Buying too much...

I am sure I am not alone in "going overboard" on a hobby, and end up buying items that I will probably never use. In some hobbies with small specialist suppliers, the principle of "Buy it when you see it" is almost essential, as you can never be certain that the supplier will still be trading six months or a year later. To illustrate my excesses, look at the items in this month's posting's photo: a number of Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolour pads, Pro Arte brushes and a couple of Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Box sets. They are all in as new condition. Will they ever be used? I don't know yet...

The watercolour paper pads date mostly from the time I was attempting to dip a toe in the water. I can't remember why I got the large pad of 90 lb Not paper, but the small pad of 140 lb Not paper was bought in case I needed to entertain myself on a day trip to beautiful Quebec City. (I spent a wonderful day with old friends visiting old haunts instead!) The 140 lb Not block is more recent, and seemed like a good idea at the time, but I have since purchased other makes of papers to experiment with.

Many of us like (what seems like) a bargain, so the pack of Pro Arte Renaissance brushes (front) seemed a really good deal for a small selection of Kolinsky sables. Given the convenient pack, it is not unlikely that I will use at least one of them for some detail work in the future. At present though, they are invisibly marked "For rainy day use only".

The medium-sized Pro Arte goat hair wash brush may also get a run out one day. I am not convinced that I am using the ideal wash brush yet, so I have a couple of other wash brushes lined up, and even a household sponge may get the nod. I think I need something that holds a good quantity of water/wash, makes broad strokes, but can also be controlled fairly precisely. Probably too many things to ask for in one brush, especially if I am also expecting change from a ten pound note!

Finally, the pair of Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Boxes (back). As mentioned before, although they have their limitations and faults, I really like them. Therefore, when my favoured supplier had them on special offer, it was too much to resist. I have four of them now, only one of which sees regular use at present. But this gives me options if I want to experiment with other palettes. (Sure, that's what they all say!)