Places to buy Pochade Boxes in the UK

In my new guise of "about to start learning to paint in oils" (see Learning how to paint with oils in Provence),  this is a quick reminder for me of the places in the UK which sell Pochade Boxes online. 

Julian Large Paint Box

There's nowhere near as many places as there are in the USA. However these ones looked like they'd be worth investigating.

The PochadeShop UK

• Julian (UK) -  Julian Paint Boxes and the Julian Pochade Thumb Box (see video below).  These are also available on Amazon. 
• Antony Bridge's The Pochadeshop UK - Pochade Boxes
• Artefacts for Artists by Abby aka Abbeys easels (run Angela and Rowley Abbey) - Pochade Boxes - they're at these shows this summer

These all vary in size and design but all work principally to the same principal of providing a compact way of providing a way to paint plein air at the time as transporting paints, brushes and other relevant material.

You can see a video of the very small Julian Pochade Box below

Note also that Julian also sell in Julian - Accessories

• a carrying case with adjustable dividers
• the hard to find painting umbrella

Prismacolor announces new Scholar colored pencils

Prismacolor have just sent me an email announcing they have introduced a new line of art media for aspiring artists with the brand name Scholar(TM)

Three points which any aspiring artist needs to bear in mind

1. It's good to have more economical supplies available for children and those who aspire to be artists.  That's the way a lot of artists start - with lots of drawing in colour when they are younger.
2. Serious artists will appreciate that serious art requires professional quality supplies and they need to move beyond a student range.
3. Student ranges and professional ranges also don't work in quite the same way as their composition differs (ie there's a reason for the price difference!).  This often means needing to relearn how you use your pencil as you graduate from student level to professional level pencils.  Many people are amazed at the difference

new Scholar(TM) products

The new Scholar(TM) range by Prismacolor comprises

• Scholar Colored Pencils: The Scholar Colored Pencils contain harder cores designed for the developing art student and crafters, but they are still soft enough to learn blending.  The range also includes new erasable coloured pencils
• Scholar Art Markers: Scholar Art Markers are easy to use, water-based ink markers ideal for idea development, rendering and mixed media. Available in both a brush and bullet tip.
• Scholar Graphite Pencils: The Scholar Graphite Pencils feature a specified range of hardness for shading and detail line drawing for the aspiring artist.

New Scholar accessories include

• a new pencil sharpener designed for the Scholar pencils (That had me wondering how it varies from most standard pencils and whether the dreaded Prismacolor breakage problem has been addressed!) and 
• a new eraser - which is black and left me wondering whether it would mark the paper.

Now - obviously - I haven't seen of these products.  Comments are based on known issues with existing pencils.

My final point - I'm left wondering how much this new range might cannibalise existing use of Prismacolor pencils which has been declining of late as more people become aware of other quality options.

Product Review: Daylight Professional Artists Lamp

Daylight Company: Professional Artist Lamp

Jana Bouc (Jana's Journal) has done an independent product review on her blog of the new Daylight Professional Artists Lamp made by The Daylight Company in the UK.

I've used The Daylight Company's daylight bulbs for years (even to the point of favouring art stores which stock them!).  This particular lamp is one I had already highlighted on my Art Equipment - Resources for Artists website - purely on the basis of my experience of their product quality over the years.

I was really interested to see what an American artist made of the lamp.  The important point is that Jana is a person who is most concerned about having good light

I’d bought and returned many other “full spectrum” or “daylight bulb” lamps in the past that were total failures because the light was too weak, too blue, or both.

It's very evident that Jana is very impressed!

Hence I've created a summary review below based on:

• the technical product specification and 
• the review done by Jana Bouc
• this is being updated as additional comments are received

Do check out:

• Jana's blog post for the full text of her full review Reviews:  Daylight Easel Lamp and...  
• plus Jana's article about lighting and color temperature.  
• Plus see also Jana featured on The Daylight Company website.

Product:  Daylight Artists Professional Lamp

Summary:  "The difference is amazing" - recommended by Jana Bouc

Technical Details (as per website's technical specifications) 360° head joint to direct the light exactly where you need it Bright 18w Daylight™ tube (100w equiv.) reduces eye strain and glare  Flexible arm and multi-position joint allow easy positioning Supplied with two clamps Easel clamp: Attaches to all floorstanding metal & wooden easels up to 5cm/2" thick Table clamp: Attaches to all tables and work benches up to 5.5cm/2.25" thick Height: 50cm (19½ inches) Weight: 2.4kg (5½ lbs) Arm length: 70cm (27½ inches)

Who should buy this?  artists producing studio paintings/drawings artists working at a studio easel artists working with a table easel

Who should not buy this?   plein air artists who do not work in the studio

Highlights: light quality is amazing according to Jana and helped her create better colours in her paintings fully adjustable - works well can be used for painting and for photographing paintings

Think Again? availability of replacement light bulbs via some suppliers (see comment received)

Manufacturer / Distributor:  The Daylight Company Ltd, 89-91 Scrubs Lane, London, NW10 6QU. Phone:  020 8964 1200  |  Fax  020 8964 1300  | email  info.uk@daylightcompany.com The Daylight Company was created in the early 90s and is now the market-leading brand of speciality lighting technology for the hobby industry across Europe.  It aims to become the No.1 brand for Craft Lighting.

Suppliers:  Full price it retails at £109.99 / $159.99 (May 2011 prices) however it's possible to buy it for less. available from various good art supply stores in the UK also available on  Amazon (USA) Daylight Company Professional Artists Lamp with 2 clamps and Amazon (UK) Professional Artists Lamp

For those who love the technical aspects you can also refer to their FAQS section (click the links to go to the FAQ):

All you always wanted to know about lux, lumens, spectrum, CRI, SAD...

• Why is Daylight so good for you!

• How Compact Fluorescent Bulbs & Tubes work?

• What is the difference between energy saving and tungsten bulbs?

• What is the Colour Rendering Index? (CRI)

• What is the Light Colour Temperature(°K)?

• What is the difference between Lumens & Lux?

• What is the difference between Diopter and magnification?

• Do fluorescent bulbs & tubes contain mercury?