Art Materials

When I first started sketching, my materials changed often, but now I seem to have settled on my favourites — the paints, brushes, paper and other tools I reach for first. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I’m not open to trying new tools. In fact, I experiment with unfamiliar art materials all the time. But the ones listed below are my essentials. You’ll find three sections below: One for supplies I carry around in my sketch bag, a second for studio and plein air painting, and a third section for painting with gouache.

Sketching Supplies

Over the dozen or so years since I’ve been sketching regularly, I’ve pared down my kit to the bare essentials. I pack so everything is easy to find, and so it’s light enough to lug on daylong treks. And one more thing: I have it packed and sitting by my door at all times. That way, there’s no excuse for not grabbing it on the way out, and not putting in some sketching. I encourage you to do the same.

  • Watercolour Paper
    My latest discovery is this block of Millford paper from St. Cuthberts Mill. I’m a fan of Saunders Waterford from the same mill, but this paper is a little different. While both are 100% cotton, Millford is hard sized, which means the water stays on the surface longer, so you can work with your washes longer. This is especially useful when you’re painting outdoors on hot or windy days, when a regular paper surface will dry too fast. I’ve been experimenting with Millford paper for some months, and can attest to its brilliant whiteness, how colours retain their vividness, it’s how great it is for glazing.
  • Sketchbook
    My sketchbook of choice is the 100% cotton book from Hahnemuhle. This is the A4 size, which I use most often, but I’ve just ordered the 8”x 6” for some upcoming trips, where I expect a smaller book will be more practical.
  • Inktense pencils
    Why pack water-soluble coloured pencils when I’m carrying around a full watercolour kit? Because in some locales, such as museums, wet media is not permitted. I also use them to add colour and depth to a sketch that needs a bit more punch. My favourites are Inktense from Derwent. The colours are deep, saturated and satisfying. I bought a set of 12 but you can also buy them individually.
  • Palette
    This past summer, Lintner Art asked me to be a product tester, which meant (lucky me!) that I got to keep the kit I was trying out. It includes this aluminum paintbox that now accompanies me on every trip. (You can see the full palette and its colours in the second photo.) The palette comes with small Nalgene bottles and a mini tripod, making it ideal for when I’m on the road.
  • Bag
    My longtime sketching bag is this Frida Mini Messenger from Cocotte Équipement in Montreal. It’s packed with features that make it especially practical for sketchers: interior pockets for pens and water containers; a roomy middle area that’s big enough for palette, sketchbook, eyeglasses and drawing tools; a waterproof lining in case of spills; and a padded adjustable strap, so it’s easy on the shoulder on longer days.
  • Bulldog clips
    I am truly lost if I forget my bulldog clips. They keep sketchbook pages in place on windy days, and keep wet paper flat as it dries. Don’t forget yours.
     
  • Brush wallet
    Over the years, I’ve invested in good sable travel brushes from Da Vinci and Rosemary & Co. (More on brushes below.) I try to protect my investment by washing each brush after every use and returning it to this brush wallet from Rosemary. The fact that I’ve bought a specialized case may seem excessive. But it makes it much easier to locate my brushes and I’m happier knowing they’re not jostling in a zipper bag with pens and pencils.

Drawing tools
Left to right: a tube of Titanium White watercolour for boat rigging or tiny highlights in urban scenes; a waterbrush pen for wetting my Inktense pencils; a mechanical pencil with a B lead; a Platinum Carbon desk pen holding Carbon ink cartridges; a Platinum Preppy Pen; and a Signo Uniball White gel pen.

Miscellaneous stuff
A roll of washi tape (a low-tack Japanese tape), a kneaded rubber eraser, Carbon ink cartridges for my Platinum pen, and extra leads for my mechanical pencil.

My palette of colours

I love the Lintner paintbox because of the large mixing wells and clip-on Nalgene bottles. The palette’s paint cassette holds 8 full pans of paint, and I’ve added half pans to a second cassette for an additional 16 colours. The full pans hold my “bread-and-butter” colours that I use most often, while the half pans are the “candy”—bright or opaque colours I dab on for an extra pop.

