase the framing department and add space dedicated to classes for kids and adults on everything from origami and printmaking to watercolor techniques and mat cutting.  Bergman and Wet Paint are both well known for their support of the arts, artists, and independent business, a distinction that will continue under Darin and Scott’s direction.

For questions please contact Scott Fares or Darin Rinne at 651 698 6431. Email: darin@wetpaintart.com, scott@wetpaintart.com.

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Community Enthusiast Professionals This just in! New products we are excited about

In the store this week: a list of orders that have arrived at Wet Paint

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Waiting on a special item that we ordered for you? Or just like to know when we get in your favorite brand of ink?  Here is a list that we will update weekly to keep you in-the-know!

Looking for a specific item? Call the store 651-698-6431

Week of March 28th:

Decomposition Sketch Books -Coilbound (new style) and Tape Bound (We’ve had a few tape bound books before)
7.5” X 9.75” & 4” X 6” (in limited styles) Now in several new cover designs! These books are made with 100% PCW recycled pages and are printed with soy ink. The coilbound book features micro-perforated pages.

New Custom Schmincke Watercolor Set #74745097

New Croquis Books and Pads from Holbein –Darin’s pick fave new sketchbooks
Spiral bound neutral pH Paper, Featuring some dapper drawings of animals, nature, and even a gesso hot tub!

Custom Sketch books from Global- Artwork by LMNOP Art

Shinola Journals- Both hard bound linen, soft bound linen, and paperback books of varying sizes and colors, consisting of pages of 60lb paper and an expandable pocket.

More new things from Global:New colors of the Pastel Premier* paper in both 26×20 sheets and 9×12 pochettes. This is a sanded pastel paper, double primed 145 lb sheet; now available in Terracotta, Buff, and Slate. Drawing 160 Pads Ideal for all dry media, pen and ink, and light washes. 100lb paper and 24 sheets per pad.

*Great replacement for Wallis Pastel Paper!

Week of Sept. 14th:

-Handbook Journals

-Rives BFK

-Wax Seals

-Logan Mat Cutters

 

Week of Sept. 7th:

-Japanese Nibs

-Platinum Carbon Pen

-Noodler’s Ink (select colors)

-R&F Encaustic and Pigment Sticks

-Coloring Books for Adults from Clairefontaine

-Prat Flexbooks

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Community Enthusiast Events at Wet Paint Professionals Students

Wet Paint’s 2nd Annual Summer Postcard Project

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Going somewhere fun this summer? Or, having a productive stay-cation? Draw, paint, or mix up your media on a postcard-sized paper and mail it to Wet Paint! We’re putting together an exhibition of mail art from our friends and fans wherever they may be. As postcards arrive, we will photograph them to share on our social media pages and then display them in our storefront windows. At the end of the summer, we’ll host a public art opening here at Wet Paint for all of the contributing artists!

postcardimage15There’s no limit to how many postcards you can send, but in order to participate, postcards have to arrive at Wet Paint via our friendly postal carrier – – no dropping them off at the store! Don’t forget to sign your postcard(s) and let us know how to reach you. We want to make sure we’re crediting you when we post the work online and we want to be able to contact you with details about the end of summer art opening on August 29th.
General Guidelines:
-We are a family-friendly shop, so please tailor your images & words to be suitable for viewers of all ages.
-We reserve the right to not display postcards that we feel are inappropriate for this activity.
-All artwork must be original.
-In order to have your postcard displayed in our end of summer exhibition, you’ll need to have it postmarked by August 21st, 2015.
-All participating mail art must arrive at Wet Paint via US Mail.
-Keep in mind that postcards will “wear” a bit depending on how far they travel- which is part of the fun of mail art!
-Contact your local post office for shipping and postage information.
-Send one or send one every week! We’ve got big windows!

Note: If you are willing, Wet Paint will be up-cycling the postcards (mounting on Strathmore cards) to then donate to Women’s Advocates.  Please let us know if you DO NOT want your postcard donated.
More info about the end of summer exhibition and opening on August 29th to follow.

