My Favourite Art Supplies.
I’ve been exploring my artistic practice more and more these past few years. I have learned that I love trying new materials. I love the feeling of freedom of knowing that you don’t know how to use something properly, and so you just do what feels right or fun in the moment. I love the mishaps as much as the triumphs. If you’re feeling a bit stuck in your art, my first recommendation is to pick up an art material you haven’t used before and just make a mess.
Somethings stick around, though. Over time, I’ve found my favourite materials that I return to, time and again. This is a list of the ten most-loved art supplies in my studio, with some of my most-used colours and pigments.
✦ Daniel Smith Watercolours
My first art love! I have a whole drawer full of Daniel Smith paints now, but I still remember the moment that I opened my first tube. The rich, shimmering colour, the beautiful granulation on the paper . . . I always recommend these paints to fellow watercolour artists. They’re just a joy to use!
Top colours: Buff titanium, perylene green, serpentine green, indigo.
✦ Sennelier Watercolours
I picked up a few tubes and pans in Paris, and they’re such a dream to paint with. Very creamy and rich!
Top colour: Warm grey.
✦ Holbein Gouache
A traditional gouache, these are my go-to for landscape sketches and sketchbook painting. I also love using white gouache with my watercolours, for a semi-opaque, milky look.
Top colours: Moss green, sepia, yellow ochre
✦ Winsor & Newton Profession Acrylic Paint
These acrylics are my go-to. While not as thick as Golden Heavy Body acrylics, I appreciate the W&N paints for their lack of colour-shift between the wet and dry stages. There’s a huge range of colours, and they’re easily available at most art shops.
Top colours: Yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, burnt sienna
✦ Prismacolour Pencils
With a soft, creamy lead that often breaks (a real pain!), Prismacolors are just wonderful in both the range of colours available, and the joy of using them.
Top colours: Artichoke, green ochre, clay, powder blue
✦ Faber Castell Polychromos
These pencils hold a fantastically sharp long point, perfect for lines, sketching, and detail. I always have one in my bag, ready for sketching.
Top colours: Burnt umber, coral, sanguine
✦ Derwent Superpoint Manual Helical Sharpener
This pencil sharpener is great one, and gives a nice, even long point for Polychromos and Blackwing pencils. It does leave little divots along your pencils from the claws that hold the pencil in place. (For Prismacolor pencils, it’s best to use the Prismacolor sharpener.)
✦ Arches Hot Press Paper
This is my favourite paper for water media. It is also great for mixed media, as it is smooth and can carry a pencil mark or line very nicely. Even though I know some people find it troublesome, I am really fond of hot press paper. The smoothness means I can use pencil alongside my watercolour easily, and lines are sharp and well-defined. It also makes for lovely mark-making!
✦ Stillman & Birn Sketchbooks.
The S&B softcover sketchbooks my favourites for travel sketching. The Beta has a slight texture and a thick page, while the Zeta has a smoother surface. They both are perfect for watercolour and ink sketching, and the Beta is particularly sturdy for all sorts of media.
✦ General's Brush Cleaner & Preserver
An absolute life-saver when it comes to keeping your brushes lasting longer. I’ve rescued many forgotten-about dried-up brushes with this brush soap, too.
✦ And a little bonus . . . Brushes
I don’t have any particular brush brand to recommend, as I still haven’t found the brush I love above all else, yet. But I thought I’d share some of my favourite brush shapes! If you haven’t played around with different brush shapes, I’d suggest going to find some cheap brushes in a range of shapes, so you can play around and find which make the marks you love best.
For watercolour, a good mop brush and round brush are a must!
For acrylic, I favour filberts and brights.
For gouache, I mostly use flats and brights.
If you have any questions about any of the materials listed here, or about any other art-related questions, always feel welcome to leave a comment, or message me on Instagram!