Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Ash Wednesday, Lent and Art Supplies

Today is Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent - the period of 40 days until Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday.

It's traditional to fast on Ash Wednesday and then to give up a luxury or something you value as a penitence for Lent.  However that's easier said than done.......

The Battle Between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Bruegel the Elder - 1559
Painting - oil on panel Height: 118 cm (46.46 in.), Width: 164.5 cm (64.76 in.) 
The Fight between Carnival and Lent depicts a common festival held in the Southern Netherlands. On the left side of the painting there is an inn, and in the right side of the painting there is a church. The juxtaposition is meant to illustrate the two sides of human nature: pleasure and religious chastity, and the contrast between the two. Near the church sit well-behaved children. Near the inn are rambunctious drunkards. The fat man in the middle of the painting, with the pie on his head, is a representation of “carnival.” The painting represents a common theme in 16th century Europe, the battle between Carnival and Lent, and with its humor and witticism, is a satirical critique on the conflicts of the Reformation. Wikipaintings
I'm not asking you to become religious - however I am interested in what you value which you might choose to give up if you were so minded

If you had to give up one item from your art supplies.....

What item of art supplies would YOU find the MOST difficult to give up for Lent?  

In terms of:

  • art materials?
  • or essential tool?
  • or bit of kit you find absolutely indispensable?
  • or luxury item of art materials?

I'd be lost without.....

I think for me it would be the pen I use for drawing as nothing else works as well. The Pilot G-Tec-C4 Gel Rollerball produces an ultra fine line of 0.2mm - in sepia ink!

Plus I have them absolutely everywhere - pockets, handbags, backpacks, pencil cases - so the chances of actually being able to find and remove them all from temptation is pretty remote!

...and whenever I find them in a shop I usually have to remove them all to my safekeeping after flashing my plastic!

Pilot G-Tec-C4 Gel Rollerball - sepia ink
All they had in the shop!
Over to you - what would you struggle to live without for 40 days.....?

Do please comments below - or on Facebook - and share with your friends.


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10 comments:

  1. 0.5 clutch pencil, essential tool!

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  2. I couldn't go 4 hours let alone 40 days without a Staedtler Mars Lumograph 8B pencil somewhere about my person or place!

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  3. Oooh I want some of those pens, and there's a Paperchase in Cambridge! As for what I'd find hardest to go without, I think it would probably be my 30 odd year old Winsor and Newton Bijou Box of watercolours. It's travelled the world with me and if I lost it I could never replace it as they don't make it any more. http://www.flickr.com/photos/suejsmith/8470616423/in/photostream

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  4. Not an art supply, but I listen to Old Time Radio programs while I paint. My work is detailed and the radio programs keep me focused. If I don't listen, I tend to rush and make a mess of things.
    So that's what I couldn't live without for 40 days

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  5. being a graphite artist it would definitely be my Tombow pencils...after that my blending sticks!

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  6. love my hi-tecs and g-tecs. whether drawing or note taking they are the most dependable this left-hander ever found. see source for mail-order at jetpens.com

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  7. Thi is a tough question. I had to think about it.
    I love mindless sketching or doodles to get my creative juices flowing so that would take the form of sketchbooks,iPad and any pen or pencil.
    After that I would say my watercolors. Unlike oils which take more time to set up and paint, watercolors I like that I can just walk up and start painting or take them along much easier.
    I like the watercolor blocks they are easy to use without prep time, much like a sketch book.

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  8. Now that is a painting one could get lost in!

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  9. Couldn't manage without my Steadtlar pigment liners in 0.1 and 0.05. I use them for finished drawings & illustrations as well as sketching once they get a little old.

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