Archives of the Art Dog Blog from MacPherson's

Kyle Richardson reports that his team is officially established as a corporation in the State of Massachusetts, named Royal Talens North America, Inc. Their new warehouse is located in the art and education hub of Northampton, Massachusetts. The new home is a 33,000 square foot warehouse and office space and is just about ready to begin shipping out our products, “with love from the Netherlands”.

See the attached announcement for further details:

RTNA Announcement 11.2015

Steve Steinberg, third-generation owner of New York Central Art Supply in Manhattan, passed away on November 15th from complications due to Parkinson’s disease in his 80th year. Steve was known for his infectious energy, thriving on connecting people and projects in life and in work, and bringing the best art supplies to NYC’s Village community that included many famous artists. He was a witty and funny bon vivant, but also a true man of the people with a huge and caring heart. Steve became the third-generation owner of New York Central Art Supply and was elected to the NAMTA Hall of Fame. He believed there is a place for the independent art supplier who deeply loves what he or she does – serving the art world, and bringing the artists what they want. He believed communication is the way we will survive – not just with customers, but also with each other. Remembrances can be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundationwww.michaeljfox.org or to VNSNY Haven Hospice www.vnsny.org.

Steve Steinberg

Jim Gary

Jim Gary has been promoted to National Sales Manager at Canson-North America

Flax Art & Design celebrated a two-day Grand Opening of their second San Francisco location in Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture on November 7th and 8th. The opening day festivities included live music, art and crafts make and takes, workshops, popcorn, balloons, sales and lots of staff on-hand to answer creative questions.  According to Flax’s website, the 1699 Market Street headquarters store will “relocate to an awesome new space that will be announced soon”.

Kirk Gillespie

Kirk Gillespie has left Savoir Faire to become west coast key account manager for the new Talens-North America

The T-Square Art Supply plans to move to a smaller location after the first of 2016 and down-size to their framing core. Owner Dan Anderson is selling his building and hopes to do a smaller art supply section in his new location.

Matt Kavanagh long time inventory planner at Aaron Brothers has left the company.

Robyn Reeder

Robyn Reeder, former owner of Primary Art in Savannah, Georgia passed away recently. She had just turned 40 years old and had been battling cancer for over 10 years.

Michael Craine

A recent proposed European ban on the use of Cadmium pigments in artists’ paints would have affected the availability of cadmiums across the whole art world. Michael Craine, Rachel Volpé and Angela Brown of Spectrum Cranfield Paints set about raising awareness by rallying artist support and speaking with the EU through the paint maker’s trade organization CEPE. The good news is that the proposal has been withdrawn following unprecedented pressure from artists.

Strathmore is excited to introduce new items to meet consumer’s needs and requests. This WBTS marks the arrival of the NEW Strathmore^® 100 Series Black Chalk pads, and in response to customer demand, the NEW size of Strathmore® 400 Series Colored Pencil pad.

100 Series Black Chalk:

Black surfaces continue to trend upward in consumer interest, as it allows artists to create dramatic effects. Now artists of all ages can enjoy carefree creativity anywhere with Strathmore’s new Black Chalk paper. Bound in a convenient tape binding, this pad also features a special project sheet on the inside cover, offering young artists inspiration and instruction on how to create a finished piece with this product.

Black Chalk Art Project for Kids

The Black Chalk paper itself is a very unique surface. The rough surface is a great choice for chalk, chalk markers, pastels, opaque and gel pens. The sturdy 18 point base stock also offers stability inside or outside of the pad. One of the most unique features of this item is that many dry media (specifically chalks) can actually be wiped off of the surface using a damp cloth. This will create a “weathered” look, similar to what you might remember from your old school classroom. 100 Series Black Chalk pad will begin shipping November 16, 2015 from Strathmore.

Strathmore 100 Series Black Chalk Pad features include:

• Rich black colored paper, with a unique coated surface.
• Rough surface.
• Many dry media can be wiped away with a damp cloth.
• Durable tape binding.
• Acid free.
• Pad includes a fun project instruction sheet on inside cover.
• Made in the U.S.A.
• Available in 9” x 12” pad.

