In order to create my acrylic paintings, I like to use good quality art material and tools, those that make me get the result I want without struggling unnecessarily.
This is why when I find paint, brushes and supports I like to work with, I tend to be consistently use them but at the same time I'm always open to consider and try new ones, as there are so many possibility and choices that you can never know them all.
In this article I share with you my current favourite equipment for the acrylic paintings. This could be interesting for curious art collectors, who want to know more about how their paintings were made, as well as for other artists, who are at the beginning of their journey of discovery.
So, let's start!
SURFACES OR SUPPORTS
For my acrylics I like to use already primed canvas boards or stretched canvas: it depends on what I have available in that moment; the former is steady, the latter is more bouncy and I like them both.
Both of them can be used straight away, but I sometimes like to give them another layer of acrylic paint as a further care, especially if I want to start to work from a coloured starting base.
STAY-WET PALETTE
A very important piece of my equipment for acrylic painting is the stay-wet palette.
I use plastic food dishes filled in with some layers of wet newspaper and kitchen paper plus a final sheet of baking paper. To seal the tray I use cling film, in this way the paint can keep itself workable for longer.
ACRYLIC PAINT
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic and Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic are my favourite acrylic paint and another essential part of my art material.
Galeria uses either the same pigments as the professional range or a similar pigment, but in a lower concentration. This makes it easy to use with, or transition to artists' grade when a wider choice and higher pigment strength is needed.
I tend to buy Galeria, because in that range I can already find all the colours I need and they are of a very good quality. Then, for the others not present in the Galeria range, I look in the Professional one.
The Galeria Acrylic colours I have at this moment are:
Lemon yellow
Cadmium yellow pale hue
Cadmium red hue
Pale Violet
Windsor blue
Cerulean blue hue
Sap green
Olive green
Verde di Hooker
Yellow ochre
Burnt sienna
Burnt umber
Payne's grey
Titanium white
While the Professional Acrylic paint is:
Dioxazine Purple
Azo Yellow Medium
For a gentle introduction to Winsor & Newton acrylic paint, you can find some sets, both Galeria and Professional, containing already some colours to try.
PAINT BRUSHES
There are many kind of brushes in a various range of shape, size and material. For this important part of equipment, I tend to buy synthetic ones for ethical and practicality reasons.
Said that, my present brushes are:
a 1.5" flat, probably natural (the brand is not indicated, sorry) and Transon Artist n. 12 flat, synthetic to lay basic initial colours and for washes
Transon Artist n. 10 and 3 Filibert, synthetic
Wlot Round Pointed Tip n. 6, synthetic
Artist Brush Pointed Tip n. 8, synthetic
Pro Arte : Acrylix Rigger Synthetic, the smaller the better
Da Vinci synthetic mottler 50 mm to varnish
MEDIUM
Liquitex acrylic medium masking fluid to cover specific small area or to create a spray effect.
OTHER TOOLS
A part from what I mentioned above, in my art material and equipment for acrylic paintings, we can also find:
a sketchbook to study ideas and compositions
a toothbrush to spray the paint
a matchstick for little details
a jar of water to clean brushes
kitchen paper to clean and/or dab
a hair dryer to speed up the drying process
a little palette knife for when I want to add a thicker layer of paint in some points of the painting
a wooden field easel useful when I need to paint with the canvas straight up
VARNISH
As a final touch to protect and unify the painting, I like to use a varnish, more specifically Liquitex Professional acrylic medium satin varnish applied with brush
That is all for now, I hope it gives you a better idea of what there is behind my acrylic paintings.
Did you expect something like it or has it completely surprised you?
Let me know it in the comments and if you have any question or want to know more about any particular aspect mentioned in this article, leave a question below and I will be more than happy to answer you.
Have a lovely day!
Valentina
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