Tag: Art Supplies

My go-to art supplies

Art Supplies List: My favorite things

I’ve been talking about my favorite (and not so fave) art supplies on here, on an ad hoc basis, basically rambling on about whatever strikes my fancy on any given day. The other day, I was pulling out my supplies to make a simple colored pencil piece, and realized there are a lot of bits and pieces I use, that may be helpful to readers.

And then, of course, I thought about the *other* kinds of art I do: acrylics, watercolour, pastels, markers, digital art … well, the list is constantly growing, it seems. And it would make no sense to lump them all together in one big post.

So, in an effort to be considerate, and really, just to make it easier for myself, I’m going to split this up into a separate section on the blog and set up individual posts just listing the specific supplies I use for each.

Here’s the master list (links will be added/updated as I publish the relevant posts):

  • Colored pencil supplies
  • Acrylics supplies
  • Pastels supplies
  • Markers supplies
  • Sketchbooks and other surfaces
  • Digital tools

The list will be updated if and when I pick up new media, or even try some fun not-necessarily-art projects (who’s been wanting to try scrapbooking? how about coloring books?)

 

A new addition to the Caran d’Ache Watercolor Pencils

If you have been following this blog for any time at all, you know I tend to get very excited about new art supplies, especially when it’s anything to do with watersoluble media. I have tubes of watercolor paint, and pans and half-pans in nifty travel kits. I have watersoluble graphite blocks and watersoluble graphite pencils. And, of course, several lines of watercolor pencils (how else do you get fine detail on your watercolors or do quick sketches outdoors without a whole plein aire kit?).

One of my favorite sets of watercolor pencils is the Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle pencils. The set contains 120 pencils, each with splendid rich pigmentation and a creamy texture like all of the Caran d’Ache pencils (have you ever tried their Luminance line?) I was absolutely certain they couldn’t have picked a better range of tints and swore I’d never need another set of watercolor pencils.

But now I have to eat my words. Caran d’Ache is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. To celebrate, they’ve released a special Limited Edition 30th Anniversary set: 30 all-new colors in the Supracolor Soft line.

 

Yes, that’s 30 all-new colors. These colors are not present in any of the other existing Caran d’Ache sets, by the way, so unless they decide to release an anniversary set of their other lines as well, you’re out of luck trying to get an exact color match on the regular colored pencils.

I’ll admit, I’m drooling. I need to get my hands on those shades of pinks and purples! And that set of greens … I didn’t know I needed that particular shade of almost-dry-grass-green, but now I know I can’t live without it!

So yes, I have just pulled out my very tired wallet and ordered this new set. Do I need it? Well … need is a perception thing, yes? Someone looking at the stacks of art supplies in my home would tell me I definitely don’t need yet another set of watercolor pencils. Only another artist friend would appreciate the “need” I feel to own this set.

So, to all my artist friends out there: will you be buying this fancy new set of watercolor pencils? Just “to round out your collection”, if nothing else? Or am I the only one who has zero sales resistance? Let me know in the comments below!

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Sennelier Artist Quality Oil Pastels Test Pack

If you’ve never tried oil pastels, you don’t know what you’re missing! Try this delightful Sennelier Artist Quality Oil Pastels Test Pack and see if you like them.

Light-weight and portable, this little kit contains 6 small sticks of black, white, green, yellow, red and blue as shown in the image. The colours are highly pigmented and lightfast, however, note that like all oil pastels, they do *not* dry easily. You’ll need to spray your artwork with a fixative to prevent damage to your finished painting.

The Sennelier oil pastels go down soft and creamy, with a feel reminiscent of their oil paints. This is nothing like the Crayola oil pastels you may have tried before (I certainly have!), which are dry and gritty and nowhere near as fun to work with nor as capable of creating rich, oil-painting-like final products.

Like all the Sennelier products, this is a top-of-the-line set of pastels. The colours blend smoothly, just like oil paints. And yes, they have the familiar odour of a typical oil paint medium, too, so be prepared to use these in a well ventilated room!

This is a limited set, obviously, but it will give you a good feel for the product and help you decide whether oil pastels are a medium you wish to explore. If you do decide to invest more in the medium, you would probably want to go for the full set of 120 assorted colors which come in the wooden box, or the largest cardboard box set which contains 72 colors.

Disclosure: This blog often reviews/recommends products from one or more 3rd-party e-commerce sites like Amazon, Etsy, eBay, AliExpress, etc. Please assume that any link you click on will probably result in a small commission paid to me: this commission does not increase the cost of your purchase. Please see the Affiliate Disclosure page for additional details.