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    All images are Copyright Protected and the property of Jamie Williams Grossman. Paintings and photos displayed on this site may not be reprinted, copied, downloaded, displayed elsewhere, or used for any reason without her written permission.

    ------------------------------------- CUSTOMER REVIEWS

    "OMGGGGG, Jamie!!!! It's absolutely amazinggggggg!!!!!! I loveeeeee it!!!!!! This is sooo much more than I could have imagined!!! Thank you!!!!"

    "It's spectacular, Jamie!!! How talented you are! We absolutely love it! And you are right-the frame is just perfect for it! "

    "Happy" with it is an understatement! My sister's husband said, "Wow, it's beautiful!" That's a lot of emotion coming from him! haha. And my adult daughter said, "OMG MOM, ITS GORGEOUS!". You have added to your fan club!

    "Jamie, your painting arrived in perfect condition! And, as I expected, it looks even better ‘in person’ than on the computer screen. Thank you so much for your careful packing and wonderful painting."

    "...Today I finally surprised [my wife] with the actual painting! It is her birthday! And I just wanted to let you know the we both absolutely love it!! She was so so surprised, and just speechless.... Thank you again for being so flexible and good to work with! It was such a joy preparing for today and I appreciated your professionalism throughout the process!"

    "I love the new painting! It's actually a little more golden and fluid than it looks in the pic and I love the movement; everything in my house is a little on the warm and yellow and gold side so it could hang pretty much anywhere. It's going to the framer shortly and I look forward to having it up :-)"

    "Jamie, it's lovely!!! Thank you so much for all the time and love you've put into it! You have no idea how much joy your work is bringing to me. I'm very grateful!"

    "I just wanted to share that my father-in-law absolutely LOVES your painting. He loves the frame and said that he's never owned a real oil painting. ???? But most importantly, he loves the subject matter and he and my husband spent a lot of time reminiscing this morning about hikes they took there years ago. This part of the Hudson is, by far, their favorite! Thank you SO much for making this Christmas gift PERFECT."

    "Your paintings of my beloved Hudson Valley are stunning! I've always loved Hudson River paintings, and can't believe that I've found someone who is following in the great tradition of Cropsey and company! "

    "We received your painting yesterday and it's really very beautiful. Thank you again very much."

    "Your beautiful "Autumn at Rockwood" arrived in perfect condition two days ago. It is even more lovely in person than I ever could have imagined. Thank you so much for your artistry and your many kindnesses to me..... I will treasure both of my paintings very much ..."

    "I'm more than happy, I'm thrilled!"

    "I just wanted to let you know that I received [the painting] today! It is beautiful, thank you so much:)"

    "Your [miniature] Caillebotte arrived today. Wow, it's WAY better seeing it in person than viewing an image/photo of it. Spectacular..... Thank you so much!!"

    "It's beautiful. Thank you so much!"

    "Oh, Jamie! It is fabulous!!!!!!! I love it!"

    "Hi Jamie, I received painting yesterday. It's really beautiful! Thank you for sending so quickly. I'm sure it will give my friend hope and strengthen as she faces this battle with Parkinson's. Thank you!"

    "Jamie, My painting arrived Thursday and I love it. I will definitely order from you again."

    "[They] love the painting. They were so surprised. They really appreciate it and the thought and artistry behind it. They received many [wedding] gifts, and said this was one of their two favorites."

    "[My husband] loved loved loved the painting! It is hanging on the wall in my great room. It's just beautiful!"

    "Hi Jamie! The beautiful paintings arrived safe and sound this afternoon. I love them! (Boy you don't mess around with packing them ;) Thank you."

    "Hi Jamie –I thought you’d enjoy seeing “The Red Barge” framed. Until I give it to my husband on his birthday, I have it hanging in my office. I LOVE looking at it all day!"

    "I received the painting this morning. It is SO FANTASTIC!!!!!! I wish I would have had it done larger. Thank you! thank you!"

    "The East from Hunter Mountain painting arrived the other day. It made it through the snow and looks great. Thanks for everything."

    "Jamie, my wife and I love it. Thank you and great work. It was difficult trying to figure out a special gift for them......I'm very happy that I reached out to you. I know they will love the painting and the special touch you did with the card! "

    "Wow, it looks AMAZING! They are going to love it. I love the name too. Perfect. ... Thanks again!"

    "Your lovely painting of a sweet bird, framed beautifully, arrived last week.... I just adore it!!... I see it and injoy its beauty every day! Thank you so much!"