Half pans, left to right:
Top row: Payne’s Grey, Cobalt Green, Hooker’s Green, Transparent Orange
Second row: Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Horizon Blue, Turquoise
Third row: Lavender, Carbazole Violet, Quinacridone Rose, Quinacridone Coral
Fourth row: Quinacridone Gold, New Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow

Full pans:
Top row: Lemon Yellow, Carmine, Ultramarine Blue, Raw Sienna
Second row: Hansa Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red, Prussian Blue, Burnt Sienna

My Travel Brushes

The five travel brushes I pack in my brush wallet are, top to bottom:

When capped, the Rosemary brushes are hard to tell apart, which explains the masking tape labels.

In my experience, sable brushes from Da Vinci, Rosemary and Escoda keep their points longer, which makes them a better investment. Take good care of them and they will last a long time.

Studio Painting Supplies

For larger studio or plein air paintings, I use a Holbein Enamelled Steel Folding Palette with 24 slots for colour and a handy thumb hole. This palette is really well designed and rests on my arm when I’m standing to paint.

The colours I’ve filled it with are somewhat different from my small sketching palette. New additions are Lavender, Naples Yellow and Cobalt Green — all opaque colours that are fun to play with.

Top row: Hansa Yellow Light, Hansa Yellow Deep, Naples Yellow, Quinacridone Gold, Transparent Orange, Cadmium Red Deep, Quinacridone Rose, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber.
Bottom Row: Turquoise Blue, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Prussian Blue, Leaf Green, Oxide of Chromium, Phthalo Green, Cobalt Green, Lavender, Cobalt Violet Light, Carbazole Violet.
If you’re interested in knowing the brands, I’ve photographed the tubes are below in the same order as the placement in the palette.


Studio/Plein Air Painting Brushes

Rosemary Rigger Red Dot Size 2 Like the liner brush below, this one is great for fine lines and details.

Da Vinci Casaneo Inlaid Liner series 5599, # 10 Wonderful for branches, rigging, wires and other details. I have several sizes of these.

Rosemary Kolinsky Sable Series 33, Size 12 Everyone needs one amazing round brush and for me this is it! It has a great point and holds tons of wash.

Da Vinci Casaneo #4 Mop Great for big washes and for getting texture on rough paper, if used with not too much wash. I have several sizes of these.

Jackson’s 1″ Icon Sable/Synthetic Flat Flats are great because they hold lots of water, cover big areas of paper, and are ideal for painting straight edges.

If you want more info about how I use different brushes, have a look at my free video My Five Favourite Watercolour Brushes.

Paper and Sketchbooks

If you need to skimp on something, don’t let it be paper. Use the best you can afford. I paint on blocks or pads, in sketchbooks and on loose sheets (taped to a plexiglass or coroplast backing board). The watercolour papers I use most often are Arches, Saunders or Fabriano, 140 lb cold press or rough, bright white. My preferred sketchbooks are made by Hahnemuhle. I tend to work large so the smallest book I have is 8″ square.

Gouache Materials

If you’re new to gouache, I invite you to take my online course, Sketching Skies in Gouache. It’s a good introduction to colour mixing and understanding the paint consistency of this versatile medium.

Gouache brush set
It’s a pleasure to partner with Jack Richeson & Co, a family-owned fine art supplier, for this brush set. The Plein Air Brush Set contains a variety of round and flat brushes, perfect for carrying in a small sketch bag. I love it because the kit has an easel back, so it stands up on its own, so the brushes are always within easy reach. The brush kit also comes packaged with a great viewfinder that I always carry with me when I go out sketching. This set is available on at Judson’s Art Outfitters.

When painting in gouache in studio, I use a STA-WET palette and a separate Jasper mixing tray. This palette has an integrated sponge to keep your paint wet for a long time — unless, like me, you sometimes forget to put the cover back on!

The gouache colours I use most often are Permanent White, Zinc White, Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Spectrum Violet, Primary Magenta, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Phthalo Green and Cobalt Turquoise.

Easels

Since I sometimes work on larger plein air paintings, I would add an easel to this list, and probably a bigger water container. My travel easel is the Eric Michaels En Plein AirPro. My gouache easel is from Cup Easel and my sketch easel is from Lintner Art.

NOTE: I am a Rosemary Brush Co and an Amazon affiliate, so I may get a few cents if you buy something from the links above. Thanks!