Painting Tutorials and My Go-To Supplies

I'm so excited to begin my painting tutorial series! I have been thinking about doing something like this for a while now and watching our lives turn more and more into a digital connectedness age has made me realize how importance that connection really is. I appreciate all of the videos and zoom calls and other ways we have kept in touch with each other during the year. I'm missing all my shows and meeting shoppers and other artists and makers and I know all of you are missing something and someone (maybe many someones) as well. So in the spirit of sharing my process with you and feeling a little more connected, I have started a series of videos that will be a look into how I make my work and also hopefully something you will enjoying watching and following along with. 

The first video tutorial features an introduction to the series, a few tips, and a video process of a painting start to finish. In general, these tutorials will include an inside look at my process and a little take away for you. I hope to do more step-by-step guides that you can follow along with at home with whatever supplies you have on hand. I know so many of us are looking for new and interesting things to do with our increased time spent at home! 

Tell me what you want to see me paint!

Using the comments section below, an Instagram message, or an email let me know what you want to see me paint! I am currently accepting suggestions and even photos of places people want to see me paint on one of my weekly tutorials. I'll be choosing a different photo each week to paint from start to finish, so send me your pics and ideas! 

My Go-To Supplies (for tutorials and everyday)

Paint

Golden Heavy Body Acrylic paints have been my go-to for years now. I love them so much! They are super thick and add a lot of coverage and texture to my paintings. Because my paintings aren't composed of lots of tiny details, I don't usually need a thinner paint which can be easier to use for making fine lines. I do sometimes add water or another medium to these paints if I need a thinner application. And while acrylic paints dry quickly, you can add a retarder for slower drying time. Golden also makes a line of paints called "Open" which dry slower giving you more workable time. 

The below are my every day colors as well as colors I like. I usually buy larger tubs (16 or 32oz) of the colors I use the most like green, blue, and white and smaller tubes of colors I may use frequently but not much of like red and black. When trying out a new color, I recommend getting the smallest size tube. Even if you love the color online or in the store, you may not like the opacity when working with the paint, so better to test it out with a small amount. 

P.S. Colors are EVERYTHING! I have so much more to say about them, so look out for a future blog post and video tutorial focusing on colors and mixing. 

My favorite colors from Golden (I ALWAYS have these in stock on my shelf):

- Yellow Ochre
- Hookers Green
- Titanium White
- Burnt Sienna
- Cobalt Blue
- Pyrrole Red
- Raw Umber
- C.P. Cadmium Yellow Light
- Burnt Umber
- Raw Umber 
- Raw Sienna 
- Bone Black

Other fun colors I like to use sometimes: 

- Ultramarine Blue
- Cerulean Blue
- Yellow Oxide
- Pyrrole Orange
- Prussian Blue
- Diaxozine Purple 

Brushes

So this is embarrassing... ha! My brushes are pretty rough looking! I should take better care of them, but as you can see sometimes they don't get the tender love they deserve. I leave them sitting in water too long, don't clean them right away, jab their delicate fibers into a canvas, and now they are worse for the wear. Oh boy 

But I do love my brushes, and my tools of choice come from Princeton. I especially like the synthetic Princeton Velvetouch collection. The sizes below are what I end up using most often with an occasional 2" or plus size brush making it in the mix for painting big sections of color on large canvases. Which is so much fun by the way. 

All of the below are from the synthetic Princeton Velvetouch collection (I prefer the short handle)

- Round 6
- Stroke 1/4"
- Spotter 5/0
- Chisel Blender 6
- Flat Shader 10
- Wash, 1"

Canvas

For a painting surface, I like to use Blick Premier Gallery Canvases from Blick Art Supplies. "Gallery" means they are 1.5" deep which I prefer since I pain the edges of my work. I do this, so everything is ready to hang and doesn't need a frame to look finished. I prefer to use a Raw Umber or Raw Sienna to paint the edges and allow the colors of the painting be the star of the show. These types of canvases are stretched and primed, so you can jump right in to painting!

When planning for a painting, I use a mixed media pad or canvas paper pad (like Canson Oil & Acrylic pads) to test out my concept before committing to a stretched canvas. I like to test colors with the actual paint I'm going to use for the finished painting, but it can be fun to test color combos with other materials - like crayons! Sometimes simply using a different tool can push you to get creative. 

Studio Supplies

My art cart is my best friend in the studio (besides the dogs of course)! I purchased this rolling cart on Wayfair and it's been perfect for holding my paints and other supplies while also rolling around to wherever I need it to be, making a table top for holding palettes, and fitting perfectly under my desk! 

These butcher tray palettes from Blick Art Supplies have held up over the years to all the abuse. They are durable and really will be in it with you for the long haul! 

While lots of artists enjoy painting with palette knives (I mean, it is super fun!), I use mine mainly for scooping paint out of tubs. Since I buy large containers of paint, these are great for portioning out a dollop onto my palette. 

Have questions for me? 

Use the comments section below to ask any other questions I didn't answer for you in this post! 

Note: All of the supplies listed here are my unbiased suggestions. None of the mentioned products or companies are giving me anything for including them.