tools

colors

i am allergic to traditional solvents like turpentine, so i have to use water mixable oil paints – right now i am using Windsor & Newton’s Artisan series. i have used Reeves’ water mixable oil colors, but although they are cheaper than W&N and vastly cheaper than Holbein, i also find that the fluidity of the colors are lacking – i.e i need to use more medium to get a consistency and texture i can work with. also i feel that the pigment/tinting is not as good as in W&N.

Color Chart

Mediums

i use water mixable linseed oil,  water mixable thinner and basic water mixable artis’ts medium (all from W&N) – what i do not use is water. yes it is cheap, plentiful and all that, but it tends to make the colors look ‘grey’, ‘listless’. water is good for cleaning the brushes, palette and rags with, but do not mix it into anything you want to put on a canvas.

Brushes

… are very much about personal preferences, artistic style, and technique. personally i prefer to use synthetic filbert brushes. though some techniques (shummring) i use are done best with a traditional hog brush.

Surfaces

… are also very much about personal preferences. i will paint on anything that i can cover in a white acrylic base and place on my easel. if you feel that you want the canvas feel, but cannot afford a traditional canvas – a canvas covered cardboard is a good alternative. often artists’ shops will sell in packs of 10 on a discount if you buy the same size.

well i am running out of time here, so more on a later date – among other things – how to preserve specific colors i have mixed on my palette…