All about art materials and tools used by artists includes buyer guides
As someone who loves to paint with oil paints, I’ve found that using a good oil painting medium can make a huge difference in the final outcome of my artwork. An oil painting medium is essential if you want to modify the thickness, texture, or drying period of oil-based paint. In this blog post, I’ll…
As an artist who loves working with oil paints and one who is obsessed with avoiding toxic chemicals, I know that the right solvents are essential to achieving the desired results. However, traditional solvents like turpentine are known to be harmful to both the painter and the environment. That’s why I’ve been on a quest…
If you’re an artist looking for the right canvas to use for painting, then you’ve likely heard of primed and unprimed canvases. But what exactly is the difference between the two, and which one should you choose? In this post, I will take you through the primed canvas vs unprimed canvas and discuss the differences,…
There are so many solvents available to artists these days that we are spoilt for choice. Not only that, but back in my day all solvents had a strong pungent smell that took days to go away. Now we have solvents such as Sansodor and Gamsol that are so good they are hard to choose…
In this blog post, I’ll explore 3 of the best varnishes I have used on my acrylic paints and I will provide some insights on how to choose the best varnishes and why they are so important. I believe the best varnish for acrylic painting on canvas is a brush on varnish, the Liquitex Polymer…
Ever wondered if you could make an oil painting without medium? The short answer ‘yes’, but there is more you should know about this answer because there is medium already added to most commercially purchased oil paints. This is so that the powder pigment used to make oil paint is ready to use from the…
When deciding on the best option between a drafting table or easel for artists, it’s important to consider their benefits and drawbacks. A drafting table provides an ideal working surface with plenty of storage compartments and adjustable angles and you can place them on a table or desk, making them perfect for tasks like sketching,…
Paper comes in a wide variety. Only some paper is suitable for calligraphy or art using dip pens. A range of paper elements can impact how well your dip pen performs. Understanding weight, texture, and type can help you make the best choice when selecting paper for dip pen projects. So what is the best paper…
If you’re new to watercolor painting, you might be confused about how to mount your watercolor paper, and wondering what’s the best glue for watercolor paper. You may be surprised to learn that it is not actually a glue! In my experience, heavy acrylic gel medium gives me the best results when mounting my finished…
Whether you’re a professional artist or a beginner, gouache allows you to finish your watercolor painting in one sitting. It dries quickly, and you can use various techniques to create texture and washes. When I’m ready to begin an art project and discover that I’m out of white gouache, I make a white gouache substitute…
Sketchbooks are a handy medium for jotting line drawings for later reference. They can be integral aspects of the creative process. Using charcoal in a sketchbook is a perfectly acceptable way to apply charcoal to paper. However, the type of paper used and the treatment of the drawing afterward are the key things to knowing how to do…
One of the common questions found online is how good is Pennelli Acrylic Paint? I used Pennelli acrylic paint quite a few years ago and found them to be quite reasonable for the price. I also owned a few of the Pennelli branded brushes. Pennelli was a brand of acrylic paint that was popular among…
