North Light Shop - Digital Download Deficiencies

Going round in circles - trying to download to no avail

This is all about how the North Light Shop makes it difficult for international customers trying to download a digital copy of The Pastel Journal

I've become a big fan of digital downloads of books and magazines - but while iTunes and Amazon work fine for me (and sync between my Mac and iPad beautifully)  it is possible to encounter difficulties when trying to buy/download from suppliers who are less well attuned to digital downloads.

Art Magazines from North Light Shop

I used to subscribe to various American Art Magazines but gradually got fed up by the time they took to arrive and the cost relative to the content - given the amount of content available for free online which was of comparable quality.

The other major problem was the massive postage cost for international customers which made a journal which is available for a reasonable cost in the USA a very expensive proposition when buying as an overseas customer.

It's a challenge that a lot of publishers of journals and magazines face.  It's also a challenge which must be losing them custom and customers.

One of the delights of the Internet is that it is now possible to order individual copies of magazines as digital downloads.   That means I can get a copy as soon as the magazine is published.  It's all very fast - see/buy/download/receive.  The admin process is extremely speedy on other sites.  The only time I have to wait is the time to receive the download.

This is why some of the publishers of art magazines now make digital downloads available from their website stores.

Which is fine - so long as they work!

This is the story of trying to buy the April 2011 copy of the Pastel Journal which has the Pastel 100 winners in it.

It was always a copy I looked forward to getting and I'm very happy to try and download a digital copy for $7.99 (although I would expect the publishers to realise at some point that they will achieve a lot more sales when they start relating the digital file to cost ie there are no paper or printing costs involved with a digital file)

This is the process I followed - which ended up in this blog post.

• Read Pastel Journal Blog - see article about the Pastel Journal 100 edition and click the link to the 12th annual Pastel 100 competition
• Arrive at North Light Store 
• Bonus:  I note the following This item does not have shipping or handling fees, but does count toward your order total to receive free shipping on other products.
• Realise I need to set up an account and do so.  Get rather irritated by an antiquated American ecommerce system which assumes all international addresses work in exactly the same way as American ones.  It's something I've seen a lot of in the past but much less so nowadays hence the irritation at having to make "England" a province.  It's a country!
• Click through the North Light website menu to get to the Pastel Journal and choose the digital download option for the Pastel Journal 100 issue (April 2011)
• Next I click the link and.......

• Billing information has been automatically inserted
• Just the payment information to complete (what a pity they don't offer Paypal which is used by soooooooo many people these days for international payments)
• see the shipping information but do not complete this as they don't need it, the digital download is coming to my computer.  It's not a CD coming to my B&M address
• HOWEVER I do note that there is no option for "digital download" in the shipping information!  Which seems very odd to say the least
• Odd that is until I press "continue"
• The next thing I get is a screen demanding that I complete a shipping address.  This states the following

Invalid First Name For Shipping Address
Invalid Last Name For Shipping Address
Invalid Shipping Address 1
Invalid City For Shipping Address
Invalid Postal Code for Shipping Address
Invalid Ship Country

• So now I wonder what to do - which is never a situation I like to be in when in the middle of a transaction on a secure website
• I try choosing default and that loads my home address and announces that it's going to send me my digital download as "international printed matter"
• I try the same process twice more with identical result.  Nope I didn't do anything wrong.  The system running on the North Light Store does not appear to be one which can cope with digital downloads of files!  Either that or somebody forgot to ask the webmaster to include instructions specifically for digital download customers.
• This is the point at which I begin to "lose it" and......
• Start this blog post instead.  I give up!

So - a question for you

Has anybody SUCCESSFULLY downloaded a digital file to an international address from the North Light Store?

• If so, what did you do?  Did it arrive as a digital download?
• If not, why not?  Plus what did you next?

Faber Castell Coloured Pencils - Ann Swan Selection

Ann Swan selection of Faber Castell Coloured Pencils

I got a pleasant surprise earlier this month when attending the Private View of the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists (Review: Society of Botanical Artists Exhibition 2011).  In the "shop" area of the exhibition were all the usual piles of books about creating botanical art - and next to them was a stack of tins which indicated they were a brand new set of coloured pencils by Faber Castell.

Faber Castell have teamed up with Ann Swan to create a set of 24 pencils specifically selected to go with her book about creating botanical art with coloured pencils (see Book review: Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils).  Each of the tins has a special sticker on it - as per the illustration.

