For paints: I am a big fan of Bristle and Brush, and she is working on putting out the Miniature palette (with traditional colors used in Persian and Mughal miniatures) again sometime soon....
Agreed - it's much quicker to do it by computer and it will be 'perfect' - but it won't have those tiny imperfections of a handmade work. Handmade work still has great value!
I suspect handmade work will acquire ever greater value as it becomes more scarce. One-of-a-kind pieces of high quality will always be desirable to collectors. There's something about the luxuriously tangible quality of paint... That slight smudging of clarity of even the best reproduction of a painting gives the original added desirability. And, in our case, the elusive quality of gold in reproduction ensures that no replica can ever replace the original.
I guess the creators (and copyright owners) of digital works are now trying out the trade in NFTs as a way to bestow value -- confusing to old-school me!
I wonder if this is the Saunders Waterford effort of recent note? I think I have a sample of it. They (St Cuthbert's Mill) have been trying to fill the niche once occupied by Fabriano for botanical artists with some variable success, bless their hearts. I like their 200lb HP watercolor paper, in particular the high white, which seems a tad harder sized. Alas, difficult to get in the US! The options for heavier weight HP watercolor paper here have shrunken precipitously recently. It almost seems as though papers that cannot go through a printer are out of favor.
Which tells me that it is more important than ever that the more traditional ways of working be sustained and advanced. So many beautiful things going extinct is no way to run a world! I recall a conservator from the Getty telling our botanical art guild how grateful she was that we still painted in the traditional way, as it was in danger of being lost to digital graphics.
I have a friend in the UK (who I think travels between UK, Pakistan and Germany) who makes wasli, I'll have to see if she can sell some internationally, I'm sure she would. Otherwise Hussain yes, and Khadi which also stocks Hussain. You'll need some insecticide such as copper sulphate for traditional wasli, although, given where you are, actually may not need to worry about insects!
That would be brilliant to have another take on wasli! I'm convinced that there should be the perfect paper extant somewhere. They sure had it in the 16th Century, oooh la la! Have we devolved so very much since then?
Well, I guess our recent experience with Fabriano ruining their once-exquisite hot pressed watercolor paper is evidence of said devolution. Everyone in the botanical art community has been in an absolute tizzy searching for a suitable replacement for the last few years. Very sad when something so finely made is made no longer.
Thanks so much Kathlyn for helping out! I think the shop Talas in the US sells burnishers, if that helps. You can supplement all the above with modern watercolours and gouache (prefer watercolours) from any brand as long as they're artist quality, eg. Winsor and Newton.
So many of these things used to be available here, but have since vanished, alas. It seems that the true specialist purveyors have struggled to survive, sadly.
A number of companies here do supply smaller burnishers for gold leaf. There is one source here for traditional agate muhres with big handles for exerting real pressure but he is out of stock more often than not, and Karin Sanat is an excellent vendor, very reliable and fast. Their muhres are glass, and ~10cm or 4" across.
The smaller burnishers (~5cm or 2" across the agate) with a standard handle may be more useful for careful transferring of images and burnishing large areas of gold leaf, though, so maybe that is a good option for a multi-use burnisher. Talas also has some interesting papers, although not wasli. They also have many very interesting things for conservators, including no-cook starches.
New York Art Supply, a legendary art store with an astounding collection of papers from all over the world, once carried wasli of several sorts but closed down a few years back, breaking every artist's heart, including mine! I was able to snag some of the last of their MHK wasli, though. Beautiful stuff. One can order A3 size wasli from Danish Hussain and have it shipped to you. He may be able to accommodate many other size sheets, too.
I'm very keen to try my hand at making my own wasli someday, though! Beautiful paper is a form of art in and of itself. I LOVE the safflower dye you are using for yours!!! Absolutely glowing.
I got my curved squirrel hair brushes from Shalini Gupta in Singapore, but she currently doesn’t offer them. Vaishali's brushes are highly recommended.
Wasli needs to sit for at least a year after being made so it ages before use.
