Art Tools of Omar Jaramillo

We have Omar Jaramillo with us today to talk about the tools he uses.

Qn: How about giving our readers an introduction? What do you do for work?

I was born in Ecuador, South America. I have an architectural background. My work as an architect allowed me to travel to many places in the past. However I am currently working as an artist and illustrator in Berlin. I sell watercolors, offer drawing and painting courses, and work on commissioned illustrations for magazines and other publications. I also get hired to do graphic recording for talks and meetings.

Qn: Can you give us a rundown on the pens and brushes you use?

I use mostly Faber Castell Pitt Pens, in Sepia and Sanguina. Small Size. I like them because Sepia is a middle value. Also Sepia and Sanguina are the colors that artists and travellers used to sketch in the past. The pens are waterproof, so I can also work with watercolors.

I use a Pentel black brush pen, usually at the end, since it is not waterproof. I always have a white pen, like the Signo Uniball.

I have a Pentel water brush, but I prefer to use my Petit Gris Da Vinci brush made with squirrel hair. It holds a lot of water and when new, you can draw very thin lines.

Qn: That travel brush set looks interesting. Where did you buy them?

I got the travel watercolor brush set in Boesner. It is a big art supply store in Germany.

Qn: Do you use fountain pens? I don't see them in the pictures.

I use a Super5 fountain pen. It is a new brand in Germany. I am still playing with it. I use it mostly to do fast portraits.

Qn: How are the colours in this Winsor & Newton watercolour box?

It is actually a Cotman case, there is a rubber band that allows you to hold it with just a thumb. I have been replacing the pans with Windsor & Newton professional quality paints.

I don't really care about remembering the colors in my palette. But the first thing I did was taking out the white and the black and replace it with an empty pan that I always fill with fresh Sepia color from Shin Han. I use Shin Han artists watercolor for doing large watercolors. What I am describing here is what I carry with me every day in my bag.

Qn: Why did you add the Shin Han Sepia to your palette?

I think is important to have a fresh sepia. Almost dry you get a very dark color, if you use a normal black pan, you will need to add water and the result is a dull grey.

Qn: Please tell us what you use those items for in the picture above, especially the rubber? Are these all part of your outdoor sketching kit?

The water cup from Faber Castell is practical because in can be folded and doesn't fill much space in my bag or pocket.

The spray bottle allows me to wet the page or create some effects.

The wristband with the Australian kangaroo was a present from Liz Steel, and I use it to clean my brush before using a different color.

The rubber is for holding the pages on windy days, but it has a nice color and a space in between. I can fit cards on it.

Qn: Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbooks. What sizes do you use? What do you think about them? Have you tried sketchbooks from their other series?

I have tried all products from Stillman & Birn. They are great for mix media.

Currently I am using the landscape one, and the smallest when I draw people in the metro. Both are Alpha, 150 GSM but I can work in them like watercolor paper, have more pages and it is cheaper than a watercolor sketchbook.

Watercolor on Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbook