Well, that came out of nowhere! When I first arrived at Seattle and started going to all the art events at Daniel Smith, I keep hearing the word “Vendor Day” that is supposedly a VERY special day I should not miss out on.
So once a year Daniel Smith organizes this huge event inside their mothership store down in SODO and invites 20 or so vendors of well-known art supply brands: Strathmore, Winsor and Newton, Faber Castell, Davinchi, you name it all. We were warned about the place becoming very packed as the day goes on, so Swagatika and I grabbed an Uber and arrived at 10:00am prompt!
At the door, you are handed a “passport” sheet of paper that allows you to collect the initials of the artist/seller at each vendor booth. With 12 signatures, you are eligible to enter the random lottery of amazing art supply prizes!
It’s not entirely untrue to say we’re acting like kids at a candy store, but we’re giddy with excitement and giggling all the way (we’re 27 and 30, respectively.) At each vendor booth, there is an artist or the representative from the brand showing us a demonstration of the tools. They even let us play with their brushes and colors on all types of paper!
It’s an awesome opportunity to learn about other mediums and try some art supplies that you typically don’t play with, especially considering the investment of buying them in the first place! Lots of fun stuff include the Sumi ink booth, making stencil art with Marabu mousse, and finally playing with Colourcraft’s Brusho Crystal color. I’ve experimented with these powdered pigments last week at Watercolor social, and I’m absolutely smitten by its versatility.
I will neither confirm or deny that I purchased a set.
The best part of this event and the reason why we didn’t realize four hours have gone by is the artists that are doing demos and sharing their sketchbooks! They look just like the everyday person, but when you get up close to their work, you realize you’ve been fangirl-ing them on Instagram since the beginning of time.
Don Colley and his Pitt Pens artworks
Alex Preston working with Jacquard Marbling
Ron Stocke with M.Graham watercolors (my favorite style!)
Another sneak peek at Ron’s work
Angela Bandurka’s beautiful painting with M. Graham gouache
Finally, a huge thank you to Daniel Smith for putting together this wonderful event for all of us amateur artists (enthusiasts). It was so fun bumping into so many urban sketchers from the Seattle group as well. My legs were so sore at the end because of all the standing and walking around, but it was ALL worth it.
I finally purchased some quality sketchbooks for my outings and everyday use (instead of the loose leaf I’ve been making do with). Also took the opportunity to get two small Daniel Smith fine watercolor: Buff Titanium and Moonglow.
The weather was beautiful, the sun held up long enough for us to escape to the safety of Uwajimaya where we finally ate lunch at 2:30.
After unloading all of our purchases and grocery bags at Swagatika’s place, I had to take advantage of the remaining sunshine to try out my new sketchbook: Pentalic Aqua Journal Sketchbook. It is rumored to have 100% cotton paper and I can’t wait to try it out. My friend said Seattle skys are always “dramatic” because of the clouds. Although I still prefer the clear blue skies of Boston, I think I can get used to these beautiful clouds.
The paper performed beautifully for me, especially with the wet-on-wet technique I’m exploring recently. The only thing is that you need to wait for the first layer to dry, and that could be time-consuming. It’s nice though, to just gaze out at and appreciate the view during those “waiting breaks”.
Here’s to a wonderful September and hoping October would be equally amazing! (Have you heard of #inktober?)