PigmentsKremer pigmentshttps://shop.kremerpigments.com/us/shop/pigments/Gum Arabic — from any art store; Schmincke also makes excellent gouache and watercolor mediums to mix with dry pigments. Or simply use good quality tubed gouache and watercolor. Schmincke and M. Graham brand gouaches have the best rehydration characteristics. Pigmenters Winsor Newton, Daniel Smith, Holbein, Schmincke make superb watercolors.
Thanks so much for taking time to share all of these sources! I was really wondering if guache and watercolor would give the same effect and I guess was quite hesitant to try. I'm so glad you shared the idea. This will be a great start for me!
For paints: I am a big fan of Bristle and Brush, and she is working on putting out the Miniature palette (with traditional colors used in Persian and Mughal miniatures) again sometime soon....
Agreed - it's much quicker to do it by computer and it will be 'perfect' - but it won't have those tiny imperfections of a handmade work. Handmade work still has great value!
I wonder if this is the Saunders Waterford effort of recent note? I think I have a sample of it. They (St Cuthbert's Mill) have been trying to fill the niche once occupied by Fabriano for botanical artists with some variable success, bless their hearts. I like their 200lb HP watercolor paper, in particular the high white, which seems a tad harder sized. Alas, difficult to get in the US! The options for heavier weight HP watercolor paper here have shrunken precipitously recently. It almost seems as though papers that cannot go through a printer are out of favor.
Which tells me that it is more important than ever that the more traditional ways of working be sustained and advanced. So many beautiful things going extinct is no way to run a world! I recall a conservator from the Getty telling our botanical art guild how grateful she was that we still painted in the traditional way, as it was in danger of being lost to digital graphics.
Hmmm. Botanical papers: I have some of these: https://shop.stuartstevenson.co.uk/collections/watercolour-pads-blocks/watercolour-botanical-pad all used up now and quite small, also UK-based but might ship abroad. UK folk take note: this is another little brilliant, family-run art shop in London!
I have a friend in the UK (who I think travels between UK, Pakistan and Germany) who makes wasli, I'll have to see if she can sell some internationally, I'm sure she would. Otherwise Hussain yes, and Khadi which also stocks Hussain. You'll need some insecticide such as copper sulphate for traditional wasli, although, given where you are, actually may not need to worry about insects!
Thanks so much Kathlyn for helping out! I think the shop Talas in the US sells burnishers, if that helps. You can supplement all the above with modern watercolours and gouache (prefer watercolours) from any brand as long as they're artist quality, eg. Winsor and Newton.
Thanks so much! I link I tried before didn't work. This one works!
I have a new web address for Hussain papers from Danish Hussain:
http://www.hussainpapers.co.in
It is not easy to find many of these things in the US, but online mail order from the rest of the world expands one's options. Viva la internet!
Brushes for miniature made by Vaishali
https://www.theperfectbrush.co.uk
I got my curved squirrel hair brushes from Shalini Gupta in Singapore, but she currently doesn’t offer them. Vaishali's brushes are highly recommended.
Muhre for burnishing paper -- also not currently available in the US but available from Karin Sanat in Turkey via Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1025326032/glass-tip-polisher-for-polishing-paper?click_key=267ea1b57a0f3bdaaf012b238eebfdc28d4a6d92%3A1025326032&click_sum=f59fa81d&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=paper+burnisher&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&pro=1&frs=1 Wasli -- no longer available in the US but available from MHK (Mohammad Hussain Kagzi -- Kagzi means papermaker), one of the last great traditional papermakers in Sanganer, Rajasthan that still makes wasli: Hussain paper in India http://hussainpapers.com/papertype.php It is easier to obtain: thinner papers to make your own wasli https://www.khadi.com/shop/category/indian-hemp-papers/ How to make wasli:
Wasli needs to sit for at least a year after being made so it ages before use.
Pigments Kremer pigments https://shop.kremerpigments.com/us/shop/pigments/ Gum Arabic — from any art store; Schmincke also makes excellent gouache and watercolor mediums to mix with dry pigments. Or simply use good quality tubed gouache and watercolor. Schmincke and M. Graham brand gouaches have the best rehydration characteristics. Pigmenters Winsor Newton, Daniel Smith, Holbein, Schmincke make superb watercolors.
I hope that helps!