1. ARTGRAF Nº1 – GRAPHITE PUTTY – BAG 150GR

To ensure the drawing’s integrity and stability, the ArtGraf Nº1 was developed to fix and dry quickly, allowing the work continuity even when used on wet surfaces. Keep the package sealed in order to keep the humidity. What to do when the product dries out even inside the packaging?

If you notice that the putty shows signs of excessive drying, add water, incrementally, depending on how adaptable you want the material to be. When the product shows to be completely dry, you can fix it just with the addition of water in the packaging itself, wait 1 or 2 days and it will return to its initial state. Treat it as clay.

RRP: 11,20€

drawing will never be the same

A little about Viarco history:

The origin of Viarco’s history dates back to 1907, in Vila do Conde, Portugal, with the name of Portugália. The company was a pioneer in the development and production of writing articles in the country, but the activity had been seriously affected by Portugal’s entry into World War I and mostly by the Great Depression of 1929/31.

The turning point was in 1931, when Manoel Vieira Araújo, an experienced industrial hatter, decides to diversify the activity fields of Vieira Araújo & Cª, Lda, and acquires the Portuguese Pencil Factory.

In 1936, the brand that would go along with generations of Portuguese until the present day – Viarco – is registered.

The first years of work were focused in the research and development of equipment and production methods that allowed to further improve product quality as well as to diversify the offerings.

In 1941, when the market was already mature, the company relocated to the current facilities in S. João da Madeira, taking with it all the equipment and many employees who decided to start a new life along with the factory.

The following years were marked by successive technological developments that led to the beginning of the production of crayons and a wide range of technical pencils used in the most diverse occupations.

In the 70’s the pencil factory becomes autonomous and is renamed to Viarco – Indústria de Lápis, Lda (Viarco – Pencil Industry, Lda).

2. The ARTEINA Dry Point Ø3mm

is a really useful tool made of high quality steel and with a comfortable wooden handle, which provides it a really kind and useful touch when in use. Each of Arteina’s dry points is made using hand-crafted artisan processes and sharpened by hand one by one, which concedes it a professional finish and provides our tool a long lasting life. Made in Spain.

RRP: 6,00€

ARTEINA High Quality Art Tools and Equipment

Arteina is a small familiar company, located in Sant Pere de Torelló (Barcelona) and devoted exclusively to the manufacturing of machinery and tools for fine arts and typography.

We started our relationship with the manufacturing of tools and machinery for fine arts in 1970, and one of the main reasons that drove Arteina to establish its base in 1989 was our need to innovate and create our own designs.

Nowadays, we are a proud reference both in quality and design of our products. We offer a vast range of etching presses with many different options and features, and we also personalize them to the needs of our customers. Among our main products, we manufacture vertical, manual and hydraulic presses for Xylography and Linocut, and we are also specialists in Proofing Presses for Typography, together with a wide range of tools and sets.

More infos >>> www.arteina.com

3. Van gogh Oil Pastel 6 pcs mixed colors

Van Gogh oil pastels are briliant colours made with pure pigments, mineral oils, and wax binders for a remarkably soft and smooth laydown with no dust. Wonderful tinting strength and easy colour transfer. Suitable on various grounds. This 24-stick general colour selection set includes: White(5) (100.5), Light Yellow(5) (201.5), Deep Yellow(5) (202.5), Lemon Yellow(5) (205.5), Yellow Ochre(5) (227.5), Orange(5) (235.5), Vermillion(5) (311.5), Scarlet(5) (334.5), Deep Rose(5) (362.5), Burnt Umber(5) (409.5), Burnt Sienna(5) (411.5), Sepia(5) (416.5), Ultramarine(5) (504.5), Prussian Blue(5) (508.5), Turquoise Blue(5) (522.5), Violet(5) (536.5), Red Violet(7) (545.7), Blue Violet(5) (548.5), Phthalo Blue(5) (570.5), Permanent Green Medium(5) (614.5), Sap Green(5) (623.5), Fir Green(5) (654.5), Phthalo Green(5) (675.5), Black(5) (700.5).