    "The painting is beautiful! I love it! "

    "Just a quick note to let you know your [miniature] Monet arrived in perfect condition. It looks fabulous!!! Thank you again so much."




    ------------------------------------------ If you haven't seen the two-DVD set, "The Impressionists", you don't know what you're missing!

    the-impressionists.jpg


    I rented it from Netflix and absolutely loved it. It is an enactment of the lives of Monet, Renoir, Manet, Cezanne, Degas, and other Impressionist painters living at that time around Paris. Fascinating and eye-opening!





Here’s my setup while test driving the new box!

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Click on any images below for a larger view. The post below this one gives instructions for making the box shown in these images.

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I’ve had this idea brewing in my head for almost a year, and finally made my car/laptop painting box this weekend! I wanted something extremely lightweight. This is made out of a single sheet of black foamcore! I used foamcore to make my pastel boxes, and was amazed by how sturdy it turned out to be when constructed properly. I used the same techniques to create this painting box. Best of all is that it weighs only one pound!

The white palette is a foam meat tray. I found them in an 11.25 x 9.25″ size and thought that would be ideal for palette inserts for my box, and also to use as palettes for oils and acrylics in open studio. They are perfect for gouache and casein too! I found a place online that had them and ordered a case of 250. A stack of four can fit in this lap box.

Here’s what the case looks like when it’s closed up for traveling. It measures 17x10x2″. The front closures are velcro strips.

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The box is sealed with a couple of coats of Golden GAC100, so it can be wiped clean and should be fairly water resistant in case of water and paint spills.

Inside the box, there’s ample room for brushes, paints, several foam palettes, paper towels, a small solvent container like the mini one made by Guerrilla Painter, or a collapsible water container like this Aqua Tote for acrylics.

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I found the little containers (above) in the camping department at a sporting goods store. They have an air-tight seal, so I think they should work out great for holding and storing all types of paints. With these two, I can hold more than enough colors for an outing plus a way to store leftovers when I’m done. However, the box is deep enough to hold tubes of paint if I prefer to bring the tubes.

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I decided to make the back hinges out of heavy duty velcro. Because this box is for multi-media use, and I also plan to use it for painting in my car, I wanted it to be as versatile as possible. Velcro hinges make the lid completely removable if the car is tight for space and I want to separate my drawing/painting support from the box itself, or if I need to lie it flat for watercolor work.

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This side arm prevents the box lid/painting support from opening too far. I decided to use velcro for this feature as well, in order to have greater adjustment potential. The velcro “hook” strips along the side (above) and the back (below) secure the arm made of the “loop” velcro.

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The Aqua Tote water holder, below, is one of my favoite items of painting gear for water media. Not only does it pack up into a small space in the box, but it also serves as my brush holder, and is very lightweight.

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These are available online from Dick Blick, Jerrys Artarama, and ASWexpress.com.

Another helpful item I found recently was a package of small misters. These are helpful for keeping acrylic paints wet on the palette, as well as for moistening paper for watercolor and acrylic wet techniques. They are only four inches long and 1/2″ wide. I found them at my local Michael’s Arts and Crafts shop.

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Now that I’ve finished taking photos and typing all this out, I’m going to find something to paint and give my new box a test drive!

Update after field testing:
I’d suggest using duct tape for the back hinge instead of the velcro strips. I’ve found that I have yet to make use of the capability to remove the box lid, and the velcro strips keep pulling up.
Instead of office clips to affix my painting support, I am finding blu-tac much more convenient. It enables me to paint right up to the edges of my work.
The office clips can be used on the left side of the lid (if right handed) to clip some paper towels or a rag to the lid. That way, the left side of the lower tray can be reserved for paint tubes/containers, mediums, and water/turp.

5 Responses to “Making a Multi-Media Laptop Painting Box”

What a great idea for an art box Jamie! Thanks for the posting the how to make it pics and hints too. I think this might work good for some oil pastels I am looking to tote around. Your latest series of paintings on linen is quite exceptional. Your paintings of glass are wonderful!

Cool box Jamie! I like the painting of it too.

Truley Inspired art Box. Never have painted so small but may try it . I love your work Thanks Linda

Thank you for the art box idea. An excellent idea that I may have to make one for myself.

Hal

I have made 4 pochade boxes so far and your approach is great. Cant wait to give one a try. Thank you for sharing.

Something to say?