WHEN I LOOK AT BOTH my home studio and my working studio (yes, I have two studios!), it’s hard to believe how many supplies I’m surrounded by now. In 2006, when I first started painting, journaling, collage work and overall dabbling in mixed media, I could fit all the supplies I owned on a medium-sized decorative shelf ladder, along with a few assorted stamps, pens, papers and brushes I kept on my desk. Just like most art supply “collectors” (and I do say that word loosely as there is a fine line between collector and hoarder), I find it hard to resist whatever is calling me at the moment. Whether it’s the thrill of a shiny new paint color or a brush that promises master pieces at the end of the stroke, it’s hard to say no.
Over time, though, I have developed an appreciation for higher-quality supplies and professional-grade materials. After disappointments with canvases that warped after I painted for hours on them, paints that appeared dull or cracked because of too much water and impure binder in their formulas, bristles falling out and becoming part of my painting, it goes without saying that some of the frustration experienced could have been avoided if I had invested a little more in my craft.
Here’s the contradiction I will pose for you: You don’t need to buy the best products if you are new to painting. It’s like if you were just starting to sew and weren’t even sure if you were going to enjoy the process, you more than likely wouldn’t buy the best sewing machine on the market right out of the gate. Rather, you’d start with one that was affordable and good to practice with and then upgrade after you were fairly certain you would stick with the medium. With that in mind, buy a few key colors (your primaries for example), and learn to mix those colors. In the next few pages, I’ll share information and tips about typical supplies we will be using. Hopefully for those that are new to painting, they’ll help you make better decisions as to what to add to your artistic arsenal.
Acrylic paints typically come in a few different levels of viscosity: flow, fluid, soft body, heavy body or impasto. Each of these styles of paint results in looks that are slightly different from one another. If you prefer a thin water media approach to acrylic painting, flow or fluid are good choices. If you want more coverage and easy blending, soft body does the job. If your painting calls for brushstrokes to come through and peeks of paint to keep their form, heavy body or impasto fit the bill. My favorite paints are definitely Golden Artist Colors. I use them in virtually every painting I create. Along with Golden, other great choices include Matisse, Liquitex and Charvin.
If you haven’t yet discovered how versatile stencils are in your art repertoire, run to your nearest art supply store or online supplier and grab a few! I use them for background patterns, textural elements and to add to the design of my compositions in countless ways. When printing, especially, stencils and stamps offer easy and unique ways to construct interesting patterns and designs. Commercially made stencils are so well made and affordable it’s easy to see why artists have made them a staple in their toolboxes. There are many tutorials available online or in a variety of books, which can show you how to make your own stencils or stamps, if you would rather have marks that are uniquely your own.
For quick brilliant color, inks provide a sheer or semiopaque, thin coverage that is perfect for use as base stains or under paintings, drips, pours and splatters. Use ink in a fountain or dip pen to create line work or use it with a thin brush to draw on your details. I love using glazes for applications over the top of my paintings or for use in my Claybord paintings, as you’ll see in subsequent chapters.
When faced with the plethora of brushes available for acrylic painting, it’s no wonder artists and students are confused. First and foremost, steer clear of the twenty-brush packs for ten dollars. Not only will bristles land in your paint, your brushstrokes will be inconsistent and very hard to blend or shape cohesively. Choose brushes that are appropriate for the size of your project. A large brush should be a staple in every artist toolbox for painting on substrates bigger than 12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm). Include a few flats, rounds and angled brushes as well. You’ll also need a fan brush along with a brayer. Size and brand are personal choices. I have found the Creative Mark brushes a good synthetic option at affordable prices.
Using silicon scrapers or even old credit cards to apply paint in a textural way has become one of my favorite methods of paint application and reduction. Palette knives are key tools for mixing paint, applying color for a more gestural and organic look, as well as scraping or pulling back layers. Add a few scrapers to your collection and experiment with the many ways you can utilize mark-making tools in your work, abstract or otherwise.
As a mixed-media artist at heart, I feel that practically everything is fair game for use in my paintings. Most of the time I include all of these supplies listed, along with gel mediums and drawing tools in my work. Water-soluble crayons and pencils, charcoal, graphite, paint pens, markers, India ink pens and gel pens are just some of the options I find useful for adding details, sketching compositions, shading, highlighting and of course, mark making.
All artists will have their favorite odds and ends they can’t live without in addition to the more common supplies used. My favorite extra tools include a spray bottle, heat gun, sponges, drawing paper, journals, and perhaps the most commonly used, deli paper. I use deli paper for printing and scraping techniques, as collage substrates, for barrier layers when affixing paintings to wood substrates, and more. You can find it at most restaurant supply companies online or through Amazon.