Wet Paint Address:

Wet Paint
Summer Postcard Project
1684 Grand Ave
St. Paul, MN 55105

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Wet Paint loves Josh & Carl

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Painting along Northshore by NeilWe got Don Colley packed up and shipped out on the AMTRAK this morning and we are already changing gears at Wet Paint.  We’ve got a 2fer this Thursday evening.  We truly believe the weather is taking a turn toward warmth and Josh Cunningham and Carl Judson will be outside the store in full plein air regalia.  Josh Cunningham is a favorite Wet Paint customer, a well-respected painter of our Minnesota landscape and cityscape and a truly generous artist.  Josh will be working on a new painting and is ready and willing to talk shop about painting, materials and the specific issues of alla prima with any and all of you interested artists.

carlWhen I saw Carl Judson, founder of Guerrilla Painter, at the art materials show earlier this month, Carl said he could stop by Wet Paint on his road trip back to Colorado.  We lucked out to get him to come through St Paul on the same day as Josh’s demo.  So besides getting to talk with Josh about painting, you get to visit with Carl about the equipment he manufactures to make plein air painting more seamless and compact for the artist.  The last time Carl came by we had a lively conversation about collapsible palettes.  See a demonstration of all the bells and whistles of the Guerrilla Painter line of rugged pochade like boxes.

This is also a great opportunity for you to get Judson’s recent publication, “A Guerrilla Painter’s Notebook III.”  This volume covers such topics as the underappreciated role of the amateur painter, Judson’s own paintings, Judson’s monograph of a favorite artist, Julian Livingston Peabody, and high points of his guerrilla painter travels around the country.  This is a gem of a publication and shows Carl’s talents and appreciations as a true Renaissance individual.

This will be a truly delightful evening with Josh and Carl talking about topics they hold dear.  Their talents and generosity of spirit will inspire and encourage you to start a new picture.  Maybe we can get Josh to paint the front of Wet Paint (he has done the parking lot view; the painting is on view at the store).  Take a look at the new value added Guerrilla Box special kits.  It’s only available in brick and mortar art supply stores.

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Wet Paint loves Don Colley

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DON-COLLEY-Darin-NAMTAThree years ago I returned from a workshop all excited about a product demonstrator working with Faber-Castell.  Don Colley not only knows his product line but knows how to use these materials with great nuance, sketches with daily obsession and shares his sketchbooks for mutual inspiration.  After checking his website we found Don had captured our own manager, Darin Rinne, in a sketch at a recent trade show.  It seemed everything was pointing toward a great relationship between Don Colley and Wet Paint.  Don has visited us many times and offered many programs with great success.  This year’s visit has 3 diverse components.  Hopefully one will fit into your drawing schedule.

On_the_Go_with_PITT_Artist_PensThe Mini Master Class with Don Colley takes place at Wet Paint this Friday May 16th.  In this small group session Don will share his drawing techniques and urban sketching strategies.  You will learn how to capture the figure in everyday settings, shading with markers and the use of the sketchbook page.  Time is also set aside to share your sketchbook for individualized consultation.  This workshop requires advanced registration and a fee.  Space is available but limited.

springcon14Saturday and Sunday Don will join Wet Paint’s mini-store at SpringCon, the Midwest Comic Book Association’s spring celebration at the State Fair Grounds.  Besides being available all day for drawing and chat, Don has a “Big Drawing Session”  4-5 on Saturday.  There will be live costumed characters to draw and everyone is encouraged to join in this drawing session.  Just show a sign at the ticket booth that says “I’m here to draw with Don Colley” and you will get $1 off the admission price.  You may also donate your drawing to the charity auction where 100% of the proceeds benefit the Minnesota Lupus Foundation.

bellmuseumsmallDon has created his own night at the museum with the Bell at the U of MN on Monday May 19th.  This is the last day of the Minnesota legislative session which will determine funding for a new home for the Bell, so this event may have some editorial content.  Join Don for an all-night sketch-a-thon.  Bring your sketching materials as well as camping gear.  Contact Wet Paint or the Bell Museum for entry time and further details.