The colours chosen by Ann for this starter set of pencils are:  

1. FC101 White
2. FC103 Ivory
3. FC102 Cream
4. FC184 Dark Naples Ochre
5. FC118 Scarlet Red
6. FC142 Madder
7. FC133 Magenta
8. FC193 Burnt Carmine
9. FC194 Red violet
10. FC123 Fuchsia
11. FC134 Crimson
12. FC139 Light Violet
13. FC138 Violet
14. FC170 May Green
15. FC168 Earth Green Yellowish
16. FC172 Earth Green
17. FC174 Chrome Green Opaque
18. FC278 Chrome Green Oxide
19. FC179 Bistre
20. FC178 Nougat
21. FC175 Dark Sepia
22. FC230 Cold Grey I
23. FC274 Warm Grey V
24. FC273 Warm Grey IV

You can order the sets from Ann Swan for £30 plus P&P or buy them for the same price at the last day of the exhibition tomorrow - if there are any left!

Alternatively, if you're already using Faber Castell pencils you might want to check out your colours against those selected for the tin.

Links to book:

• (In the UK) Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils  
• (In the USA) Botanical Portraits with Colored Pencils

Product Review: Derwent Black Book

Derwent Black Book (A4 size)

Coloured pencils have a reputation for sinking into black paper over time - which is a bit of a nuisance to put it mildly as this can alter the value pattern of any artwork you produce!

Derwent sent me one of their Black Books to review a while ago.  I've been waiting a while to check out the impact of black paper on my coloured pencils. Below you can now read my review.

Product:  Derwent Black Book

Summary Review:  This is a black paper sketchbook.  The stiff 200gsm paper is suitable for dry rather than wet media.  I very much liked the surface and it's easy to take an eraser to it without abrading the surface. In terms of colour, woodless pencils such as my set of Caran d'Ache Neocolour worked better than colours from a range of brands.  Watersoluble pencils are useless on this paper as tints are totally invisible.  Some colours sink into the paper or are distorted due to its colour.  Others appear more muted. In my opinion, it's a sketchbook which is very suitable for use with colours which retain brightness and saturation on this paper - which not all do (see colour charts).  Having said that it's no worse than any other black paper.  Selective use of certain colours will create images with impact.

Technical Details: The Derwent Black Book is a black paper sketchbook.  Available in 3 popular sizes A3 landscape, A4 portrait and Square (12” or 30.5cms) each one contains 40 sheets of 200gsm black paper (which means it's stiffish) heavy weight paper which does not abrade easily and can take a lot of layers of coloured pencil Derwent states it can be used with water soluble pencils for light washes.  (Which means it's likely to buckle if you do any more than that)

Who should buy this? artists interested in drawing and sketching on black paper people interested in flexing their approach to creating a coloured drawing

Who should not buy this?  those who don't like coloured paper

Highlights: sturdy paper with a very smooth surface accepts coloured pencils and waxneocolour crayons well certain colours pop (while others are suddued) sturdy ring binding - gives the sense of lasting a long while and NOT getting annoying

Think Again? the black paper mutes the colours of ordinary artists' coloured pencils  some colours 'sink' over time (a common problem with black paper) some colours do not display 'true' eg yellow takes on a greenish tinge (true of very many black papers) it's useless for watercolour or dispersing watersoluble coloured pencils/crayons.  Tints disappear.

Manufacturer / Distributor:  Cumberland Pencil Company (product page)

Suppliers:  supplied to me as test item to review; available from Derwent retailers Online Retailers include: Heaton Cooper; Artifolk

Derwent have a small range of sketch books which contain stiffish black paper.  Each sketchbook has 40 sheets of 200gsm black paper, which means it's a weight which makes it similar to thin card.  There are a good range of sizes which offer an opportunity to do larger work.  

I tried it with a range of coloured pencils from different brands and with Caran d'Ache Neocolour.  I had a suspicion they might work better with wax crayons - and they do.

Of the charts below the first one is coloured pencils and the second one is neocolour.  After that there are a couple of sketches made using (1) coloured pencils and (2) neocolor crayons.

Coloured Pencils from various brands

In my view, some of the colours have "sunk" over time.  Others continue to appear muted.  The white (bottom right) is actually a white charcoal pencil.

The next chart is of neocolor crayons which to my mind work a lot better.

Chart of Neocolor II Aquarelle Artists' Crayons

Neocolor II Aquarelle Artists' Crayons have a high pigment concentration and seem to work much better on this paper.  I tried wetting the ends of the colour bars to see how a tint might look - and you can see the results.  You can't see anything!  Basically black paper is not suitable for washes or tints - they simply won't show up!

