Sunday, April 27, 2008

Open Stock


Retail Therapy Click to see this photo's flickr page

It was a rough day and I still had to teach class late at night, then finish packing, then get up to be at the airport by 4am the next morning. Make that: It was a rough day, and at 4pm, it was just getting started.

I decided to see if Blicks had put out the new shades of Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils, and yes, they did! I bought all the colors that I'd been wanting to enhance my basic set of 12. I left with about 25 more, each carefully chosen, but it was certainly a fraction of the cost of buying the mongo set of 72, which they didn't have anyway.

I decided to bring the new pencils on the trip, to test out the colors in my sketchbook while I was away, winding down from days at a design conference. The days have been filled with lots of great thoughts and presentations and lots of designers; lots and lots of kindred spirits. It's 2am of day two, and it's been so full that I haven't been able to sift properly through my photos, check up on blogs (which I do so obsessively), keep up with the professional group blog to post events going on early next week, do magazine research, do writing homework. Even though the conference ends tomorrow, we have plenty planned for the day and the day afterwards.

Everyone is happy, energized, reconnected and I know that all our mini notebooks are filled with scribbles of notes of ideas and inspiration. It'll be interesting to see how this shared inspiration will manifest itself down the line. It is strangely satisfying to say that, no, I haven't even had time to test the new pencils.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I hear it's been toasty in LA, but we've had two really great sunny days in Portland. Did I just jinx it for the rest of the stay? Ehh, it'll just make the great expresso taste even better with a hint of drizzle, I suppose. Be back soon. xox, -w

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Wait you're in Portland?!! My home state of Oregon?! Stop by and say hi to my daddy at the Portland Food Bank!! :) And my high school boyfriend manages a restaurant but I'll have to find the name. You can go give him a hug from me! :) What are you doing there by the way? Have you been to my blog today? I thought you'd get a kick out of the latest entry...

Unknown said...

Hey Wendee hope you had a good trip. I figure by the time you see this you will be back. I'll have totry those colored pencils you like so much some day.

Anonymous said...

Wendee, How exciting and stimulating all of this sounds. I will be anxious to hear more about it when you get back. You'll have to share with us the new colors that you bought, along with some swatches. I wasn't even aware that they had come out with new ones since I bought my set of 12. I hope you are enjoying yourself. Hugs~Roma

Ophelia Chong said...

maybe more of your work featured on the blog would fit the "Art & Design" for blogher. :O) i want to see lots of your work up. ;O)

mARTa said...

I love to travel! Hope you are having (or had) a great time! I hear we have a date soon for a jacuzzi soaking and sangria drinking girly day? Can't wait! I'm due for some serious R & R.

Wendee said...

@TheOtherWendee - like I want to see your HS boyfriend? What about that hunky Australian BF, instead? Mmmrowr!

@Toni - it sure was great. Yep, the Inktense pencils aren't a replacement for paints, I'm finding, but sure a lot of fun in their own way.

@Roma - LOL. Guess I've shared swatches. I'd like to sit and really scribble and smear them around, even MORE! All these fun colors :)

@Ophelia - yes, ma'am! :)

@Roma - A sangria girly day would be SO perfect, huh? Looking forward to it! :)