Archives of the Art Dog Blog from MacPherson's

GOLDEN Introduces High Flow Marker Set

The new High Flow Marker Set includes 5 colors plus 3 empty markers, providing an ideal way for artists to discover how easy it is to use refillable markers with High Flow Acrylics. Many fine artists have never considered the possibilities of using permanent acrylics in tools, such as markers or pens. This set makes it convenient and easy to give this delivery method a try. Once they try it they’re hooked! The three markers included in the set offer artists the opportunity to try a variety of sizes, from a fine tip to a wider stroke. 1 mm, 2 mm and 15 mm tip sizes, each with its own unique quality, perfect for signatures, fine line detail, or filling in larger areas with more precision. The five, 1 oz. colors offer variety as well:

• Iridescent Pearl (Fine) and Fluorescent Pink are unique, expressive colors, not found in many ink lines.
• Indigo (Anthraquinone), a color that illustrates the high pigment load available with High Flow Acrylics, and Green Gold are go-to colors for many artists.
• Transparent Dioxazine Purple is a bold color from the offering of ten Transparent colors available in High Flow. None of these colors are included in the other two High Flow Sets.

The High Flow Marker Set is accompanied by a pamphlet that provides instructions on how to fill the markers and includes information about the other High Flow colors available in the line. The High Flow Marker Set is available individually (#GD959-0) or as a 6 set display (#GD960-0) for placement in the drawing aisle, front counter, on an end-cap, or alongside canvas and pads for inspiration and trial. Contact your MacPherson’s Account Manager for more information.

NEW! Williamsburg Safflower Colors!

Williamsburg introduces a series of Whites and Transparent Colors milled in Safflower Oil, offering artists more options in their artwork. These 13 colors will retain their brilliance and clarity for a much longer period of time than their Linseed Oil versions. They are ideal for passages of white and glazing in the top layers of a painting. With this introduction comes one unique color not found in the existing line, Porcelain White, a series 4 color made from PW 5, Lithopone, which offers a less brittle semi-transparent alternative for Zinc White. The colors will be supported with a new three-color sample set for Safflower colors (M626110), containing Safflower Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and Ultramarine Pink. Contact your MacPherson’s Account Manager for more information.

Just Paint #30 is Now Online and Landing in Mailboxes Late February

Thirty issues of this technical newsletter and we are delighted to share we are still continuing the dialogue of color! The mission for Just Paint remains: inform and empower artists in the realization and preservation of their creative vision. In this issue we introduce our new Safflower Colors from Williamsburg Oils, highlight the use of High Flow Acrylics in refillable markers and answer questions about mural painting and how to choose the best pigments for exterior use, among many other topics. To read these articles and much more, go to http://www.goldenpaints.com/justpaint/index.php or you can visit www.justpaint.org, a new web site dedicated to housing all past issues of the Just Paint newsletter and so much more. If additional printed copies of Just Paint are required for in-store presentation or staff distribution, contact your MacPherson’s Account Manager for ordering instructions.

Quick, bold strokes for freestyle sketching!

The soft, wide graphite core sweeps smoothly across the paper for a fast, even lay down of tone but is equally suited to detailed work. Derwent Sketching is available in three degrees which blend together beautifully, creating subtle variations in tone and mood. Use in addition to Derwent water-soluble sketching pencils, ideal for loose free sketches and bold line drawings. Add water and bring a new dimension to your work. The water gently dissolves the graphite into subtle tones; use to create softness or drama in your line work.

Derwent Sketching is available in degrees; HB, 2B and B. They are available in open stock, a tub of 24 of each degree, a blister of 4 (including 1 8B water-soluble sketching pencil) and in a tin of 6 (two of each degree).

Derwent Water-Soluble Sketching is available in degrees; HB – Light Wash, 4B – Medium Wash, 8B – Dark Wash in open stock,  a tub of 24 of each degree and a tin of 6 (2 of each degree).

