So things have gone real strange in the world lately, but we want to bring some joy and ease some boredom where we can, so we are going to do some FREE painting classes on our Facebook page. We are ordered to cease all operations with the public until April 7th due to the corona virus situation, so I can’t offer pickup kits at the studio right now. What we can do is provide a list below of items we recommend.
For our FREE classes, you may use what you have on hand, or consider purchasing from Amazon using our links below which will give us a very tiny commission that will help us at least earn a little something while we are closed.
Starting April 7th, or when we are cleared to do so, we will start selling art kits that you may pick up and using zoom to do paid virtual parties/classes. Thanks so much for your support during this trying time.
I have not actually used the brush set above so full disclosure, but the price is affordable for a beginner set and it has a wide variety of brush styles to experiment with. My thought is don’t buy expensive sets until you have experimented a bit, but you also don’t want to buy the cheapest sets you can find because they tend to shed bristles etc. Use this or any similar set you find and like.
Artists loft canvases are a budget canvas that are perfect for learning. No need for fancy, higher end stretched canvases for our “fun art” pieces. Whatever canvases you choose – you want them to be pre-primed to save yourself unnecessary prep work.
For some of our projects we use square canvases. This is a value pack that ensures you get the most for your money.
Creative inspirations is a high-quality, but affordable acrylic paint with a rich, buttery texture and gorgeous pigmentation. Craft paints from big box stores are “ok” for painting if that’s what you have and want to use, but they are runny and not nearly as vibrant.
The first link above is to the most basic set with primary colors and black and white that will allow you to mix any color you desire – and we’ll walk you through that. You can also purchase the larger set if you want a variety of colors ready to use out of the bottle. The larger set also contains a product called “pearlessence” that allows you to create a metallic paint by mixing it with any color you have (any acrylic will due and you can totally buy just a bottle of pearlessence as well).
A large, non-stick palette gives you plenty of room to add paint and mix. It’s easy to wash and you can reuse it forever. Paper plates are ok too if that’s what you have, but the coated ones are better because they don’t absorb the paint and allow the paint to stay wet longer.
Palette knives are not required, but they are a fun and simple way to get great texture while painting and you can do some very fun things with them.
The kit above has everything you need for painting dot mandalas. I plan to teach some dotting techniques, so if that interests you – you can do them on rocks, on wood cutouts, pretty much anywhere your heart desires. This kit gives you one stencil and all the tools you need to create beautiful dot paintings.
I love using the “flour sack” type cloth napkins in our studio. They are very absorbent and they save money and are more eco-friendly than going through tons of paper towels. They will be stained, but you’re using them for painting and they’re economical and durable. They also make great cleaning rags.