Painting Supplies | |||
| | Colors To Start Basic .... Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue,Cadmium Yellow, Titanium White , Phthalo Green, Ivory Black Next Cadmium Red Light, Magenta, Cerulean Blue, Phthalo Blue, Burnt Sienna, Van Dyke Brown Brushes It's your choice , if you have no idea buy an inexpensive Artists Set available at Student Supply or Art Stores for around 15 dollars (sometimes less) Brushes have different characteristics and make different marks for different people . I love springy not wimpy brush es and prefer longer handles when working on canvas but it is up to you. I've been known to paint with a dried up sharpie so my word is definitely not gospel here. Shapes are ..filbert , which looks like a little like a cats tongue square, well that's obvious angled, ditto fan, like a ladies fan not noe that hangs from the ceiling pointed , all different sizes and sharpnesses and tons of others I'm afraid brushes are a little like kitchen tools , seriously , sometimes they just have to be expensive to work but then sometimes they don't.My mother gave me a beautiful set of all clad pans almost 15 years ago and they still reign supreme , although the best omelet pan I ever got I think came from Big Lots. Just try holding the brush in the store , pretend you are painting with it , you can brush it along one of the store's canvases if you like . I like to brush them on my hand or cheek to get a real sense of how it feels on a surface and how springy it feels . If you feel like a fool doing this and you don't yet know what you need ,buy a kit and be done with it . Lots of them come with neat little holders and stuff. Don't spend more money on a brush than you would on a facial . You will be very sorry. Canvas and Painting Surfaces In General When I was in Art School ........... I like to begin a lot of disclaimers this way. When I was in Art School no one would have been caught dead using a pre-stretched canvas . It would have looked lazy , indulgent , and well, worst of all, "anti archival ."Anti Archival meant that you obviously had no intention of ever being "famous" because there was no need to preserve your creations for hundreds of years. Hand stretched is still best ,especially for larger pieces but the ones in the stores are fine. I use them all the time and I'm quite famous already. Size in canvas or other surface ( By the way I often paint on primed masonite , more about that later) Pick what you want . don't start too small or you won't learn . Don't start too large or you will take up too much room in class . A good size would be somewhere between 16x20 and 24x36 to start . I love 30x30 and other square shapes as well. As far as medium goes , for those of you painting in acrylic you need water and some kind of acrylic medium that won't yellow or crack later on . For this reason I suggest the ones made by fine art suppliers such as Liquitex , Golden ,etc. Some of these are thicker than others , some are matte and some are glossy. I use both these and water to thin and mix paint . If you are painting in oil there are different kinds iof combinations for thinning mixing and applying paint. Some pre mixed mediums can be quite expensive and it is worth it to come up with a mix of linseed oil and varsol or turpentine that you like to use . Even cheaper is stand oil . If you are painting large heavily impastoed paintings price is important . For tiny paintings a little bit of expensive medium can go a long way. | ||
This room feels far away but it is a place I know . A place where you sit and watch as the light moves across the china , crystal , and wood. There would be the kind of uneven stone floor that chairs don't slide across . After lunch you would be forced to sit a while and drink sips of white wine gone a little warm and think about reading . Hills outside , and gravel paths , some work to do but later when you are rested and ready . My kind of place .
This bridge calls me out. I paint it over and over and it is the scene of conflict and contemplation both . It is a metal skeleton of a spiritual bridge and feels older than the two neighborhoods it connects. The narrow track of the train lies like a riverbed deep below . The bridge holds court as trees and vines reach up the banks toward its stark and strong beams. The base of the bridge is a foothold for them , a footpath to me . The floor rumbles underneath like an awakening giant whose force might fling me skyward or shake me off.
