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RECOMMENDED COLOR PALETTE

 

White: Titanium White (considered to be the most white of all oil white paints) - bring larger tube 5-7 oz. (150-200 ml.)

Warm lights (mostly opaque): Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre Light, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Light.

Warm darks (mostly transparent): Alizarin Crimson or Permanent, Transparent Oxide Brown (brand Rembrandt) or Burnt Sienna, Olive Green

Cool darks: Viridian Green, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue.

 

I would also recommend to add transparent violet color: Lazur-Violett (brand Mussini) or Ultramarine Violet.

 

Hue/ Imitations

First, please, do not buy oil paints what are marked Hue  or Imitation for classes. They are good for under-paint, and some situations, when mixing with other paints is minimal. Let me give you an example. You have Cobalt Blue and want to mix with Cadmium yellow to get green color mix. Real Cobalt Blue with give you nice green mix, while Cobalt Blue Hue with Cadmium Yellow will give you greyish green, you most likely won't be willing to use.

 

Cost concerns

Cadmiums, Cobalt and Cerulean and even Viridian are expensive pigments. If your budget is tight, you can limit your palette to this one:

 

White: Titanium White

Warm lights (mostly opaque): Cadmium Yellow Light, Raw Sienna, Cadmium Orange.

Warm darks (mostly transparent): Alizarin Permanent (or Crimson), Transparent Oxide Brown or Burnt Sienna, Olive Green

Cool darks: Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue.

 

  

BRUSHES

 

FLATS: 2-3 brushes. An assortment of sizes 2, 4, 6

 

 Good quality Bristle or Ivory* Short Flats (i.e. Brights) or Princeton Aspen 6500, Flats (Blue Band)

* Ivory  is a high quality synthetic brushes for oil paints by Rosemary and Co (see below). I use Ivory Short Flats and Princeton Aspen

 

FILBERTS: 1-2 brushes. Synthetic. Size 2,4

 

ROUNDS: 

Regular hair length. 2 brushes. Sizes: 2, 4. Brand by brand any size can be larger or smaller.

Longer hair length - Rigger. 1 brush. Size 2.

 

ADDITIONAL FLATS and POINTY

If you have a chance to order or it happened to be that you have them, bring with you

Eclipse Combers Flats 3/8 an 3/4 and Ivory Daggers  by Rosemary and Co.

If you are interested in purchasing their brushes from UK (shipping is  $16 and more depending on weight) try to find some friends, willing to combine you orders. Their brushes are reasonably prices, considering quality.

 

If you can not have them, get round brush of size 1 or 0 for smaller details. Hair Sable or synthetic.

 

CANVAS, PANELS

You can work on stretched canvas or canvas panels.

 

During class we likely won't paint something you plan to sell to your collectors. However, using consistent quality of the surface, along with paints and brushes will let you feel confident each time, you approach new task. New task is an artistic challenge, and you better focus on art, rather on unexpected behavior of your art materials. And good choices are not always very expensive. Shopping online and together with another artist  in your art association may cut down your expenses for art supplies.

 

For classes I recommend using canvas panels, unless you prefer stretched canvas for special bouncing feeling while you paint.

Also I highly suggest, that you first try to paint on surface you will bring to the class.

 

Each surface (in fact gesso) has a unique balance between repelling and absorbing quality toward oil paint. Oil primed canvas panels preferred. Acrylic primed surface is more porous than oil primed. Using it ok, as long your brush with paint doesn't feel stuck on the surface when you apply first layer of paint. Try if before you come to the class. You have to be able to spread your paint mixed with thinner and medium over canvas surface easy enough.

Solution if you have problematic canvas and have no other at the moment: you can apply a thin diluted layer of acrylic paint, like Titan Buff or just any White,  to partially seal excessive surface pores. Let your surface dry enough (al least few hours) before you start painting on it.

 

Second issue here is an excessive canvas tooth. Bad examples of this problematic surface I came across last year is Fredrix oil primed canvas panels. I am sure this is not the only one. If you have one like this, you can lightly sand it. If it is oil primed surface, you can apply thin layer of oil paint, adding some warm or grey tone is a good idea too. If surface is acrylic primed, you can do the same with acrylic paint.

 

I prefer Raphael Premium Archival Oil Primed Linen Panels (made in Italy). It's smoothness and absorbency quality of the canvas surface on rigid base let me produce my typical texture of wet and dry brushwork.

Another good option of oil primed canvas panels are Centurion DLX OP (oil primed), which are reasonably priced.

 

Size. We can get through learning quicker in a smaller format and continue on to another painting.

Suggested sizes:

For field study: 5" x 7", 6" x 8" up to 8"x 10"

 For final painting:  from 11” x 14”, not bigger than 16” x 20”. I find 11x14 being ideal.

_____________________________

 

What I would like to stress is that in this instructional series you should not be so concerned with coming home with beautiful finished paintings.

 

This is the opportunity to explore new ways of looking at the landscape from a different artist’s view.

 

PAINT THINNER / SOLVENT

You must use Gamsol (Gamblin) or Turpenoid (choose Odorless, not Natural) since working in studio should not be hazardous to one's health. Even if one tolerates well any vapor, other folks may have increased sensitivity.

 

Refined Turpentine (use can be limited due to indoor workshop environment), bring it if you have. Useful to do first layer as toning/washing or underaint. We can place canvases outside for 30-40 minutes to dry.

 

If you have an allergy to any of these products, give me a call +860.483.8488.

 

MEDIUM

Used to increase paint flow, while making paint more durable and glossy after it gets dry. Medium also used to speed up or slow down paint drying time.

In most cases medium is an oil or alkyd resin. Recommended: Galkyd or Galkyd Light (brand Gamblin). Liquin  can be used too.

For classes I recommend to dilute medium at least 1:1 with solvent.

 

EASEL

You will be provided  with steady table easel.

If you are plein air artist, you can bring your own portable easel with tripod.  There will be space to accommodate it.

 

PALETTE

There are a variety of palettes for artist to choose from. I would suggest you use one that you are comfortable with. There are paper palettes; plastic ones with lids, glass, wooden hand held ones and some of the newest ones are palettes that work with the French style easels.

 

I work on glass palette since love using scraper for easy and quick cleaning. I would suggest one like THIS.

 

PALETTE CUP (double is better) for medium and solvent.

 

PALETTE KNIFE – Highly recommended! Small or medium size

 

SKETCH BOOK. not smaller than 6" x 9"

 

SOFT PENCILS 4-8B, one or two. 

 

PAPER TOWELS

 

1-2 STICKS OF OIL PASTEL, I prefer bronze, or purple, or reddish/brown. 

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL ITEMS

 

Panel box carrier (A box that is used to keep separated and carry wet paintings that are painted on either gessoed or canvas covered panels. They come in various sizes)

 

Trash bags

 

Rubber gloves (Optional)

 

If you prefer shop online, here is my affiliated link with good deals from Blick: