Back in November I took a trip down blogging memory lane and 'shopped my art supply stash' in the hopes of re-discovering some forgotten favourites. I wrote all about the tools I'd chosen and what I was hoping to do with them here, and I gave myself a rough period of a month to see how it all went. Make sure you check that post out if you have no idea what I'm talking about, or want to know more about why I chose the tools I did, because I won’t be covering that here!

Now it’s 10 weeks later, and I'm back to fill you all in on how it went.

So, I hear you ask, how did it go?

Overall, fairly un-spectacularly.

Not in a negative way, just in a realistic one; here's why:

Pretty soon after uploading my initial post, I became aware of the Decemburton Art Challenge over on Instagram, and my entire monthly plan changed course. In case you don’t know, the Decemburton challenge is in honour of the wonderfully creepy films of Tim Burton, created by Mark Melton - or @iciclemelton on Instagram. I’d intended for December to be a quiet month for Puddles of Ink; I had lots of stuff to plan and work out for 2020, and I really wanted some time to rest and reflect….but as soon as I saw this I just had to get involved. If you want to see my pieces from the challenge, as well as the behind the scenes video I made, click here - and don’t forget to let me know what you think!

But, that effectively derailed my plans to really bury myself in my sketchbook with these supplies and see what I could create with them. I still managed to get some interesting results, but I think in the future I need to be more disciplined with myself in committing to just ripping off the plaster and jumping into trying something new. I spent a lot of time making excuses for not using some of the supplies in the moment because I couldn’t come up with an idea; that actually resulted in me not getting round to using the charcoal at all! I’m still annoyed by this, so I’m making it my mission to get around to creating something with it ASAP because I was looking forward to this supply the most.

In terms of the Papermania Metallic Markers, not much has really changed in terms of how I use them. I think these are really pretty and they brighten up my journal pages and scrapbooks, but you need to be careful when layering because the paper tends to feather and bobble. I think I definitely use these more often than I used to; I’ve made them a staple in my pencil case and I love using them for quick sketchy-style doodles and notes.

With the colouring pencils I featured - both the WHSmith and Staedtler ones - I think that I use them the same amount as before. I mostly use them to sketch in, or to add details to other pieces with, and I love the effect that this creates. I think one difference I can acknowledge on reflection is that I think more in colour now than I used to. I’ve always struggled with colour theory, and I find it much easier to play around with it digitally rather than traditionally. But over the past 10 weeks I think I’ve started getting more confident with pairing colours together, and I’m finding that I have palettes that I gravitate towards and others I avoid. I’m excited to explore and unpack this more over the year.

Which brings me onto the Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencils, which are the final supplies on my list. Now, these pencils are still some of my favourite art supplies: they’re fun to use, versatile and the range of colours is so varied and perfect that they really add so much to any piece. You can get a sense of how to use these, how pigmented they are, and how they interact beautifully together and with water or masking fluid in this video I made, and I would definitely recommend them if you’re interested in getting some for yourself, or an artist in your life. BUT, one thing to note is that these pencils require time to dry!

This sounds like a really obvious point, but it’s one that can really slip your mind when you’re immersed in a piece. These pencils, obviously, work like watercolours, and so they work best when you layer them. In order to layer them properly, you have to wait for each layer to dry, moreso than with traditional watercolours because the lead can’t do its job properly if you use it on a wet surface. It’s not the end of the world by any means; it just requires a different way of working - you need to be more considered and intentional with how you build your piece and the time you allocate for it.

I’m glad that I embarked on this project because it forced me to use the supplies I have to hand rather than lusting after shiny new ones. It’s a great way to break out of a creative rut or art block, and I’ve had a lot of fun experimenting with new styles and combinations of tools. Have you tried shopping your art stash before? What do you think about it? Let me know in the comments!