We do not need a lot of acrylic painting supplies to start painting, so, keep the list short and get things you do not have yet as you go.
Brushes
1 flat brush, soft, synthetic for either watercolor or acrylic painting, ¾ inch wide; or about the same size Filbert brush (rounded corners). 1 small soft watercolor or acrylic brush, size 4 round, fan brush for oil painting (rough bristles). If fan brush with rough bristles is not available, get simple wall/window painting brush, 1-1.5 inch wide. We will cut it out with scissors, so that it can do more. I will show how.. We can use Filbert brushes ( slightly rounded top) in small to medium sizes also.
Canvas
We use 16 x 20 in canvas. If you believe you are rather slow with brushing paint, the smallest size is 12 x 16 in. However, painting larger is easier. You will need to paint your canvas in medium dark grey or brown color before you come to class. The edges of canvas need to be covered with one layer of paint as well. That helps creating better art faster.
Acrylic paints
Beginners can use AMSTERDAM students’ grade or Liquitex Basics students’ grade paints. Artist’ s Loft (Michael’s brand) will work, as well.
The best is to get a professional grade Titanium white and two yellow colors: one lemon yellow and the other cadmium medium yellow or similar warm yellow. White and yellow are very weak colors in any students’ grade paints. I’d not advise to get a paint set, but rather separate tubes because we use white and yellow much more than other colors. You do not need any green color..
Short list of acrylic paint colors:
You will need 6 basic colors to get started:
White: Titanium white, required more than other colors
Black: Lamp black or Mars black
Red: Cadmium medium red, Primary magenta, Crimson pyrrole, Carmine red, Crimson lake, Carmine lake, Naphtol red medium or similar, whatever red the brand you want to use has. However it is great to have 1 warm red (more orange red) and 1 cold red (more purple).
Yellow: Hansa or Lemon yellow and Cadmium yellow medium, Azo yellow light or medium, having 2 yellow shades is important for color mixing. If you have just one, please, choose medium yellow (warmer).
Blue: Prussian blue and/or Ultramarine blue
Artist grade paints have more pigment and less fillers and binders. If you would like to use artist’s grade paints, I would advise Liquitex heavy body, Graham (satisfactory quality, not that great tubes) or Golden (also tough to open tubes).
Longer list of acrylic paint colors:
White: Titanium white
Black: Lamp black, Mars black or Ivory black
Yellow: 1 cold and 1 warm yellow, such as Hansa or Lemon yellow, Cadmium yellow medium, Azo yellow light or medium
Ocher: yellow ocher or golden ocher
Red: 1 cold and 1 warm red, such as Primary magenta, Carmine red (Crimson lake, Carmine lake) and Pyrrole red
Red-brown: Burnt sienna
Warm dark brown: Burnt umber
Blue: 1 dark blue and 1 light blue, such as, Prussian blue or Ultramarine blue, brilliant blue, sky blue or Cerulean blue
Dark grey: Payne’s grey
Light grey: premixed grey
Additional supplies: white plastic disposable plates (it is important plate is white). Do not use mixing papers or flat palettes which are not suitable for mixing wet paint. I will not accept them for art classes. Mixing paper does not work with many acrylic paint applications.
At least 10 sheets of paper towel per class. It is very important you use paper towel, it is not possible to paint without cleaning your brush frequently.
We use pre-painted canvas so that painting is much easier.
Additional supplies for easing the painting process
Plastic knife
Seaweed sponge or silk sponge
Slow-drying medium and blending medium, as well as modeling paste are useful, but we use them only for certain projects and get by with water initially. I have my own blending medium which I create from 3 components, I will show how.
It is better to have fewer acrylic painting supplies and better quality supplies. It is recommended to get paints at the art store. Artisan liquid paints from the Dollarama absolutely do not work.
Schedule: Art classes, schedule and registration
I agree, you don’t need much to start painting with acrylics. They are actually one of my favorite mediums
It is one of my most favorite mediums, too. I had to mention that because frequently students come to a class with practically suitcase full of supplies, and we really don’t need that. Quality of painting does not really depend on whether one uses 20 brushes or just 1, the same about paint colors: we can easily mix up whatever we need.
I agree completely
That means, you have experience. I have also some posts about over-preparation when somebody prepares for so long and so extensively that they never believe they are ready to start doing something. That especially is true for drawing and painting.
You’ve just described my husband. He makes these creations that he’s terrified of painting. He has all kinds of supplies and different types of paint but he’s psyched himself up to the point that he never picks up a brush.
So funny! I really had a laugh. Yes, I’ve seen a lot of that during the long years of teaching art. I’ve been sometimes even envious of how good supplies some people who were intending to paint had. Yet, it really does not result in anything. It is the way of thinking that making some errors or not having the best and most suitable supplies will be a huge failure and disaster. I’m just trying to convince everybody that one can paint with finger if they really want to paint or draw with a stick and it will be still fine. I send out reminders about classes, and it is amazing how frequently people would say that they haven’t got everything they need and they feel they are not ready to start painting. It is amazing. Overpreparation. Trying to have guarantees that everything will work out. Something like that.
I like it so much that you simplify things…. because new painters (like me) try to make sense of all the different types of brushes and which one for this and which one for that….. Diane
Thanks Diane! I thought, I had to really simplify because it isn’t rare that people come to a class with a suitcase, full of supplies, many of which they will never use or need. I believe we first try the basic supplies and get what we feel like we cannot live without later.
How are the Amsterdam Acrylics? I use a lot of Liquitex Basics, and am starting to get professional Tri Art Paint. It is Canadian, and cheaper than Golden/ Liquitex which is extremely expensive.
White and any yellow aren’t good from any cheap brand. In classes, people use Amsterdam students’ grade and Liquitex basics, but I normally use only Liquitex Heavy Body, sometimes some Golden, too. What happens is that, students’ grade paints lose their brightness and pale out after some 2-3 years. They are also difficult to use. I saw some students using Tri Art, and these were plain and simple really bad paints. So were some other: Pebeo students’ grade, for instance, Galleria, etc. They act like a paste with some color, not like a paint, therefore, it becomes very difficult to create anything meaningful.
I know what you mean about the yellow, it is very transparent, but the way I paint, I can work around this. As I say, I am investing in better paint.
Thanks! You can work around, but I prefer to have not that much fillers and binders, and more pigment. The cheaper paint is, the more binders and fillers it has. I really have to return to my conversation with mom’s hospital now. I so much wish she was doing better.
I take any paint review with a grain of salt, I’m not trying to dismis what you are saying, but the thing is, with any paint, it comes with a learning curve. I’ve seen all kinds of reviews over the years some more reliable than others, but one example is people on the Micheals site mixing a cadmium or brilliant red with a phalo blue and expecting a bright purple. In reality, it is more a magenta, and a phalo blue that will make a bright purple. The red has too much yellow/ orange in it, and therefore make a duller colour. You can learn to create great art with what you can afford. I’ve done paintings with student grade paint, 5 years ago which in reality is a very short time. So far I do not notice any fading. I learned how to use these acrylics and have learned techniques how to deal with the specifics of the paint.
Dear Shawn,
One can use any paint they can afford, it’s just so that if you want no struggle, great results and get these results faster, the better paint you use, the better and easier it is. That is especially true if you paint on large canvas.
I am sorry for brief note, but as I said in my post, my mom just had a stroke and I’m really not in mood for anything else. It’s lots of worries and lots of issues.
I’m sorry to hear about your mom.
Well, I really do not know what to expect. I still hope for a satisfactory outcome. Thanks!