RRP: 6,00€

4. Water color Paper 300g, A5 Sheets,

The upcrate watercolor paper is ideal for all watercolor and mixed media applications! Like the deck of a ship, the 300g/m2 thick paper does not buckle if you work with multiple layers or wet on wet techniques. The cold-pressed paper has a rough and a smooth side, which offer the best surface for your art depending on your preference.

RRP: 1,00€

ARTIST OF THE MONTH:

XANA SOUSA

Website

Xana is an artist, with a degree in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon – 2008 – and a master’s degree in Artistic Creation: Realisms and Contexts from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Barcelona – 2010.

She develops her work in the field of drawing and painting, making interventions on paper, fabrics and old objects, basing her process on the relationship between Subject, Object and Space, interconnected by the concept of memory.

Where do you find ideas for your art process?

My work is often based or has its starting point in memories, references, happenings or objects from my childhood. My creative process tends to gravitate a lot towards my roots and the strong connection I feel to the countryside and the deep rural area where I was born and spent a great part of my younger years at.
Naturally, I am also influenced by my everyday experiences and surroundings and what is happening in the world in general.

How often do you make art, and what does it mean to you?

It’s a bit hard to quantify the frequency with which I create my work because I feel like every single one of my creations starts far before the physical act of materialising it; it’s a continuous process that keeps building up until the very last moment of the finished piece. For that reason, I constantly have the feeling that I’m never not creating; even seemingly mundane events can have an influence on the direction some of my works will go.

Sometimes there are some projects that require a more pragmatic and methodical approach, like site specific pieces that have a set deadline or a premiere date, so I always try to find a good balance between being productive and not letting the pressure influence my creative process in any way.

Making art is like a manifestation of who I am, it’s something that I always had in me and something that I’ll carry throughout my entire life. It’s a way to express feelings and show a part of me that I genuinely wouldn’t know how I could reveal if it wasn’t through my work.

What are your plans for the future?

I’ve been having a pretty busy 2024 so far, with solo exhibitions and other events, and I still have some more lined up, but for the second part of the year, I really want to take a break and focus on developing some new pieces.

From a more long-term point of view, I want to keep creating and trying to make my work reach as many people as possible. I want to keep discovering and collaborating with other artists in order to challenge myself and allow me to grow as an artist and human being.

I also have an ongoing project based on an artist residency where you live for a given period of time in a really small hut out in the wilderness, completely isolated from the real world, while producing artwork. I started it a while ago as a personal project, but I want to invite other artists in the upcoming years.

Tell us what a day in your life looks like if you’re not making art.

If I’m not travelling, usually I reserve the mornings for computer work like replying to emails, taking a look at my agenda, checking my social media, etc. The rest of the day, it’s always kind of random, to be honest. I can be doing some yoga, spending hours gardening or reading, doing stuff at the house, hiking — just pretty normal things.

What was the most exciting part of your work with the box, and what was the biggest challenge?

I would say that the most exciting part for me is the technique itself and how, by having that top graphite layer, you can gradually reveal the underneath layers as you go. It’s like a performative drawing that changes with each scrape you do, and you never know where it’s going to take you.
What is your artistic process like?

My process can vary according to the type of work I’m doing, because I can be doing a small format drawing at home or up in a crane working on a multi-story building facade, but regardless of the medium, my work is always highly conceptual, and that’s the concept that ends up leading the whole process.

I always start with a deep research, and by taking lots of notes, I then start gathering objects, photographs, and everything else that I feel can lead me to the main idea. I also tend to do a lot of initial rough sketches before starting work on the final piece, but once I start, I feel it’s a pretty straight-forward process; it’s just a matter of putting into practice everything I learned, imagined, and planned in the previous steps.

This box is full of different art supplies. How do you deal with the different supplies to put them together into one artwork?

In my particular case, I always analyze beforehand how the different materials I have at my disposal will contribute to what I’m trying to conceive and always try to not feel overwhelmed or pressured to use a particular technique or material just because I have access to it. Once again, I always try to make the concept the catalyst and to not drift away from it, regardless of the resources I have.

If you take my Upcrate as an example, you have a set of different pastel oil colors, but it’s up to you to use them all, or maybe just a single one of them; it all depends on where your creativity and feelings take you.