Cart 0
Reverie Collection Small Works Gift Shop Canvas Prints Paper Prints
Cart 0

Painting Materials

 
 

Welcome to your art journey!

Whether you have experience painting or haven’t painted since childhood, my classes are designed for you.

I have created this page to help familiarise you with the materials that I use in my online classes, and which will be of benefit to you in your painting practice.

When you purchase a class, you will have access to the list of materials that I use for that particular piece.

Art materials are a financial investment, so only purchase what fits within your budget. Below are only my recommendations and not requirements.

If you are new to painting, I have created this video to give some advice on getting started with selecting painting materials.

 
 
 

 PAINTING SURFACE

You can paint on virtually anything with acrylic paint, as it is essentially plastic and will become permanent when cured. It is a water-based paint and will not absorb into porous surfaces, unlike watercolour or oils.

My favorite surfaces are 1.5-inch deep canvas and cradled wood. When you purchase art canvas, it will already be prepped with gesso. Wood requires preparation of a seal and a gesso ground, so I would not recommend it for beginners. You can also purchase gessoed cradled wood.

The most common surface for painting is cotton canvas. Canvas stretched over bars is called stretched canvas and is commonly used by students and artists. Canvas boards are the most economical option when you start painting, and because of their thin profile, they take up less storage space than stretched canvas. Canvas board can be easily framed in standard frames by removing the glass. Stretched canvas can be hung without a frame, or requires professional framing.

 
banner_rectangle_colour.png
 

 WORKSHOP SURFACES

In my workshop videos, I use canvas board. You can use canvas board or stretched canvas.

I use 12” x 16” (41cm x 30.5cm) canvas board. You can also use 11” x 14” (28cm x 36cm).

 
 

BRUSHES

I use a variety of brush shapes, sizes, and brands in my studio. My favorite shapes are brights (like a flat brush, but shorter bristles) and filberts (also like a flat brush, but the bristles curve at the top), which I use in most of my work.

I encourage you to go to an art store and look at the different brushes to get a feel for the types of bristles and size options. It can be overwhelming, but stick to brushes designed for acrylic paint and which fit within your budget.

Purchasing an acrylic paintbrush set is a great way to get started, but make sure that you have a range of flat brushes close to the sizes I use in the classes. The three flats are from a set that I purchased from Mont Marte. The filbert brush is from a set that I purchased in bulk from Amazon Australia.

 
 

Flat Brush Techniques

Here is a short video to show you some techniques that I use with the flat brush, and why I find it to be the most versatile paintbrush.

This is great to practice before starting a class.

 
 
banner_rectangle_colour.png
 

WORKSHOP BRUSHES

 

For my workshops, I will be using only 2-4 brushes to keep it simple and consistent. I use the flat brushes by Mont Marte Gallery Series and a filbert brush in two of my classes.

  • Large Flat 20 (3/4 inch, 2cm)

  • Medium Flat 10 (1/2 inch, 1cm)

  • Small Flat 5 (1/4 inch, 0.5cm)

  • Large Filbert 20 (3/4 inch, 2cm)

 

PAINT

 

I use acrylic paint for all of my classes.

My favorite acrylic brands are Lukas and Matisse. For my workshops, I use the Lukas Cryl paint line. I love the colour options, density, bottles, and price. If you purchase my classes, these are the paints that I will use in the demonstrations.

If you cannot access the Lukas brand, you can use any high-quality acrylic paint. Avoid student grade or paints that are sold in stores which do not specialize in art/craft supplies.

You can purchase any colours that you like, and I encourage you to have a broad range for experimentation with various subject matter and themes.

I buy several mixed colours (e.g. Turquoise) in addition to the primary colours because I use them frequently and want to avoid wasting paint from over mixing.

 
 

Colour Wheel

To learn more about colour theory and mixing, create your own color wheel. Having a colour wheel is a great reference to have on hand in your studio practice.

 
 
banner_rectangle_colour.png
 

WORKSHOP COLOURS

 

ESSENTIAL COLOURS FROM ANY PAINT BRAND

  • Titanium White

  • Payne’s Grey

  • Cobalt Blue Hue

  • Phthalo Blue

  • Phthalo Green

  • Raw Umber

  • Burnt Umber

  • Cerulean Blue

  • Lemon Yellow

  • Crimson Red

OPTIONAL COLOURS BY LUKAS CRYL

  • Beige

  • Rose

  • Apricot

  • Arctic

  • Coral

  • Deep Water

  • Dune

  • Green Earth

  • Steel Blue

  • Turquoise

  • Light Grey

  • Cadmium Yellow

OPTIONAL COLOURS BY MATISSE STRUCTURE

  • Unbleached Titanium

  • Australian Blue Gum

  • South Ocean Blue

  • Australian Blue Sky

  • Mineral Blue

  • Magenta Light

  • Australian Salmon Gum

  • Steel Blue

  • Australian Sap Green

  • Turquoise

  • Light Grey

  • Cadmium Yellow

 
 
 

MIX YOUR OWN COLOURS

  • Beige (Burnt Umber + White)

  • Payne’s Grey (Warm Blue/Ultramarine Blue + Black)

  • Rose (Cool Red/Alizarin Crimson + White)

  • Apricot (Red + Yellow + White)

  • Steel Blue (Black/Payne’s Grey + Cobalt + White)

  • Turquoise (Cool Blue/Cerulean Blue + Cool Yellow/Lemon Yellow + White)

  • Light Grey (Black + White)

  • Green (Blue + Yellow)

 

I purchase my art supplies from Jerry’s Artarama and Amazon. Jerry’s has the best price for paints.

If you purchase from my Amazon recommendations, I may receive a commission. Thank you for supporting my small business.