My Five Favourite Art Supplies
I often feel compelled to draw and paint on a Sunday, when the world seems quieter. And when I sit down at my messy art table, I find I reach for the same materials over and over. Put together for a photo they look rather pleasing and I wonder if I will ever become anything more than that girl at school who loved stationery.
Moleskine Pocket Watercolour Sketch Book
There’s something so nice about these little books. This is where my painting journey began again after a 25 year break since school. When I just wanted to feel the brush on the page, I would let watercolours seep into each other, watching as the colours slowly blended. And I would add tiny details in gold and scribble words that resonated with me. Then I would close the books and pull the elastic around the cover, hiding my mini creations like a secret diary.
Roberson’s Liquid Metal - Classic Gold
You may have noticed that I just can’t create anything without sneaking in a little touch of liquid gold. I’m obsessed with the stuff. It’s so full bodied and vibrant and lifts every painting I do.
Cass Art Acrylic Paint - Titanium White
I love all the Cass Art Acrylic paints but Titanium White gets a special mention as I go through gallons of the stuff. It mixes so well and gives such great variation to my abstract paint strokes. Plus the packaging is just so aesthetically pleasing.
Blackwing Palomino 530 Pencils
I mean, is it possible, and ok, to be obsessed with a type of pencil? These golden beauties are just so lovely. I received a box of 12 of them as a gift about five years ago and have eeked them out. A slight issue is that I think they are sold out in most places. Although I did find some on Etsy that were £70 for three pencils! My gift giver didn’t pay that much I hasten to add. There’s a certain kind of reverence to using a Blackwing though. I’m no expert in pencils but these do have a lovely feel when you sketch with them.
I think you can easily tell which of these five is my most used brush. Yes, second from the left. The softness of the curved bristles really suits the kind of strokes I like to make when I’m creating abstract pieces with acrylic paint. I mainly use the three with the darker handles with watercolours. The blue brushes are actually from a set I was given by a friend. I don’t think they were costly and even though I’m tempted to buy every brush I see when I go into Cass Art, it just goes to show, you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a play. I couldn’t find the exact set so the link is to something similar.
