The Derwent XL range comes in two types – XL Charcoal in rich natural color and XL Graphite in dense graphic tones of water-soluble color.
Graphite and Charcoal are traditional drawing tools, but these big blocks of color are not stuck in the past. These chunky blocks measure 0.787″ x 0.787″ x 2.36″, so they are big and bold!
Check out the work of Joseph Loughborough. His wonderful paintings in XL Charcoal blocks utilise the bold marks the blocks make and he’s had fun with the Groove Cube creating interest, layers and texture by overlapping the linear lines over one another.
The Groove Cube (supplies are limited) works great with either XL Charcoal and XL Graphite. See more of his work here: Joseph Loughborough
Grab yourself a tin and see what bold marks you can create.
XL Charcoal is available in 6 colors; Ochre, Sanguine, Mars Violet, Sepia, Black and White. They produce broad sweeping marks to the most delicate lines, blend easily and layer over each other. Charcoal is naturally water-soluble, so splash some water on there and experiment!
XL Graphite is also available in 6 colors; Olive Green, Dark Prussian, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Soft and Very Soft. These last two are dense dark graphite, perfect for deep tonal work and expressive marks. This soft fine art graphite is water-soluble. Try working with water or embossing tools, or lifting out tone and color with an eraser.
Supported by 3 accessories, the Groove Cube which carves lines in the block’s surface to create a wealth of marks and textures. The Sprinkler when used with the blocks creates a powder graphite or charcoal and XL Grippers keep your hands and the block clean and allow for a steady grip.
Available individually and in tins of 6 XL Graphite and 6 XL Charcoal. Both are on BTS promotion at 50/10/10% (59.5%).
Gerard O’Mahony,Canson/Hamelin’s USA CEO will be leaving the company and returning to the UK for personal reasons. He has taken a similar position at a UK based greeting card company called Carte Blanche Greetings, LTD The structure of CansonNorth America will change a bit going forward. Sonja Stewart, the longtime controller has moved up to CEO and will be bringing on a Commercial Director whose responsibilities will include market and brand development, sales, as well as strategy development.
Ronald Benning, Royal Talens
In related news, effective Dec 31, 2015 CansonNorth America will no longer be distributing Royal Talens. Ronald Benning, the Holland based Royal Talens CEO will be responsible for creating a seamless path forward for this significant brand in the North American market.
A sad day for MacPherson’s, a broken life and a big hope that justice will be served.
DNAInfo a NYC news blog reports that Steve Steinberg’s New York Central Art Supply, the 110-year-old East Village art supply shop that has counted artists like Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning as customers, is offering its first-ever “warehouse sale” as it prepares to restructure its business. Previously they had speculated that the store would be closing at the end of the year.
New York Central Art Supply
Annette Wichmann of Kensington Art & Frame in Calgary had the honor of hosting a ShawTV interview with artist and customer Jeff Lyons.
Stabilo has just moved into their cool new Nuremberg, Germany headquarters dubbed “the Cube”. Not only is their unique buildings design forward, but in keeping with the company’s products the interior is a riot of color.
The Stabilo Cube
Inside the Cube
Jerry Seinfeld took fellow comedian Jim Carrey for coffee and they ended up taking a tour of Carrey’s art studio. Wow, is he in love with acrylic paint and in particular Golden’s heavy body! Mountains of Golden tubes along with Montana GOLD spray paint are ready for action next to enormous blank canvases. Looking at the size of the canvases, it’s no surprise the Jim needs so much paint. Go big or go home! Check out the link to the full video and find your way to the 14 minute mark! Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
One of Faber Castell’s videos featuring Project Runway contestant, Valerie Mayen and produced by Think Media received the prestigious Gold Addy Award by the American Advertising Federation.
In related and very creative Faber Castell news, the German writing instrument company was a sponsor at NYC’s Drawing Center’s annual gala held this year at the Cipriani on Broadway. The company’s trademark hunter green pencils were included in the “goody bags” at the gala. The event was held in honor of artist: Will Cotton, fashion designer: Prabal Gurung, and the former board co-chair of the Drawing Center,Frances Beatty Adler. Each honored guest received a different award with Frances Adler receiving the Director’s Award; artist Will Cotton with the Drawing Center Award, and designer Prabal Gurung with the Creativity Award.
Wyatt Moody, former longtime SLS rep from Tavares, Florida died of a heart attack last week. He was 49 years old.
Wyatt Moody
Daler Rowney has a few positions open: Marketing Executive Fine Art: A new job position created to accompany the development of the Daler-Rowney Fine Art business in North America. Experience in social media required, the position is based in Cranbury, New Jersey. Sales Manager/Key Account East Coast: Existing position in charge of the Daler-Rowney customers/Key Accounts in the East Coast. The position is based in the East Coast. If you are interested, please contact Laurent Duthoit: Laurent.duthoit@daler-rowney.com, Tel : 609-642-1408
Montana Cans has teamed up with artists Victor Ving, and photographer, Lisa Beggs, who are on a cross-country road trip in a RV creating interactive murals that will become future landmarks. These murals are inspired by their love of vintage postcards.
Thank you to MacPherson’s personnel for hosting an incredible workshop! Your planning and preparation led to a very organized, valuable event. The hands-on demonstrations and round-robin presentations were interesting and informative for all. We were pleased to see so many retailers in attendance. Your continued support and enthusiasm for all GOLDEN products is appreciated tremendously!
QoR® Hand-painted Color charts Shipping Now!
All pre-existing QoR retailers will soon receive the new hand-painted colorchart. In the coming weeks, you will receive the piece either directly from GOLDEN or it will be hand-delivered by your GOLDEN Sales Representative.
