Some people in these classes choose to paint in oils, and some choose to paint with acrylics. Either is fine. There are some differences in the supplies from one medium to the other, and some overlaps. We will be able to discuss this in our first session of class.
OIL AND ACRYLIC PAINTING EQUIPMENT LIST:
CANVAS: (For OILS and ACRYLICS). There are many acceptable pre-stretched canvasses that you may buy. Often they are on sale. I recommend that you get at least two canvasses, and that they be no smaller than 9 x 12 or 12 x 16. (If you ever want to stretch your own canvas, I will be very pleased to help you do this. It doesn’t take too long, and it is a nice skill to have). One pre-stretched canvas that I think looks good is the MASTERPIECE CANVAS, ¾ inch deep
BRUSHES: The brushes you use will be pretty subjective. The more you paint, the more you will tend to use certain types of brushes that you feel comfortable with. There are some brushes called “SNAP” brushes. They are quite inexpensive and seem pretty good. You could get three or four of these, different sizes. Or, in OILS or ACRYLICS, check out brushes in the: PRINCETON, SERIES 6300, DAKOTA SYNTHETIC HOG BRISTLE. If you choose to go this route, pick up one or two FILBERTS, and one or two ROUNDS. Get a FILBERT that is about ¾ inches, and one that is about ½ inch, and get a round that is kind of small. I know, this is very sketchy, but these brushes are not too expensive, quite acceptable, and can get you going, brush wise. You will probably want to add more brushes to your collection as you get a little experience under your belt.
COLORS: FOR OILS: 2 ounce WINTON oil paint tubes are not too expensive, and quite nice quality.
French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber, Titanium White, Alizarin Crimson, Cerulean Blue, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Permanent Green (Medium or Light), Cadmium Red Hue. (Cadmium Red HUE is cheaper that straight Cadmium Red, and is certainly good enough to start with.)
COLORS: FOR ACRYLICS: 2 ounce LIQUITEX acrylic paint tubes are a very good quality. Get “Heavy Body”, and not the 4 ounce BASICS if possible.
ACRYLIC COLORS: Ultramarine Blue, (either red or green shade), Burnt Umber, Titanium White, Alizarin Crimson, Light Green Permanent, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red Medium , (or Cadmium Free Red Medium), Cerulean Blue Hue.
A couple of notes on the colors. If you can afford it, you might want to get your Ultramarine, Burnt Umber, and White in the 4.65 ounce tubes. These will probably be the colors you use most often. If you want beautiful violets and turquoise colors, you might consider shoplifting or buying them.
PALETTE KNIFE: I recommend that you get something like a #22 ITALY RGM PLUS palette knife. It is metal, acceptable quality, and not very expensive. The tactile pleasure of using a metal palette knife is much more pleasant than the plastic ones. However, either is okay. One uses a palette knife to mix colors, and also it can be used as a painting tool.
PALETTE: The palette is the surface on which you squeeze out, and then mix, your paints. There are several options that will work for you. Your cheapest good option is to get a:
PAPER PALETTE, 12 x 16 for about ten dollars. You can mix your oil or acrylic paints on it, and when you are finished, you can just peel the top piece off, and you have another piece clean and ready to go.
Or:
For OILS, you may get a MASTERSON PALETTE, 12 x 16, for about $19.
For ACRYLICS, you may get a STA-WET PALETTE, 12 x 16, for about $24.
Please do not get a teeny palette that will limit your mixing area to about nothing. You really will want a palette with good surface area, such as in the above examples.
CLEANING YOUR BRUSHES:
For OILS, you may get a MONA LISA BRUSH TANK for about $5.00, or a SILI COIL for about $9.00.
For ACRYLICS, bring in one or two clean, 32 ounce yoghurt containers.
OTHER STUFF:
You can thin and clean your OIL PAINTS with ODORLESS TURPENOID, or GAMSOL. You might also want to get a small bottle of LIQUIN, but it is not required.
You can thin and clean your ACRYLIC PAINTS with WATER. We have a nice supply here at the school.
If you are painting with OILS, bring in two little glass or metal jars, i.e. pimiento or baby food size.
If you are painting in ACRYLICS, bring in an ATOMIZER, (a spray bottle), and maybe enough Saran Wrap to cover your palette at the end of the painting class, if you want to keep some of the colors fresh for a little while.
OTHER STUFF: for either OILS or ACRYLICS, bring in some paint rags, a notebook, pencil, ruler if you want to, and a box in which to put all of this stuff.
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY THIS LIST. IT DOES TAKE SOME MATERIALS TO GET STARTED, AND IT IS FUN TO HAVE NEW STUFF AND IT WILL BE CLEAR JUST WHAT IS WHAT IN NO TIME. IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD ALL OF THESE THINGS, LET ME KNOW AND WE WILL WORK SOMETHING OUT.
YOU MAY CALL ME AT: 303-388-2741 or YOU MAY E-MAIL ME AT robgratiot@earthlink.net with QUESTIONS or PROBLEMS.