Now for the sketches to see how the colours work together on the paper.  I would say that working on black paper means adapting to a new way of working where the darks are supplied largely by the paper.

First the sketch with coloured pencils.  As you can see the whites look grey - and I tried several!  hence why I ended up using the whitest white I know which is the White Pastel Pencil.

Hertford Union Canal
Coloured Pencils in Derwent Black Book
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I wouldn't exhibit this as overall the colours are just too muted - as found with the colour chart.  However note how effective working back into the sketch with an eraser is for picking out the lowlights.

Next a sketch using the necolor crayons.  This I think demonstrates how well the paper works if you go with big shapes, bold colours, a calligraphic way of working - and again work back into it with an eraser to find the darkest darks

Schönbrunn Park (after Klimt)
Caran d'ache Neocolour in Derwent Black Book
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Overall a book I've been interested to try and one which I will doubtless continue to try in terms of finding what works well with it.

The black paper is very nice - if you accept its limitations.  Expect to see more experiments in the future!

Links:  Watermarks - Schönbrunn Park - after Klimt

Art supplies and art shops outside the UK and USA

I've finally got round to publishing a resource site I started ages ago. Art Supplies Around The World - Resources for Artists is a listing for art shops and stores located in Europe, Asia and Australasia.

Arcobaleno Pigmenti de Nube Massimo, Venice (the pigment shop)
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

It is however far from complete in terms of all the good art shops which are out there.

I've started with the ones I know and have heard about.  I'm very keen to add in more that readers of this blog might recommend - so that this information can be shared around between those of us who travel.

Do let me know if you've got any- and leave a comment below.  If possible identify:

• the name of the shop
• its website address
• its physical address / town / country

POLL: Which "Print on Demand" site do you like the best? (Update #1)

Last summer I started a poll on Print on Demand - Resources for Artists to identify what people's preferences were in relation to different Print on Demands websites.

The popularity of the various 'print on demand' sites waxes and wanes. We know something about the traffic they get ( see the traffic charts below) but what do people think of them after they've used them and/or bought items from them? This poll set out to find out.

This is the situation some six months on.  44 people have responded to date.

Print on Demand Poll as at 12th February 2011

Print on demand - art prints/posters and other printed items

Clearly Zazzle is way out in front.

However looking at the preferences in the context of traffic enables us to get a better picture

Zazzle's premier position is echoed by the growth in traffic to their website.  Zazzle and Cafe Press are far and away the largest competitors with traffic peaking at nearly 7 millon a month in December.  However, since last summer, Zazzle has consistently attracted more traffic than Cafe Press.

Zazzle's traffic (blue) overtook that of CafePress (green) last summer
(January 2010 - January 2011)

Red Bubble is the newest website in this competitive marketplace.  It picked up second place in the order of preferences.

Again this is born out by the compete.com chart when comparing the traffic of Imagekind and Red Bubble - where it can be seen that Red Bubble has been beating Imagekine for all of the last 12 months.

Imagekind (blue) has been consistently losing out to Red Bubble (green) in the last 12 months
(January 2010 - January 2011)

Interestingly 20% of those voting preferred another site - but rather frustratingly didn't say which!

See Print on Demand - Art for more information, advice and tips about the different websites

Print of demand publications

In the print of demand publications stakes, Lulu is preferred to Blurb.  Again this reflects the relative position on traffic.

Lulu's traffic approximately three times that of Blurb (January 2010 - January 2011)

See Print on Demand - Publications for more information

Conclusions / your views

Overall, traffic is a pretty good indicator of preference - with the exception of CafePress.  This site has extremely high traffic but is not the site of choice for most people.  One can only assume this say something about people's experiences with the site or their reputation.

• What's your preferred print on demand website - and why?   
• Have you voted on the poll? - please update the poll if you have not yet voted
  

Moleskine Folio Sketchbook - A3 size

Moleskine A3 size (16 ½” x 12”, 29cm x 42cm) Folio Sketchbook

Yesterday I came across an A3 size Moleskine Folio Sketchbook - and bought it without a second thought.  I've been using Moleskine sketchbooks for the last five years and although I might go out with other makes there's always at least one in my backpack!

I haven't even got the cellophane cover off yet and I'm ecstatic.

