Tools of the trade

The main medium I prefer to work with is Acrylic paint. Over the years I have experimented with every art supply and material imaginable. Early on, while I was studying Viaual Art at TAFE,  I was actually using oil paint because I thought that you weren’t a “real artist” unless you knew how to use oil paint. 

As I have aged and matured I have realized how rediculous that idea is and that you can be a real artist and use whatever materials you like. I also always hated the messy cleanup process that is involved with oil paint. So once I started to get back in to painting on a regular basis I decided to use acrylics.  

The fast drying time, vibrant colours and easy cleaning qualities are all perfect for the way I work.  

I also use a range of brushes to create my art, all of them are cheap and some of them are not even “artist” brushes. I use nylon brushes, house paint brushes from the hardware store and a few mop style brushes that are meant to be used for stenciling or applying gesso but I like the scratchy messy marks that they make.  

I am a terrible brush owner. I abuse them all the time. I let them dry out, or I soak them for days on end in dirty water. I use them to varnish and then forget to was them. I use them to scoop out blobs of paint, smoosh them into containers and clog them up. When they are dead I throw them out and buy new ones. 

I use a few different brands of acrylic paint, but mostly Derivan Matisse, Golden Acrylic and Hydrocryl. I mix different brands together to make up my own colours as well as using colours right out of the tube. If I know I’m going to use a particular colour a lot then I will mix up a big batch and keep it in a plastic container with a lid. I also use Liquitex paint markers to add in some of the fine details on top. 

I paint on both stretched canvas and watercolour paper, I have my canvas custom stretched and sent to me and I purchase my watercolor paper in large sheets or pads. The canvas is 12oz cotton and the paper is always 300gsm cotton or above.