COLOR & DESIGN FOR PAINTERS
 OIL PAINTING Materials List
If you’re using a different medium (acrylic, acrylagouache, gouache, or casein),
 please bring comparable supplies in your medium.
All the bulleted items are available here in a Blick U class list that you can add to your cart in one click.
HOW-TO VIDEOS, available on YouTube:
How to take decent photos of artwork on your phone
How to shellac paper for oil painting
PAINTS

  • Titanium-Zinc White (or any opaque white)
  • Cadmium Lemon
  • Quinacridone Red
  • Phthalo blue (Gamblin’s 1980 series, it’s weaker)
  • Black (any black will do)
PALETTE
Something to mix your paints on. Please don’t use a white palette; it makes judging values difficult. A wooden palette treated repeatedly with linseed oil makes an ideal smooth surface for mixing. Glass or plexiglass is also good; tape a neutral color paper to the back. If you prefer a disposable palette get the
  • Richeson gray disposable palette.
BRUSHES
  • Princeton Aspen 6500 flat no. 6 or similar
  • Princeton Aspen 6500 flat no. 4 or similar
PALETTE KNIFE
A palette knife, or painting knife, can be used for mixing and for applying paint. A three-inch offset blade with a long, graceful shape is the most versatile. Keep it clean: scrape dried paint off with a razor blade.
  • Liquitex Painting Knife. Small, no. 13
SOLVENT & MEDIUM
A solvent (turpentine, traditionally) dissolves and thins wet paint; we use it to clean brushes and only in small quantities as a medium. Use odorless solvent
  • Gamsol or turpenoid.
Use a stainless brush washer with a basket and a gasket lid that clamps on (or make your own).
A medium is used to change the consistency of the paint.
  • Gamblin’s Solvent-Free Gel
SUPPORTS
  • Strathmore 400 Series Recycled Toned Sketch Pad, Gray. Size is up to you.

For oils, you'll need to shellac each page using

  • Bullseye shellac from the hardware store (this one is not available at Blick).

You’ll also need either a throwaway brush, or a cheap brush to dedicate to shellac, and some Denatured Alcohol to rinse it in.
(For waterbased media, you can paint on untreated pape but it may buckle. I’ve tried acrylic on shellacked paper and it worked really well. The shellac kept the paper from buckling.)