Paint
Buy the best quality paints that you can afford. Artist quality
paints vary in price but always buy artist quality.
Most people say that student quality paints are fine for beginners,
but that Artist quality paints are easier to use. Why would you buy
something that is more difficult to use when you are just learning
and things are hard enough?
I bought the student quality watercolour and acrylic paints to
start with but for me this has been a false economy. The paints do
not have the same colour quality or consistency. I persevered with
the student quality far longer than I should have as I do not like
to waste money but now purchase smaller amounts of artist quality
paints and believe my efforts have been better. The colours are more
vibrant and I am getting the colours I expect from the tubes.
Brushes
Brushes have been a similar issue for me. I purchased several
cheap brushes to get me started although these were of better
quality than the ones provided in the box sets of paints I bought,
which are frankly not worth getting wet.
I have learned the hard way to take care of my brushes. I failed
to clean some of the acrylic ones fast or completely enough and they
have now become unusable. For this reason I am glad I did not
invest in the more expensive brushes. Now I am buying brushes which
are of higher quality but I am not purchasing the top quality sable
brushes as these are very expensive and as an amateur I do not feel
this is justified. There are some very good synthetic brushes
available. Again buy the best you can afford.
Special brushes for different effects
There are several brushes on the market which enable you to produce
different effects. For wet on wet oils the
Bob Ross brushes are excellent, these are not expensive brushes
but include 2" brushes and a lot of the Bob Ross technique is done
with this size brush, believe it or not. They make working with Bob
Ross Oil paints more enjoyable.
There are good brushes for painting trees produced by several well
known watercolour artists, and I have experience of the
Keith Fenwick brushes which I have found to be excellent. You
would need to check out the effects and see if this is what you want
to produce before purchasing these as they are specific for trees
and bushes
There are several others on the market, if you like a particular
artist and the effect that his/her brushes make that is probably
recommendation enough.
There is now an aqua brush which you can fill with water and use
with watercolour pencils and/or watercolours. They can also be used
with pen and ink drawings and tonal washes.
Water pots
I do not purchase any water pots, although there are quite
a few good ones which collapse when not in use so if you have a lack
of space these may be useful. I use any empty plastic container. I
like to save some small ones with lids for when I go outside to
paint, which unfortunately is not as often as I would like.
Palettes
You do not need to purchase special palettes, there are so
many different types it is very confusing. There are special stay
wet palettes for Acrylics,
see our Acrylics Hints and Tips page for more
details, disposable palettes for Acrylic and Oils, and ones with
lots of little wells around the side of deeper wells for
watercolours. If you have ever watched Keith Fenwick on the
Painting & Drawing Channel his palette is an old tray covered with
cling film, so you can improvise and use whatever suits you,
including small white plates or saucers. The tray and cling film
method has the added benefit that you do not have to wash your
palette after use; I must say this method appeals.
Putty Rubbers
The putty rubber is a super addition to the artists tool box. There
are kneadable and kneaded variety.
Kneaded are soft but fairly unyielding and usually get smaller with
use
Kneadable erasers are soft and pliable and resemble blutack. It can
be shaped for precision work. The residue can be folded and
absorbed back into the rubber keeping a clean surface available.
It is ideal for working with soft pastel in particular a portrait
which uses coloured paper. You can also use these to help keep your
hands clean. This type of rubber is used to press and lift out the
marks not rub.
Watercolours can be ruined if you use ordinary rubbers.
Eventually they do get exhausted but in the meantime you should keep
them in s sealable bag to stop them drying out.
Masking Fluid
What is it?
Masking fluid is a latex rubber solution for brushing or drawing
onto your paper. You let it dry thoroughly which takes just a few
minutes and then you can paint over the masked area, which being
latex, resists the paint. The same effect can be obtained with a
plain thin piece of wax candle, but wax is permanent and you can't
subsequently paint over the reserved area.
What is it used for
It is perfect for reserving intricate shapes in your painting, these
could be anything from tree trunks to ship masts, light reflecting
on walls snow or window frames. When you paint straight across the
masked area you get good confident, decisive brush strokes. This is
one of the most popular watercolor mediums.
Apply masking fluid to all areas where you want to remain white.
How to apply
You can apply the fluid
in various
ways, for example a color-shaper (this has a rubber tip instead of
bristles), an old brush or even a cocktail stick . If you intend
using one of your brushes make sure it's an old one and wash it out
immediately. Masking fluid dries in less than one minute on the
bristles, many brushes have been ruined with masking fluid so keep
your better brushes well away.
How to erase
After the paint has dried, remove the masking fluid gently,
it is a good idea to use a tissue to gently remove the fluid, if you
use your fingers you can leave grease on the surface.
If you must use a finger make sure it is clean and free of paint.
You can also use a putty rubber or cotton bud.
The masking fluid rolls up into little rubber balls. The white area
can be left as a highlight or tinted as desired.
TIP
– Masking fluid is water soluble. If the liquid is not runny enough
you can add water to make it more fluid.
TIP
– It is bad news for your brushes. It dries within minutes and is
impossible once dry to get out of your brushes. Rub the brush on a
bar of soap before putting in the masking fluid and this will help
wash out the masking fluid after use.
TIP
– Use old or cheap brushes which you can keep just for this purpose
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