400 Series Colored Pencil:

It can be difficult and intimidating choosing the right quality paper specifically for colored pencil, especially for a newcomer. To make it easier for all artists to enjoy this versatile medium, we are now offering Colored Pencil paper in convenient wire bound pads.

Colored Pencil drawing by Brian Scott

Strathmore 400 Series Colored Pencil Paper provides a clean white, toothy surface that is ideal for a variety of colored pencil techniques. Smooth, even coverage can be achieved, and the heavy weight combined with the vellum surface allows for the application of multiple layers. The durable surface can stand up to repeated erasures and reworking. It is also excellent for use with pencil, charcoal, and sketching stick. Our 400 Series Colored Pencil 6” x 8” pad will begin shipping November 16, 2015 from Strathmore.

Strathmore 400 Series Colored Pencil features include:

• Clean white colored paper.
• Medium surface.
• Stand up to repeated erasing and reworking.
• Durable wire binding.
• “Actual Size” sheets.
• Acid free.
• Made in the U.S.A.
• Available in NEW 6” x 8”, 9” x 12”, 11” x 14”, or 18” x 24”

Both 100 Series Black Chalk and 400 Series Colored Pencil pads are featured on promotion, which runs through Strathmore’s Winter Back To School season ending January 15, 2016. Learn how these new items can increase the productivity of your retail space by contacting your MacPherson’s sales representative today! Also, be sure to connect with Strathmore Artist Papers online at www.strathmoreartist.com and through social media outlets to stay informed on up to the second information.

Williamsburg Oils Launches New Website

Golden Artist Colors recently announced the launch of a newly designed www.WilliamsburgOils.com website. The new website will feature an enhanced design, including improved layout and graphics that will allow for easier navigation within the site.

The site is now equipped with a direct link to the revised Store Finder, which allows customers to more easily locate retail stores close to them that sell Williamsburg products. While on the Store Locator page, visitors can also browse the expansive product offering of the GOLDEN Acrylics and QoR^® Watercolor brands at their local retail locations.

The new www.WilliamsburgOils.com site offers artists a variety of additional features, including a responsive design for enhanced usability on mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets. The new video reference page gives artists the opportunity to watch short, informative, practical material regarding the use of Williamsburg products. A direct link to The Sam & Adele Golden Gallery (The SAGG) website invites visitors to explore and learn about the Gallery and what it has to offer visitors to the Golden Artist Colors facility.

GOLDEN Educator Program “Gathering” in Florida

From November 30 to December 3, 2015, close to 80 GOLDEN Educators from around the world will attend the “GOLDEN Gathering Conference” in Fort Lauderdale. Those going are either part of the GOLDEN Working Artists Program or the GOLDEN Artist Educator Program. It is an opportunity to celebrate all the work and support they’ve given the company over the last 20 years. The knowledge, insight and experience this group has shared with artists all over the world and one another is tremendous!

The Gathering is a way to say ‘thank you’ to these professionals and an opportunity to continue to learn from them. Throughout the event, classes will be taught by the artists for their peers, in an effort to grow skill sets and potentially, ideas for future workshop offerings. A number of industry experts will give presentations and collaborate with the artists as well.

The Gathering will conclude with time for the group to see a ton of artwork together at Art Basel Miami Beach, which presents artwork from across the globe with over 250 of the world’s leading galleries participating, drawing over 70,000 visitors each year.

GOLDEN Sales Representatives will attend, giving them yet another opportunity to connect with these incredible GOLDEN product ambassadors!!

MAP Policy Reminder

With the holidays fast approaching and Black Friday in the very near future, we want to remind retailers about our MAP Policy and our parameters supporting it. During the Black Friday period, the maximum advertised discount is 30% with the exception of those sets currently included in Holiday promotions.

For sets that remain at 40% off, please contact your GOLDEN Customer Service Representative with questions.

Thank you for all you do in support of sustaining this program.

Holiday Schedule Reminder

Golden Artist Colors will be closed from Thursday, December 24 to Friday, December 25 for Christmas. Lastly, we will be closed on Friday, January 1 for the New Year’s holiday. Please plan your needs accordingly.

If you have any questions regarding these product discontinuations, please contact your GOLDEN Sales Representative or your GOLDEN Customer Service Representative.

In stock now at a special open stock price exclusively through MacPherson’s.

