Art Supplies

After our recent sketching trip to the zoo, I realized that Katie needs her own sketch pad.  Fortunately for us, an opportunity came up for us to review some art supplies!

I was sent a generous box of paper pads and brushes from US Art Supply, and I'd like to tell you about them!  We received:

     11 x 14" pad of 60# Sketch paper
     9 x 12" pad of 60# Sketch paper
     5.5 x 8.5" pad of 60# Sketch paper

I wanted to see how the different sketch pads responded to different media.  This is Hannah's rainbow on the super smooth 60# sketch pad.  My favorite feature of this paper is how silky smooth it is.  The tempera sticks glide on nicely.

We also received:

     9 x 12" pad of 90# sketch paper
     5.5 x 8.5" pad of 90# sketch paper

Katie used the 90# sketch pad for her rainbow.  While the paper is noticeably thicker, it's also more textured.  This is a nice weight for markers.

Equal smiles from both testers.

New art supplies always bring out everyone's creative side.

When I told Brianna about the manga pad, she was excited to try it out.  The paper is glossy, and she wondered if the scented highlighters might squeak on it (they don't).

The tempera sticks reacted interestingly with the manga paper.  A single color was fine, but if you tried to color on top of another color, it didn't go well.  Gel pens are a fabulous medium for this pad.

The large, 11 x 14" size sketch pad is also great for classroom posters.  We've been going over the vowel sounds in language arts, and I created this visual aid for us to say together every morning.

I love how the availability of fresh paper brings out the creativity in my kids.  These warriors were drawn in pencil and colored in scented highlighters that Grammy gave me for Christmas.  But it wasn't just paper that we got to try out!  We were also given:

     7 piece nylon brush set
     10 piece artist brush set
     7 piece long handled brush set
     Premium Extra Heavy Weight Watercolor Paper
     Premium Heavy Weight Watercolor Paper

We used our new brushes and paper to try out a watercolor resist project.

The kids were fascinated at all the different brush shapes.  My favorite are the wide flat brushes.

Jack likes the l-o-n-g handled brushes best.

The colors were clear and bright on the watercolor paper, and I love that it didn't curl up horribly like some papers we've used in the past.

Although our resist project didn't work out as I had hoped, we were able to turn it into a mixed media project instead.

We got into the 7 piece brush set when we painted our Viking ships.

The bristles on these are really nice and soft.

The last thing I want to share with you is the hardbound field sketch pad.  The paper is 70#, so a little heavier than the 60# but not as textured as the 90#.  This book would make a lovely keepsake when filled with drawings.  The hard bindings give it a touch of elegance, while the metal comb binding allows it to lay flat or be folded back while open.

I'm very pleased with all the US Art Supplies that we reviewed and would not hesitate to purchase more in the future.

This post may be linked up at these linky parties.

Thanks for clicking for us!