As you can tell from this lineup, Don is an artist with extreme talent, a true sense of artistic adventure, limitless energy and a big heart.  It’s just the right time for you to collaborate with Don at Wet Paint, SpringCon and/or the Bell Museum.

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Graham on Graham – A Winning Combination

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Greg Graham

If you’ve been a customer of Wet Paint over the past twenty years, you know Greg Graham.  Greg came to Wet Paint from New York State via graduate school in printmaking and sales training in the shoe business as well as Arlene’s Artist materials in Albany.  After all these years of Minnesota nice, Greg maintains his New York edge. Many of you get his personalized attention and advice during your regular visits to Wet Paint.  Tonight we put Greg in the spotlight when he will actually demonstrate his painting techniques using one of Wet Paint’s quality lines of acrylic paint.

artgraham
Art Graham

Art Graham got out of art school and learned the art of paint making from the masters in New York City at Grumbacher during that brand’s heyday.  After too many years of big city living and corporate art materials company buyouts, Art moved to Oregon and built his own paint company, M. Graham.  In facilities not much bigger than a three car garage, Art, his partner Diana and a tiny staff, produce watercolor, gouache, oil and acrylic.  He keeps his product lines short and sweet, just doing it his way.  I am always surprised that the big companies in art materials never recognize the quality of Graham’s paints.  In blind testing, his colors repeatedly equal if not surpass the category leaders.

Ignore tonight’s weather and come over to Wet Paint and see Greg Graham’s painting demonstration with Art Graham’s paint.  It is a winning combination.

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Spring Classes at Wet Paint

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Wet Paint has two definite camps of customers, one of learners and one of teachers.  There is a regular quest for classes and demos from those who hunger for more knowledge.  I believe it is the nature of many artists to be on a continuous path of learning.  At the same time there are artists who are so enthusiastic and passionate about their art that they cannot contain themselves from sharing their knowledge and experience.   I believe for many, being a teacher is synonymous with being an artist.  Wet Paint is a perfect place to introduce these two camps to each other and we are actively experimenting with different formats where these creative individuals intersect.

ioanastoianWe are fortunate to bring Ioana Stoian to Wet Paint for two origami workshops.  Ioana’s passion is paper and folding.  A professional and an active member of the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper artists, Stoian has written a book, Origami for All, Elegant Designs from Simple Folds, which contains her own original origami designs.  Each workshop has unique seasonal designs which you will learn from a master yet requires no previous experience.  We are trying out some new time slots on these classes, one on Tuesday evening, March 25th and one on Wednesday morning on April 16th.

wetpaintclassesJoyce Francis needs no introduction.  A master calligrapher in search of new artistic outlets, Joyce found the art of contemplative patterning, Zentangle, to be her new passion.  We have had other Zentangle workshops with Joyce and the participants always ask for more.  We have two sessions of the same class coming up on Saturday, March 22.  No experience required.

These classes at Wet Paint are all hands-on 2 hour workshops.  Materials are included and you will have a finished project at the end of the class.  There are workshop fees and registration is required.  You can sign up online, by phone or in person.  If classes don’t meet a minimum enrollment 3 days before the session begins, the class will be cancelled and your class fee will be refunded.

Special offer through March 16

If you sign up for one of these 4 classes over this weekend, you will receive a coupon to be used on a future purchase at Wet Paint. Click here to go to our Events page.

Wet Paint At Large

yumingzhuOver the past few years we have helped bring Sumi-e artist and teacher Yuming Zhu to the Twin Cities.  His following is so great we need to partner with other members of our creative community who have more space.  This April, Yuming is not only teaching a 2 day Sumi-e Painting workshop at Bloomington Theatre and Art Center (BTAC), he will also lecture to accompany an exhibit of his artwork at the Eagan Community Center.

Plus Yuming is offering a unique class on Mounting Techniques for Sumi-e Art on Monday, April 14th, at BTAC.  Many artists who have studied with Yuming have asked for training on this specific sumi-e technique of traditional wet mounting.  This is an intermediate to experienced class, focused on those with a sumi-e and/or framing background.  This is a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience at a master’s side.

