I quite often get questions about what materials I use, so I've put together a list of the essentials below ↓ I like to keep things simple - these are the materials I actually reach for every day, nothing unnecessary.

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Surface

I love painting on Fredrix Knickerbocker Canvas stretched over Blick Standard Stretcher Bars—the ultra-fine weave has a natural, varied texture that avoids looking too mechanical. When I don't have time to stretch my own canvas I reach for Blick's pre-stretched Premier Cotton Canvas and Studio Linen.

Surface Priming/Toning

Every surface I use comes pre-gessoed, but I still add two coats of Michael Harding Non-Absorbent Primer before I start. Most gessos on the market today are quite absorbent, and they'll pull the oil straight out of the paint - the color goes down looking rich and dries back dull.

The non-absorbent primer solves that. It leaves a surface with plenty of tooth but no thirst, so the paint sits where I put it and keeps its depth once it's dry. It also comes in a range of tones, which I appreciate. I usually reach for for the titanium buff.

Oil Paints

I love using Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors. These paints are packed with a generous amount of pigment and have a perfect consistency - neither too soft nor too stiff. As a personal choice, I avoid cadmiums, cobalts, and any paints containing heavy metals, choosing instead non-toxic pigments. I prioritize using the most lightfast colors available. I like to build my palette around warmer and cooler primary colors, along with strong, single-pigment secondaries and reliable single-pigment earth colors. I also keep a couple of options for blacks and whites, depending on the level of opacity or transparency I need for a painting.

My palette typically includes the following shades, all rated at the highest level of lightfastness:

  • Ultramarine Blue (PB29)
  • Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) (PB15:3)
  • Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) (PG7)
  • Hansa Yellow Medium (PY74)
  • Permanent Orange (PO62)
  • Perylene Red (PR149)
  • Quinacridone Red (PV19)
  • Dioxazine Violet (PV23)
  • Burnt Umber (PBr7)
  • Yellow Ochre (PY43)
  • Ivory Black (PBk9)
  • Titanium White (PW6)

Mediums & Cleanup

I don't use solvents at all. If a color needs thinning, a small amount of Gamblin Refined Linseed Oil is usually all it takes.

While I'm painting, I clean my brushes between colors with Utrecht safflower oil in a Silicoil brush cleaning tank. Drawing the brush across the aluminum coil at the bottom opens and separates the hairs so the paint lifts out properly, without the wear that comes from scrubbing. At the end of the day, everything gets a proper wash with The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver.

Brushes, Tools & Palette

I mix my paints with a Blick palette knife on a disposable palette - mostly because I want cleanup to be as painless as possible. When a session is finished I tear the page away and throw it out; no scraping, no soaking, nothing to put off until tomorrow.

For brushes, the Silver Ruby Satin line is what I reach for most. The bristles are smooth but firmer than a typical nylon or golden taklon, which gives a bit more control - without the stiffness of a synthetic hog bristle. It's a good middle ground, and it holds an edge well.

The 3/8" Dagger Striper does the majority of the work on most paintings. It's an unusually versatile shape, and the variety of marks you can pull from a single brush is what keeps me coming back to it. A round #4 handles most of what's left, and a monogram liner #2 comes out when something needs very fine detail.

I also use Princeton Aspen brushes - firm bristles with a smooth, responsive tip. I tend to reach for the larger filberts to block in the big areas around my subject, and leave the finer work to the Silver brushes.

Varnish

Once the painting is touch-dry, I finish it with Gamblin Gamvar. I use the gloss version, which brings the color back to how it looked fresh off the brush - still wet, still deep. For an alla prima painting built on thick, expressive strokes, that matters more than it might elsewhere; it's the difference between paint that sits flat and paint that still looks alive.

The real advantage of Gamvar is the timing. Traditional varnishes mean waiting six months or more for a painting to fully cure. Gamvar can go on as soon as the surface is touch-dry, and the oils continue to oxidize safely underneath the protective layer.

Unlikely Gems

Not everything in my studio was made for painting. Two of the things I reach for most often came from the cosmetics aisle, and I'm not sorry about either of them ;)

Cosmetic foam wedges. These are what I use to oil out a canvas before I start. They lay down an incredibly thin, even film of oil across the surface - far better than a brush or a rag, which either leave streaks or put down too much. One tip if you try it: only oil out the area you know you'll finish in that sitting. Alla prima means working into a wet surface, and there's no point preparing ground you won't reach today.

They earn their keep again after the painting is dry. Thick passages sometimes sink and go matte as they cure, and a wedge with a whisper of oil brings the colour straight back.

An e.l.f. eyeshadow brush. This one surprised me. I paint everything alla prima, but occasionally a dry painting wants a subtle glaze - a shadow deepened, a passage warmed slightly. The short, dense, soft bristles are perfect for scrubbing a thin transparent color into the surface without disturbing the texture underneath. No art brush I've tried does it as well.