New Trial Color Sets from Williamsburg:
Signature, Landscape, Traditional and Modern For artists seeking a convenient way to experience some of the color families within Williamsburg, we have assembled four new introductory sets containing eight colors in 11 ml tubes, plus a 37 ml tube of Titanium White. These beautifully packaged, attractively priced sets each include a great selection of colors that are representative of the Williamsburg paintmaking philosophy.
For more detailed information regarding the colors featured in each set, go to www.williamsburgoils.com If you haven’t placed your order yet, don’t wait any longer – contact your MacPherson’s Sales Representative today!
B-T-S MAP Promotional Period Reminder
Remember that advertising can be extended to 40% off everyday beginning on 07/20/15 and expiring on 09/30/15.
Mix More Media – Check it out!
New resources to support the A-Z Acrylic Sets have been added to our website!
Each A-Z Acrylic set contains a booklet guiding the artist through easy to execute exercises to familiarize them with a wide range of GOLDEN products.
Now, each of these exercises has a corresponding video where Working Artist Program Director, Patti Brady, guides the viewer through the process. Sharing these videos in the store or through social media is a great way to connect with customers. The videos incentivize the A-Z Acrylic Set sales as well as stimulate ideas around the many ways to use GOLDEN products.
Each A-Z Acrylic Set exercise is also available on the website as a downloadable lesson plan in PDF format. Share these with local workshop teachers, or print copies to have as hand-outs. All of this great content is part of the new Mix More Media section of GOLDEN’s website, dedicated to the sharing of mixed media ideas and techniques using GOLDEN products. From videos to step-by-step written instructions, this section of the website holds a host of stimulating, creative opportunities.
Increase activity at your retail store by sharing social media content and information about the 2015 Strathmore® catalog cover art submission contest! Strathmore is calling all artists to submit their work, which will be featured on the cover of the 2016 Product Catalog cover. Artists who submit their work will have a chance to win cash and Strathmore products!
2014 Product Catalog Cover
Strathmore is asking artists to fill in the blank as it relates to the overall theme for the contest, starting with “Make something __________”. We love to celebrate artists who use real materials and real paper to make artwork. We want artists to make their artwork based on the theme of making something, and then fill in the blank to title it to describe their artwork. Examples could be, “make something serene”, “make something colorful”, “make something yellow”, “make something intricate”, etc. Artwork will be featured on Strathmore’s catalog and other promotional materials, or on social media sites. They will be selecting one 1st place winner and four runner-ups, who will also be receiving prizes. Artists selected will be credited by name wherever artwork is featured (social media sites or Strathmore promotional materials).
The artist whose artwork is chosen for the 2016 Product Catalog Cover will be awarded a $300 cash prize.
Four runner-ups will be awarded with $100 retail value of Strathmore® product, selected by Strathmore Artist Papers™.
Anyone is welcome and encouraged to submit their artwork. Style, subjects and mediums used are up to the artist, but it must be created on Strathmore® product! There is no fee to participate. Art will be selected based on aesthetic qualities, technical skill and relation to outlined theme. Final submission due: Wednesday, September 30, 2015. For more information on this contest, and full listing of terms and conditions, please visit Strathmoreartist.com You can also find and share information on this contest on Strathmore’s social media sites at: Facebook or Twitter.
Dear Copic Retailer, I know that there is concern about the lack of Copic product coming from us right now. I wish to offer you an explanation and to do that I will do my best to try and clearly outline the situation at hand.
The problem, albeit a good problem to have, is that the demand for Copic continues to grow at a rapid rate. Most of you are experiencing this on your own and reporting back to us growth rates well into the double digits. III has been growing steadily, however, over the past 6-8 months we have seen some dramatic increases in demand. I would like to congratulate all of you, and our marketing and sales teams on a job well done. However, this wonderful growth is creating some significant challenges for our manufacturing partner, Too Marker Products Inc., in Japan.
As you know, Copic prides itself on quality and consistency. These high standards come at a premium and can only be maintained through consistent manufacturing processes. Increasing the production of Copic is not just about building another machine or increasing production speed, it’s about people. A lot of human hands touch Copic products before they get to you. Ramping up production requires many, many months and very heavy commitments by Too Marker.
We have almost daily discussions with the manufacturer on how to better plan and how to be more prepared for continued increases in demand.
I promise you, everyone is working hard to improve the situation.
In June, Too Marker was able to increase production for both Sketch and Ciao by 20%. By the end of this year, Sketch should be at another 20% increase, and we will continue to push for more.
Please believe the fact that we want to provide the inventory necessary to keep every one in stock.
Like you, our reserves are depleted as we are shipping out the instant product is received. We anticipate that normalcy will start to take shape after the first of the year.
The action plan from Too Marker Products Inc. is this:
An allotment system has been established to cover us over the next 3-4 months. Starting in August, we will know exactly what colors will be shipped to us and when they will arrive at our facility. This communication has not previously been in place, which has added to the frustration in getting you the information that you need.
We are working with Too Marker’s production team to prioritize all of our needs.
What can you do to help? The biggest help to us is to please be patient and kind. Our customer service people are receiving a lot of angry calls, and it doesn’t help. We care about all of you and we already feel bad that we can’t get you product in a timely manner. III is about people. Our relationships with our customers and our partners, like you, are what matter most to us. We are a business just like you, and we are keenly aware that without product, neither of us can make sales. Please keep in mind that our production levels have not dropped, the demand has just grown.
I appreciate your understanding and support. I am available to discuss this with any of you, at any time. Know that we care about you and your business and that we are doing everything we possibly can to get things back in order.
Congratulations to all of us for making Copic one of the most highly demanded products in the industry. Now we need to overcome all of the challenges that come along with it.