The programs at BTAC and Eagan require registration through those respective venues.

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Art & Change

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bricemardenRecently I came across a video (see below) by one of my favorite painters, Brice Marden.   A “Theory of Painting” start out saying, one of the things about painting is “it stays that way.  You’re different, but it remains the same.”

Two years ago Darin, Wet Paint’s General Manager, saw maybe “the best painting ever” at the Figge Art Museum in Dubuque.  It was Jackson Pollock’s, “Mural,” (featured image for this post) on loan from the Museum of Art at the University of Iowa.  Jay, Wet Paint’s delivery service and handyman, stopped by the museum a few days later and was totally awed.  The next summer we went to see the Pollock which by that time was at the Des Moines Art Center.  Jay didn’t believe it was the same painting.  The lighting was so different from one museum to the other, it completely changed the painting.

poserRight now I am reading “Poser – My life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses” by Claire Dederer.  This personal memoir moves between growing up in the 1970s and the present, with chapters organized by the poses of her yoga practice.  She writes about her attachment to books in her youth as a way to cope with separated parents.  As a child she would read “Little Women” over and over again because it didn’t change; the story was the same every time she read it and that gave some permanence to a life in flux.

“My life in 30 Years of Art Supplies” would feature at least one chapter on how hard it is for people, artists, employees, customers, to accept change.  I’ve always thrived on change myself.  That is until I met the internet.  It seems that Facebook changes how you find your friends about every other day.

This circuitous route brings me to announce a change at Wet Paint.  This is the soft opening of our new website. http://www.wetpaintart.com.   Our computer system which runs everything from cash registers to mailing lists offered a new platform for our website.  It promises changes that will enhance your online experience with Wet Paint.  We have tried to present our instore culture with online content as well as offering online sales too. It has been a long process because we are constantly changing our products, offering new events, writing new content.  So bear with us while we work out the kinks.  There are some links that the vast web of the internet hasn’t found yet.

http://www.figgeartmuseum.org/

http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/.

http://www.clairedederer.com/

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Enkaustikos, a New Wax Cycle

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As art movements wax and wane between figurative and landscape, realism and abstraction, the popularity of mediums change with the era too.  Encaustic, the art of painting with wax, is one of the oldest techniques, dating back to antiquity.  Anyone sitting through a required history and techniques class in college touched on the subject.  In the second half of the 20th century, there were diverse individual artists who picked up the process such as Jasper Johns and Brice Marden.  Until recently, dipping into encaustics meant reading recipes, acquiring the raw materials and manufacturing your own color and mediums.

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Kathryn Bevier monoprint using Enkaustikos paints

As we approached the end of the 20th century, a few art materials manufacturers came up with formulas to create “readymade” encaustic colors and mediums so artists could spend their time making art rather than making paint.  One of these companies, Enkaustikos, has taken the block of colored wax a few steps further.  They looked at the block of wax that artists put into a metal pot on their heated surface to melt and decided to sell their color in shoe polish sized tins to eliminate this step in the process.  Since then they have pressed their wax paint into “Sticks” and “Snaps,” giving the artist smaller increments for using colored wax and also giving them wax shapes to use like drawing materials.  They have taken some of the oldest art materials and reshaped them to meet contemporary artists’ needs.

Hot-Sticks-MonoprintingSome of these developments have turned into great materials to use encaustic techniques in monoprinting.  Printmaking has also experienced resurgence recently.  The marrying of these two techniques reflects the current movement of mixed media art making.

We want you to experience encaustic and encaustic monoprinting for yourself.  Join Kathryn Bevier from Enkaustikos this Saturday, January 18th, at Wet Paint.  Kathryn not only works as an encaustic artist but is involved in the manufacturing of the Enkaustikos product line.  This is a great opportunity to try out something new and ask a bunch of questions of a true expert in the field.

Click here for details and sign up for this demo.

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