Some of the Booty

I had a great time at the Art of the Carolina's trade show and got some really fantastic deals on art supplies. But, oddly enough, this storage unit is probably my favorite purchase.

I've been wanting some kind of storage with drawers to hold all those tubes of paint, the tons of both pastel and colored pencils and all those other supplies that you want close at hand but off your work surface.

This unit is perfect - it has casters which I removed so it would fit under my monster work table and holds more art supplies than I have at the moment! lol The drawers aren't large enough to hold paper and other supports but I have another storage unit for that.

So, I have it tucked up under the "Monster" and everything is right at hand just as I wanted it to be!

We have been unusually busy this past weekend and not at home so I haven't gotten to use any of the art stuff I bought. Oh, wait, I did buy a new watercolor brush and played with it a bit this morning but just haven't had the time to get serious with the pan pastels that I got in last week or the UART paper or Ampersand panels that I bought at the show. I wish I'd had triple the amount of money that I spent as there were so many bargains there - cheaper than ordering online without the shipping costs! Of course they added our state tax but it all still ended up being very reasonable compared to what I usually have to pay.

My husband agreed that I got some real bargains but also commented that the prices just pointed out that there must be a huge mark-up on art supplies. Well, I figure that we rarely go out to dinner, we don't go to movies or out to bars or concerts, etc. so it's really a pretty cheap form of entertainment when all is said and done!

Don't worry if you don't see me for a while - I'll be in the studio playing with my new toys!

Art of the Carolinas Trade Show

This will be another day when I don't get to paint because of time. I'm going to the Art of the Carolinas trade show put on by Jerry's Artarama today and I'm very excited. It's the first one I've ever attended although we went to one in Boone, NC put on by Cheap Joe's Art Supplies and had a blast.

The show runs today from 9 am until 5:30 pm at the North Raleigh Hilton and since it's Saturday, I'm hoping to avoid the insane traffic that occurs on weekdays. Of course, I'm sure the trade show will be busy as it draws people from all over. It will also be going on tomorrow from 10 until 3.

There are quite a few vendors listed and I'm particularly interested in the UART booth as I've heard their pastel/colored pencil paper is very nice. It's a sanded paper and I believe it comes in several grits so you can choose the one that's right for you. I wanted to try out the different grits and see which one I like the best. Even though this paper comes from an industrial supplier of regular sandpaper, the art version is acid-free and suitable for long-lived works of art.

So, although I really don't need any art supplies at the moment, I'm sure I'll find something I have to have once I get there! lol

I'll let you know how it goes!