|
About Material
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for your experience and your most successful outcome to paint with the best possible material. By that, I mean not only the best quality material that you can afford, but also the right tool for the right job. It is part of your training to know your material well and to organize it for its best usage, so that you can free your mind for more important tasks. I will always be happy to help you in this important matter.
Brushes are a good example. If you want to apply paint in big, bold brushstrokes, you do need to use hog bristle brushes because nylon or sable brushes will not give you any stroke when used with oil paint. If you want to paint loose, mysterious, abstract, expressive, impressionistic masses, it will be easier to use larger brushes than small brushes. If you want scratchy, transparent, structured strokes, bright brushes will do an excellent job. If you want sensitivity, thick strokes, blending and soft edges, filberts will do best.
|
|
Plein Air Landscape Materials List
Brigitte Curt - Instructor ( 408) 739 6037, email:bcurt@classart.org
|
|
This material list is designed to help new students to sort out the material they need.
Highlighted in RED is the material YOU need to purchase for your class
Highlighted in BLUE is the material I will bring to the first class for you
When you are a new student, if there is material you already have please let me know so we do not duplicate.
please call me or email me if you have any question about your material so that we get you ready before the first day of class. You will paint that day after the early demonstration.
Painting panels
You can paint on canvas boards, commercially prepared. Prefer Masterpiece, Fredrix or Tara. Avoid Wolsey canvas boards, the quality is extremely poor and you will struggle with a very absorbent surface. Outdoors, you want to paint a lot of manageable size canvases to start with: 8 x 10 - 9 x 12. You can also purchase them from me if you need to. I always carry 9 x 12, just let me know you need them, so I bring them for you.
If you are more advanced you can use better quality canvas, glued on boards from Ray Mar panels, or Pintura panels from Jerry's Artarama. If you want to prepare your own mahogany skin boards, or glue canvas on boards, you have a variety of options. You must know it is involved and time consuming, not a good choice if you are a beginner.
Mounting your panels on a large board makes it much easier for you to paint and to develop gestural brush strokes. No need to struggle with little size boards on the easel. You will need:
A staple gun - JT 21- with 6mm or 8mm staples. no heavy duty
A support board - An 18 x 24 x 1/8" mahogany skin on which to staple panels. Can be purchased from your instructor.
To safely carry your paintings home, you need a wet panel carrier.
you can purchase one from Peggy at Artwork Essentials 1 949 856 2196
she has a box to carry 10 panels fro $60.00 Please call her and tell her you are my student, and to send this right away to you, together with your brushes
new from Peggy 2 great tools
wet panel drying rack - to let your paintings dry safely at home
View finder with marker and eraser
A fabulous palette -An 18 x 24 x 1/8" mahogany skin, around which you wrap Reynolds freezer paper from the cooking aisle (that is palette paper 18" wide).
Brushes, Hog Bristle Filbert only.
You will need #2, 4, 6, two of each. #8 and 10 four of each
Peggy at Artwork Essentials 1 949 856 2196
A plastic tool box from Orchard Supply, or any likewise store, 17 or 18 inches long with a tray, to safely keep your brushes flat. It will carry everything you need. No Art Bin
Paint
The matter of quality (pigment content-chroma- malleability) can be confusing because most paints look alike in the tube. To test the pigment content of a particular color, you need to mix it with other colors including white, and see how it holds its chroma in the mixtures, and compare this color with other brands. It can be tedious and confusing. To simplify the all thing, here is the shortcut version.
We recommend Dana colors, the best colors made at a comparable price. We recommend them for their high chroma content and their malleability. This is the paint we use. We order these colors directly from the factory and get the best prices without markup from art stores.
Winsor-Newton, Rembrandt, Old Holland, Lefranc Bourgeois & Gamblin are good grades. Grumbacher is acceptable. Utrecht is poor. Van Gogh, Rowney and Winton (the student grade of Winsor Newton) are not suited for our purpose.
Your paint should be creamy and soft, so you can use it without having to dilute it with paint thinner, it should blend easily and allow you to make strong strokes when you need them.
It should also be chromatic enough so that your mixtures are not dead.
If you already have tubes from other brands, please keep them. In the course of the quarter I will show you something very helpful to do with them, and how to integrate them in your new palette of colors
Basic Palette for Landscape Dana Set large tubes 4oz. from your instructor.
Titanium White - Yellow Ochre - Cadmium Yellow Medium - Cadmium Orange - Transparent Red Oxide - Quinacridone Red - Ultramarine Blue Deep - Phthalo Green - Payne's Gray
Complete Palette
These colors can be added progressively as you develop a better knowledge of the mixtures
Naples Yellow - Hansa Yellow Orange - Cadmium Yellow Orange - Mars Orange - Fire Red -
Cobalt Blue - Carbazole Violet - Viridian
Easel M.A.B.E.F, M22, French Box easel. Can be purchased from University Art Store in Palo Alto, they are on sale there on a daily basis. should be around $140.00
Solvent Odorless Thinner ( white plastic ) 1 gallon from your instructor or internet
a coil jar to wash your brushes
a roll of saran wrap, masking tape, paper towel Viva and a large grocery paper bag.
Other equipment
A good quality painting knife, flexible, triangular shape. Can be purchased from your instructor.
Hat or visor to protect your eyes from reflected light, sunscreen,
Barrier cream such as Art Guard from Winsor Newton at you local art store.
Brush holder (large tin can) with clip.
An umbrella. Peggy at Artwork Essentials has a nice one
Baby wipes. And any hand cream will help take the paint off your hands.
A folding chair or fishing stool will be practical, and a lots of beverages (no alcohol in the park)
Brush Flush, special soap for dried paint on brushes and clothes, can be purchased from me
Remember that we are truly respectful of the environment which we enjoy so much.
Do Not Litter. Use your garbage bags. Thank you for your cooperation...
I am looking forward to start helping you in your artistic development. It is an honor to be your instructor and I am thankful for your trust in me.
|