My A4 size Moleskine Folio Sketchbook has been my new favourite sketchbook for a while now.  It has all the features of the original "Large" Moleskine Sketchbook - but bigger.  Which means:

• 96 pages measuring 21 x 29.7cm. This means a double spread in inches is 11.5" tall by 16" wide and is my new favourite format for sketches

• the paper is the same high quality heavy paper, acid free paper. The 160 g/m2 weight means nothing ever shows through to the other side - which means you can use both sides of a page all the way though the sketchbook!
• all the paper is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified
 - which I applaud
• smooth black hardback cover with rounded corners and an elastic band closure
.  The latter is invaluable for avoiding the edges of your paper getting dog-eared.
• inside the end cover there is an inner expandable pocket which I use for mementoes of trips and tickets

The big benefit for me  of having an A3 size Moleskine sketchbook is that I will now be able to do the same large sketches - but with no crease down the middle as I no longer need to use a double page spread.  

The Royal Academy - Courtyard of Burlington House - in the rain
11" x 17", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Folio Sketchbook A4
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Now I've got a paper I really like for the media I use and that's big enough for the size of sketch I like to do I might even taken one apart and start selling sketches!

You can see my sketches using a Moleskine on

• Travels with a Sketchbook - the blog
• Travels with a Sketchbook - the portfolio website page

I bought my new A3 sketchbook in the big Waterstones on Piccadilly.  It was priced at very nearly £30.  However I've seen them for less elsewhere including on Amazon. 

Which dark soft pastels are the best?

Soft pastels in very dark colours present a challenge which some manufacturers have tried to address.  This post is about soft pastels in dark colours, shades and tints - and a new opinion poll.

Common problems are:

• Some brands can feel abrasive and scratchy.  Dark shades and tints of soft pastels have a reputation for not being the softest of soft pastels.
• Other brands are 'too hard' and fail to release their pigment load easily
• It can also be very difficult to get hold of good rich colour in dark shades.  Dark should not mean that colour disappears.

Some manufacturers have addressed these problems by creating specific dark sets of soft pastels. These aim to balance the quality of pigment colour (ie colour not black!) with softness and the effective release of the pigment onto the support while also offering a good range of dark colours.

Many a pastel artist has developed a quest for set of pastels which are both soft and dark

I started out with a set of Rembrandt Pastels and found the dark shades to be a tad too hard for my liking.  I addedin Daler Rowney Soft Pastels and liked those - but they disappeared a bit too fast for my liking

I then got a set of Unison Darks and was smitten.  These are very dark and yet have good pigment colour - but are also not abrasive or "too hard".

My set of Unison Darks - photographed when still relatively pristine!

I've also tried out some dark Terry Ludwig pastels in a pastel workshop.  Some pastel artists comment that these work better on abrasive supports rather than paper where to some they feel a little too greasy.  There are two sets of dark Ludwig Pastels:

• Intense Darks #1 set is red/sienna/ochre/brown oriented
• Intense Darks #2 set is blue/grey/purple/mauve oriented

You can also get a set of 60 Intense Darks

Terry Ludwig - 60 Intense Darks

Diane Townsend has a set of 12 dark soft form pastels. she also lists the individual colours whcih means they could be bought singly.  These are Deborah Secor's favourite dark pastels and she says they cover Wallis paper really fast.  She recommends the dark green for those doing landscapes.

Diane Townsend - soft form.  Dark 12 piece set

Sennelier have a set of 24 dark tones.

Sennelier Pastels - Set of 24 dark tones

Pan Pastels have a set of extra dark colours available as 3 sets of 5 colours each - extra dark shades, shadows and earth colours


Daler Rowney now have a dark set - 8 Set Dark Selection Code 153 902 008 - you can see a picture of them here

Girault are said to have a dark set but I've never seen one and can't find one on their website.  Others may have developed specific dark sets and if so I'd love to hear about them.

Which dark pastels do you like best - and how do you buy them?  

Please vote in the NEW OPINION POLL Which is your favourite brand of dark soft pastels? in  Pastels - Resources for Artists

I'd also love to hear about your favourite brands of dark pastels either in connection with the poll or by commenting below.

ALSO How do you like to buy your dark pastels?

• as a specific set of dark pastels (which can be quite expensive) 
• or in singles from open stock

Do please let me know what you think by commenting below

More information

Links to dark sets

• UNISON COLOUR | Pastels - Unison Dark Set
• Terry Ludwig Pastels: 30 Intense darks #1
• Terry Ludwig Pastels: 30 Intense Darks #2
• Diane Townsend - set of 12 dark soft form pastels
• Mount Vision - dark sets of pastels

Links to reviews

• (Review) Making a Mark: Unison Pastels: the Darks and the Lights
• Wetcanvas Pastels - Recommendations for darks - sets or individuals

Links to more information about pastels:

• Pastels - Resources for Artists
• Unison Pastels - Resources for Artists