Key Features & Benefits:

• U.K. made
• Available in 40 colors for 37ml & 9 colors for 200ml
• $6.59 for 37ml(Item numbers: DA119037009 – DA1190377034) & $16.99 for 200ml sized tubes(Item numbers:DA119200009 – DA119200034)
• There is no price increase on Georgian Water Mixable Oils for 2016

The Georgian Water Mixable Oils are smooth & easy to use with a brush or a palette knife. The heavily pigmented mixable brilliant colors are consistent from wet to dry and have versatile usage with any oil medium. Add water to the oils to create watercolor effects. Because they are fully water-soluble, use the colors for underpainting, just add water to get thin transparent colors. Depending on how thick the underpainting is applied, the oils will dry within hours. The Georgian Water Mixable Oils dry at the same drying rate as other oils. They easily clean up with water, no solvents and are low odor. Perfect for oil painting classes in Colleges and Universities, this is a great oil paint at one single value price point for each sized tube.

Log in to MacPhersonArt.com and order now. Special WBTS Open Stock discount of 66.25% off $2.22 net for 37ml size tubes and $5.73 net per tube for the 200ml sized tube in DC’s.

Questions? Please contact your MacPherson’s Rep or Daler-Rowney Western Sales Manager Charlotte Hampton.

All the beauty of a pastel with the convenience and control of a pencil.

Pastels are usually all about getting your hands dirty but not with Derwent Pastel Pencils. The wide colour strip is powdery and soft so mixing and blending is really easy and because it’s encased in wood you get the pastel effect without the mess (if you can resist using your fingers to blend!)

Recommended by artists Krystina Laurendi Havens she says of the Derwent pencils:

“ I was thrilled with the full spectrum of colors and the rich values that could easily be achieved with the Derwent Pastel Pencils. Easy to manipulate, I could blend beautifully or achieve crisp lines throughout my drawing. I truly loved the quality of the pencils. I sharpen my pencils often, and not once did the lead break. This was a major plus!”

Derwent recommend sharpening Pastel Pencils a with a craft knife as pastels will blunt the blades of a sharpener.

Derwent Pastel pencils come in 72 naturally water-soluble colors and have a round 8mm barrel and a wide 4mm soft core. Pastel pencils are extremely popular for portrait work and are available in a handy tin of 12 especially selected colors ideal for all skintones and portraiture work. Check out the selection on MacPhersonArt.com.

Available in tins of 12, 24, 36, 72, wooden boxes of 48 and 72, plus beginner sets of 6 on a blister card and mixed media blister of 8.

Strathmore has recently introduced a new category of videos called “artist features”. In these videos, artists give an inside look into their studio, creative processes, techniques, and what inspires them each day. Additionally, they also speak a bit about why they choose to work on Strathmore surfaces, and showcase some of their works of art.

The first artist featured in this video series is Graham Smith, who created a video entitled “Confessions of a Paper Junkie”. In this video, Graham takes viewers inside of his art studio and speaks about his creative process, and how he likes to draw using Strathmore sketchbooks. Graham is a professional Illustrator, and has spent many years teaching life drawing classes.

Graham Smith’s Art

Engaging content such as this can be a great piece to share via your social media sites, to run in your stores on a monitor, or just to get inspired on how artists utilize products in their daily processes. If you’re interested in watching or sharing Graham’s video, please do so at:

Please watch Strathmore’s social media channels for more Artist Feature videos to arrive in 2016!

In addition to helping contribute to their new Artist Feature video series, Strathmore also is featuring artist Graham Smith in their Fall Artist Newsletter. Each quarter, Strathmore publishes a free digital newsletter featuring an artist that they’ve partnered with. This quarter, Graham’s topic is TOP 10 LIFE DRAWING MISTAKES, where he offers solid advice for creating life drawings. He’s listed the top mistakes he sees beginners making along the way, and a great deal of tips for correcting them. If you’re interested in learning more about Graham, check out his website at: Graham Smith Illustration

Each Strathmore Newsletter also showcases information on new products, and other news and events happening at the company. They also answer consumer questions submitted on their website. See the list and tips in the Artist Newsletter: Strathmore Newsletter

If you aren’t subscribed to the Artist Newsletter, please sign up to subscribe so that you never miss an issue: Strathmore Newsletter