Daily Archives: June 17, 2017

Another great entry in this movie catering cozy mystery series

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Iiiireader

Murder is the Main Course (A Red Carpet Catering Mystery) (Volume 4)

By: Another great entry in this movie catering cozy mystery series

Rating: 5 of 5

This is the fourth entry in the A Red Carpet Catering Mystery series. The sleuth is Penelope Sutherland, who is also the owner and head chef of Red Carpet Catering, which is a catering service for movies and television crews.

In this book, Penelope and her crew are on the road in Indiana. She is once again working with her best friend, housemate, and part-time employer, Arlena. Arlena is also an up-and-coming movie star. While she is part of the story, there is less focus on her as well as on any of the mainstay characters (Joey, Max and Randall) in the series besides Penelope.

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25 grayscale designs from the artwork of Tim Jeffs designs printed on one side of the page

Posted on June 17, 2017 by iiiireaderadmin

Intricate Ink: Animals in Detail Volume 2: A Coloring Book by Tim Jeffs

By: Tim Jeffs

Rating: 5 of 5

While this is a really beautiful hardback coloring book of 25 grayscale designs by Tim Jeffs, I must admit I was a bit disappointed that in Volume 2, there are only 25 designs as compared to the 50 designs in Volume 1. If the cost were half, that might make sense but that is not the case. If you haven’t purchased the first bookIntricate Ink: Animals in Detail Coloring Book, you may want to consider that as it is a wonderful value.

Having said that, I still love the new book. It adds more animals to the beautiful designs I already own. The animals look incredibly life-life. So much so, you might think that they are photographs but they are all done by the artist himself. There is beautiful shading already added (via tones of gray) and coloring is a real joy.
My preferred method of doing grayscale is to use alcohol-based markers as a base coat and then to add shading and details with colored pencils. It works beautifully with this book.
Included in this book are the following animals (in order): Bearded Dragon 2, Swallowtail Butterfly, Jackson’s Chameleon, Parson’s Chameleon, Blue Crab, Mandarin Duck, African Elephant 4, Asian Elephant, Elk, Flamingo, Red Fox, Giraffes, Hummingbird, Jaguar 3, Lionfish 2, Mandarinfish, Moos, Barred Owl, Great Gray Owl, Peacock, Green Tree Python, Rooster, Sea Turtle 2, Tortoise, and Toucan.
This is what I discovered while coloring in this book and using my coloring medium to test the pages:
25 Grayscale Designs based on the artwork of Tim Jeffs
Printed on one side of the page
Paper is heavyweight, white, slightly smooth, and non-perforated
Sewn binding with a thin glossy hard back cover
The book opens flat easily.
There is enough room to remove a page if you wish to do so. I won’t but, instead, will use the book as a coffee table book both while I am coloring it and when it is finished.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through this paper quite readily
Water-based markers can spot through. The exception was my Tombow brush ends did not spot through even with dark and bright colors.
Gel pens and India ink pens did not bleed through but some gel pens took much longer to dry than usual.
Colored pencils worked well with this paper. I tested both oil and wax based in several brands. I was able to get light pigment as well as heavy (with multiple layers) and to layer colors and blend well using a pencil style blending stick. My hard lead pencils were good color as well with crisp lines and did not dent through