Both ranges have a wide 4mm core, in an 8mm round barrel. Click here for more product details on MacPherson’s OEX website.

Strathmore Artist Papers has announced that they have started to launch short product videos for 2014, with the first video focusing on Strathmore Artist Tiles. These product videos are perfect to share on your retailer social media sites. They are also a great tool to educate in-store staff on product uses and specifications. Run the videos in your store on a continuous loop through a monitor to generate excitement around Strathmore  products with your consumers. The videos will be published on www.strathmoreartist.com as they are created, and on Strathmore’s social media sites which include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest. Videos will also be available on DVD upon request.

As a reminder, Strathmore’s video library also includes all previously published Workshop Series videos, which are also available on their YouTube channel. These videos encourage creativity and educational activities around areas artists have requested. All new workshop videos will be posted on YouTube as each workshop concludes.

Contact your MacPherson’s representative today to determine how you can increase your sales with Strathmore products and videos!

Visit Strathmore Artist Papers™ on social media at:

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Pinterest

Tombow has launched 5 new carded color pencil sets – Primary, Soft Primary, Fluorescent, Grayscale and Sepia – to augment its range of Irojiten Color Pencils.

Irojiten means Color Dictionary in Japanese…and are the new definition of Premium Quality Color Pencils. Beautifully crafted, Irojiten pencils feature high quality color cores with more pigment and less wax than other color pencils.  The higher pigment load produces a smooth consistent finish, precise details and sharp lines with no waxy build-up and no waxy bloom, allowing you to build up more layers of color for a beautiful luminosity.  They are encased in hard wood with a white enamel finish and coordinated enamel color ends.  The color pencil cores are glued the entire length of the pencil for easy, break-free sharpening. The unique color system featuring 9 color palettes with 10 colors in the same tonality for great color matching and blending including a range of primary, fluorescent, pale, vivid, deep and neutral color palettes. The 10 fluorescent colors glow under a black light. This color selection features a fantastic range of greens, earth tones, pale and soft pastel colors not available in other color pencil collections, making them ideal for landscape, floral and portrait artists.

Learn how Tombow Color Pencils can increase the productivity of your retail space by contacting your MacPherson’s Sales representative.

We are offering a very special promotional discount on the Irojiten Pencil’s March 13 through May 13, 2013

An extra 20% discount on the TB51991 Display (50/20% off $1,614.50 or $645.80) net. (The Irojiten display features a Small Foot Print, 19.5“H, 10.5” W, 7.75” D, for easy placement in your store. Includes 540 Pencils, 6 of each color.)

An extra 25% discount on open stock colors (50/25% off)

An extra 25% discount on Sets (50/25% off)

POW! WOW! Hawaii is a mass gathering of the top Urban Artists from around the globe over Valentine’s Day week each year.  Now in its fourth consecutive year, the event has grown from a handful of artists coming together to paint several canvases, to 100 artists coming to transform Honolulu’s industrial Kaka’ako district into a wonderland of 60+ large scale murals.  The week of painting is complimented by gallery shows, a pop-up shop, music and art lectures, and ends with a huge night market and block party event with amazing murals both new and from years past completing the urban backdrop, attended by several thousand people.  This years event was sponsored by Montana Cans.

Participation for artists is by invitation only and is carefully curated.  Top names this year included Ron English, a well known artist in the urban and pop art scene, to James Jean, who is selling canvas works for $150K plus, but painted his very first mural ever (a huge success!) at this years POW! WOW!  Artists came from all around the globe – DabsMyla out of Melbourne, Australia to Nychos out of Vienna, Austria, as well as old school G’s like Cope2 out of the Bronx.  A whole host of local artists from Hawaii were there to represent, several of them painting murals that also served as tributes to Hawaiian culture that featured historical figures.  The week long event not only serve to beautify the local community, but also fosters the development of the Urban Artist community with organized dinners and events almost each night, as well as shared lodging for up to 75 of the artists in a large house on the North Shore.  This week of socializing and living together really makes a unique experience for the artists, allowing them to share and learn from each other. For more information on the event visit www.powwowhawaii.com.

ColArt has announced they have withdrawn the Winsor & Newton Artist’s Water Colour Sable brushes from their spring promo due to the ongoing ban on sable hair the the US Department of Fish and Wildlife. Last year without notice they asked Sable brush importers for new documentation regarding the harvesting of Sable hair and until the new information is submitted and approved by them. Winsor & Newton and all other manufacturer’s will no longer be importing Kolinsky Sable brushes. For a complete explanation of what is going on, and a pretty good prognosis of the timeline and resolution, read a summary written by Global Art’s Tom Dix Here.

MacPherson’s SoCal salesperson extraordinaire Sandy Goodstein gave us all a scare when she was recently rushed to the hospital  where she underwent emergency quadruple bypass surgery. We have good news! She’s recovering quickly and should back up to top form in as little as 6 weeks! Just home from her hospital stay, her first words say it all, “I’m already bored”!

We are sorry to announce that Scott Present left MacPherson’s  February 7 to pursue his DJ business full time.  Scott played a key role in launching the Montana brand and creating our graffiti channel business. His most recent role was as our inside sales lead for our graffiti channel customers. Anyone interested in exploring this career  opportunity should send their resume to Jacquie Lochelt at jacquiel@macphersonart.com

Great news from Sanford/Newell Rubbermaid. Jim Kelly is returning to the Art industry as the Director of Sales for the Specialty Division of Newell Office Products. The specialty division consists of Fine Art, Fine Writing, B2B, and IT VARs.

With heavy hearts we announce that Bill Kaplan, MacPherson’s Director of Merchandising based in our Emeryville, CA office will be leaving us in April to pursue new opportunities. Qualified candidates who would like to lead our team of experienced and motivated category managers should send their resume to Natasha Nicholson-Bjerre at natashan@macphersonart.com

It is rumored that Guillaume Pailleret, Managing Director, Latin America for Hamelin Group will move to the USA to lead Canson in April. Guillaume was previously with Canson-Talens and Kolo.

Michaels, CEO Chuck Rubin announced that Paula Puleo, EVP – Chief Marketing Officer, has resigned to pursue other interests.  They have begun an extensive search for the next leader of their Marketing team. In the interim, leadership of the Marketing team will be provided by Shawn Hearn.

Check out this great video celebrating a gathering last year of the M.A.C. – Montana Artist Collective in San Francisco. M.A.C. is a group of internationally recognized writers and artists who are at the forefront of their game. Innovators and leaders in their fields, making an impact worldwide on their peers as well as the “normal” world. Coming together to make extraordinary creative projects happen, the M.A.C. enables these artists a platform to use as a firm base to develop and launch creative ideas and projects. The M.A.C. consists of Revok, Dmote, Reyes, Sever, Risk, Steel, Wane, Cantwo, Cope2, Atom & Kent. Check the website M.A.C. website

A SCAD student

Savannah College of Art and Design(SCAD) in Atlanta has partnered with Newell Rubbermaid to help the company permanently capture the essence of its brands and celebrate the company’s new Sharpie brand headquarters and consumer marketing hub in Atlanta. The project calls for SCAD students to redesign Sharpie’s marketing floor with bold new murals. The Corporate/Academic collaboration will encourage idea generation and sharing, and promote creativity among Newell Rubbermaid’s brands.

On CBS’ 60 Minutes this week there’s a story on Wolfgang Beltracchi, arguably  the worlds most successful art forger. He was brought down and is now serving jail time because he used Old Holland’s Zinc White that unbeknownst to him had a trace of Titanium which had not been invented at the time of the artist he was mimicking. Catch the whole story at: The Con Artist or watch this intriguing teaser!

There’s also a Kickstarter project out there that tickled our fancy. It’s an effort to get some start-up money to make a unique animated movie on Vincent vanGogh. It looks amazing! Click here for the Kicktarter Link or watch the short concept video here: