Volume 10              Edition 2          03/15/2007

I hope all of you will have plenty of questions.
These can be about anything to do with art, the show, or artist suburbia. I will post all questions and hope to have them answered by the artist themselves.

1. (Q)How do you stretch watercolor paper?
   Soak paper in the sink or tub for about 15 min to an hr. Drain and staple to an art board.( I use a homasote board, but any good art board that you can staple into will do. As the paper dries it will get very taunt and will not buckle when a lot of water is applied.

2. (Q)What is Artist Suburbia?
   Artist Suburbia is an artist community for the starvin' artist. Inexpensive websites setup and maintained by CSW Enterprises.

3. (Q)Can anyone enter the art show?
   Yes, but entries for the show will be determined by a judge.

4. (Q)What different forms of art can be entered?
   All visual  fine arts such as sculptures, paintings, graphics, photography, block prints, jewelry,  etc.

5. (Q)What type of camera, in your opinion, do you get the best picture from; a manual or an autofocus?
   You can get good quality images from both types of cameras. I prefer the manual camera because it allows more control. By using different shutter speeds and f stops, you can achieve a stop action or a blur.This is just one of the reasons why I use a manual camera.

6. (Q) What can you recommend as a good quality watercolor brush?
   I recommend Scepter by Windsor Newton

There will be a new Tip added here each month by Madelaine Jacobs of Rawhide Studios. I am sure that you will enjoy Madelaine's tips as much as I do. Madelaine also offers free tutorials and pay for tutorials. I have seen the free ones and they are fantastic. Please do stop by Rawhide Studios and see all Madeline has to offer. So here are Madelaine Jacobs Arm Chair Paint classes . Madelaine's Tip page/5

We also have a new item here on the  wash technique for oil painting by Michael Csontos  You will find the tip on this page and look for more from Michael.
Please email Michael with any comments or question and please visit his website. surrealism@csontos.com www.csontos.com

Here is the latest contributor for the T & T section please visit Arleta's page and view all her work she is a fabulous Watercolorist. Click here 

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Here is a short article or rather list, of  some tips to get the search engines to see you site. I think it is of interest to all artists and poets. The tip was supplied by Chelsey  if you have any questions you may email her here. ChelseyG@mamsoft.co.uk


Search Engines

1) TITLE tag: <title>.</title>

Include company name and short description.Maximum number of characters is recommended to be 69, including spaces.

2)META DESCRIPTION tags: <META name="description" CONTENT="">
Include company name. Include industry or market. Avoid superlatives.
Recommended maximum number of characters is 200, including spaces.

3) META KEYWORDS: <META name="keywords" CONTENT="">

Recommended maximum number of characters is 1000, including spaces with little repetition. Use plurals for keywords. Commas for separating.
No words can be repeated  more than 3-6 times.

Once all above is checked and published.. Do this:

1. http://www.scrubtheweb.com
   Go to Metatag analyzer and run report.

2. Run Report At
   http://www.websitegarage.netscape.com
   Then start submitting!

3. Go to http://www.pronet.ca/quicksubmit

4. And http://www.evrsoft.com/fastsubmit

5. And go to web garage again to use Register It!
   http://www.websitegarage.netscape.com

6. Also http://www.scrubtheweb.com for Easy Submit.

Tips & Techniques

Here you will find tips and techniques from various artists. These can be graphic tips, fine art tips, photography etc. I think you get the idea. I am going to take submissions of tips, please send all tips to artgall@adelphia.net with tips in the subject line.For every tip used I will give a credit line in the email ezine. Please sign up for it below.

Watercolor Tips anonymous: More Stretching paper techniques, thiscan be accomplished by wetting both sides of the paper and placing on board and taping down. or clipping down.

Watercolor Tips
You can save the white by using a masking fluid. It can be removed by using your finger and rubbing gently or by using the kneaded eraser.
You can also use a wax crayon . This will keep the watercolor from covering the spot. If you leave it on it can make some unique effects. If you want to remove it you may place a sheet of paper towel over it and run an iron over it. Making sure that the paper is dry first.

Water Color Tips Artist Ruth Steinfatt sent in this link This is just what we are looking for.
.
Pastels:  Spray your work with a light fixative between layers of color and it will stay fresher without so much muddying of colors. Don't blend your colors till the last steps. This is a great tip sent in by Karen Davidson . Thanks Karen, from all of us.

Photo Album: This is a great tip on an artistic way to do a photo album. Thanks Maggie, I love the idea.

Tips for boo boos. Hey, I know we don't make MANY boo boos but.. when you do.. I found the greatest little tool for scrubbing out little areas.. go to your drug store, in the toothbrush section and buy a Sulca Brush. This tool is for flossing the teeth and has two little hard brushes at each end.. great for getting rid of little errors. My daughter who is a dental hygienist wasn't impressed!! but hey, it works! Another good tip from watercolorist Ruth Steinfatt. Hey Ruth Thanks a lot from all of us.

Come on the rest of you artists lets hear from you.

Here is a tip: Just in time for Christmas;
save all your old Christmas cards and you can
make postcards out of them or you might even make gift tags . This is especially good for kids
who want to originate their own gift tags. Add a
little glue and some sparkle and wow*** a great artistic gift tag.

Here is a Tip sent in by Jiri for all of you who need help with designing your pages and want percise layout control. This is a wonderful little tool
.'pixel ruler'.
Just click here for the info. Here is a tips& techniques page I think you will really like.The Deckle Edge

#1 There is a new color out by Winsor Newton called Quinacridone Gold. It makes the most lovely peach color when you mix it with permanent rose. Or if you want it to really glow, do a pure thin glaze of it over permanent rose that is dry. You can also mix it with cobalt blue to create a wonderful sage green. Or Antwerp blue for a bright green. It replaces Raw Sienna on my palette, since it is totally transparent. 
#2 Got an out of control brush? Roll it in soap and shape, let dry, then next painting day, it will again hold it's shape better. 
#3 Did you know you can do your drawings on paper, then tape it to a window and place 140 lb. watercolor paper over it,  you can see through it, that way you can trace your rough drawing on to your delicate watercolor paper, with out the need to erase. 
#4 Always use good brushes & paint, they will work with you as a beginner, instead of against you.