My favorite art materials
January 23 2024Acrylic Painting Supplies
Acrylic painting is my lifelong passion, and I’ve tried so many kinds of acrylic paints over the years.
I’ve tried economy student-grade paint from Liquitex Basics and other brands- and this is an acceptable paint to start with for a complete beginner who just wants to see if painting is for them.
The next step would be professional grade paints, such as Liquitex Professional, Golden Paint, and Winsor-Newton, and you will notice that they come in a smaller tube for a higher price. But considering that they are way more pigmented, you will need fewer layers of paint, therefore they will go much further than student-grade paint, and are less frustrating than cheaper paints.
However, there is another paint that I’ve used exclusively over the last few years for canvas work and this is Golden Open Paints.
Golden Open Paints- this is the Mixing set
Golden Open Acrylics remain wet on the palette for extended periods. This means that color mixes are usable longer, resulting in less waste. Their remarkable working time makes them an ideal choice for many techniques, including plein-air painting, portraiture, monoprinting, and screenprinting.
But although Golden Open Paints are my love and passion for smaller artworks, if you’re working on a greater scale - say mural painting or extremely large canvases, I can recommend another acrylic paint for its outstanding quality at a decent price, and they are the Nova Paints.
Nova Color Paints- great quality for big scale applications, such as murals or large canvases
This professional paint is also perfect for exterior projects, as it is lightfast- that is, it remains vibrant even after being exposed to the Sun’s UV rays for years, and it resists the weather elements.
Painting Substrates
What are some of the surfaces to paint on?
You can paint on stretched canvases, canvas panels/boards, wood panels, and canvas paper pads.
They are all suitable for acrylic painting, however, keep in mind that stretched canvases and wood panels will take more space in your home than a pad or canvas boards.
Acrylic Pads are very cost-efficient, and space-friendly, and you don’t have to feel too precious about experimenting and playing generously.
Brushes
The best brushes for acrylic painting are synthetic hair brushes. There is a vast sea of choices when you go shopping for brushes, so I’m going to recommend that you get a decent, not very expensive set of brushes, and you can assess what kind of brushes you prefer and need more as you go along.
If you love shopping for art materials as much as I do, you will soon have a growing collection of many generations of brushes that you’ll have collected over the years.
Easels
You can choose between a stand-up studio easel like this or a tabletop easel like this.
Palette
I love the Masterson Sta-wet palette combined with the 9”/12” Posh glass palette to keep the paint wet for longer so that you don’t have to worry about wasting paint.
You can also mix it ahead, and it will be there for when you are ready to use it.
The Masterson Sta-Wey palette comes with a sponge and some palette papers, but I have found that the sponge tends to get old and funky after a few weeks, and the paper also needs some preparation to get it working.
The glass palette is reusable, easy to clean, and keeps the paint fresh for weeks if you keep the lid closed.
Extras
Now this is not completely necesary, but it sure helps . The Extra Large Silicone Mat ensures that your table or painting surface always stays clean and spill-free.
I hope you have enjoyed this and learned something from it, and if you have any questions from me, please don’t hesitate to send me a message!
