Supplies for New Horizons
Paint
I will be using Golden liquid acrylic paint but bring whatever you have. You will need at minimum to have
- red, yellow and blue, two each
- black and titanium white
- other colors I like to have are raw umber, magenta, teal, and (my favorite) titan buff
- 16oz bottle of matte or gloss medium (Liquitex is fine and less expensive than Golden.)
I will also have a variety of heavy body acrylics on hand for those who would like to try these.
Palette
I like Richeson’s Grey Matters Paper Palette (9 x 12 or larger), great for mixing colors. Bring a new roll of plastic wrap for covering the palette and for texture-making. Masterson’s Sta-Wet palettes are also good but more expensive. Abstract acrylic painting can get wonderfully messy, at least for me, so I recommend bringing something to put underneath your palette and canvas when we are painting flat on the table. I use an old plastic tablecloth or heavy cardboard.
Brushes
Acrylic paint is hard on brushes, so leave your Kolinsky sables at home! Bring old brushes, especially larger brushes. We’ll use synthetic and bristle flat brushes in varied sizes. Mid-size round brushes are also useful. You will need
- an inexpensive set of bristle brushes. (eg. Dick Blick, large scale natural brush set—04456-1039—for $7.88.) or
- Creative Mark sells a set of 3 medium bristle blend brushes (Amazon 25.99)
- Escoda round dome brush, size 2, Dick Blick, $16.48
- A set of plastic painting knives for mixing and painting
- Optional but nice to have: Princeton catalyst wedges for moving paint, varied (Amazon)
Part of the fun of abstract painting is the use of tools other than brushes to apply paint. So in your tool box include some old credit cards, sponges, an icing spreader or even a trowel. If you have palette knives, bring them, but regardless you will find that a set of plastic paint knives is useful for mixing and application. Bondo spreaders, available from Amazon are also useful. A small set of 3 costs about $5. I will also have a bucket of miscellaneous brushes on hand for your use.
Collage Materials
Collage elements add interest and texture to our paintings. I will have on hand a supply of materials, but it’s great to personalize your work with your own “stuff.” Eg., old letters, book pages, sheet music, sewing patterns, mesh bags, original drawings, discarded paintings, Gelli prints, tissue paper, Japanese paper, homemade paper, acrylic paint skins. . . Endless possibilities! This is not a collage class, so just bring a few pieces that interest you.
Substrates
Bring 3-4 gallery-wrapped canvases or cradled boards.* For this workshop—minimum 12 x 12; maximum 20 x 20. If you prefer or have others on hand, bring them but avoid sizes larger than 16 x 20, unless you like to paint flat or have an easel you can bring that accommodates larger canvases. I love 24 x 24 or 30 x 30. If you have watercolor paper on hand, bring it for practice, color mixing, etc. Suggest prepping watercolor paper with gesso.
Additional Supplies
- Water containers (2)
- Paper towels
- Rubbing alcohol, preferably in a spray bottle
- Pencils, water soluble and non
- Color wheel (nice to have)
- Ruler or straight edge
- Spray bottle for water
- Pastel crayons or oil pastels (optional)
- Plastic bag for garbage
- Sketchbook for preliminary drawings, notes, etc.
- Markers, permanent and non
- Gloves or barrier cream (optional, I never remember to use)
- Smock or apron
Bring your sense of fun and willingness to play and to share as we learn from one another!Questions? Send me an email and your phone number. I’ll call you back!
Kathleen[email protected]
