1. Gesso and cheap black paint
I buy Blick Master gesso by the gallon, and black paint by the 1/2 gallon. I use gesso to prep my canvas before I start painting, and the black paint is used for painting over paintings I don’t like. The black paint I use is student grade. I can get away with buying cheap black paint because I know it’s going to get covered up with gesso later.
2. Palette knives
Unless I’m painting a portrait, you’ll find me painting with knives. Most people don’t know this, but I actually started out painting with knives back in the 1800s. haha People often think I completely changed my style when I started painting flowers again. I didn’t. I was painting flowers, birds, landscapes and abstracts when I first started selling art online. My husband has a flower box that I painted 13 or 14 years ago that he bought off me from Ebay. It was long before we were married or even dating. He also has a couple landscapes I did. So, yeah..knives have always been important to me. I couldn’t work without them.
3. Dorland’s wax or varnish
I seal my paintings with either Dorland’s wax or varnish. Either one works great. This big jar of wax cost me almost a $100, but it was worth it. It will last for years. I also have smaller jars I keep on hand.
I either spread the wax on the finished painting with an angled knife or with a paper towel. I don’t like how the wax feels on my hands, so I usually use a knife. Sometimes, I use a blow dryer on it to melt the wax, and move it around, and then I let it sit for a while before I gently buff it out. It gives a soft finishing layer to my paintings. I wouldn’t be without it in my studio.
If you don’t want to spend $100 on wax, and I can’t say as I blame you, this 16 oz jar runs a little less than $20 at Blick.
4. Plastic paint cups for acrylics
The cups keep acrylics from drying out too fast, especially in the summer months. My studio is on the second floor of my house. It’s either too hot up here or waaay too HOT up here. Either way, acrylic paint dries out fast up here. I hate wasting paint, so these little cups work well for me. I mix up enough for one painting and get to work.
5. The Masters’ Brush Cleaner
I’ve had this brush cleaner around my studio for years, but I didn’t think it worked all that well cleaning my acrylic brushes. At the time, I was looking for something to clean hardened on acrylic paint, and this doesn’t work for that.
It wasn’t until just a few weeks ago, I discovered this brush cleaner works best with oils. I used to clean my oil brushes with natural turp, which worked okay, but I prefer being able to wash my brushes out in water. I keep this little container right by my water bucket. After wiping my brush off on a paper towel, I swish it in water to wet it, and then in the soap, alternating back and forth until the oil paint is gone, and the brush is soft and clean. The soap itself gets covered in paint, but just keep swishing it with water to clean it off..works great!! If you paint with oils, this is the soap to use on your brushes.
I have also found something to clean hardened acrylic on brushes, but you’ll have to wait until the next time I write a new list of studio favorites for the answer. Awww!! Subscribe to my blog below so you never miss another post.
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