- Feb 1

ART PRODUCT I LIKE

What is the shizz.

What products, medium, matter etc do I like to use?

I get asked this a lot. What mediums do I use, what product do I love best, how do I use it.

Firstly;

When you are trialling techniques you do not need to use expensive product.

This is massive.

There is something so alluring about a beautiful art store, filled with gorgeous materials and new shiny product. I get it, I totally do. There have been many a time that I have gone into a store and come out $200 later with absolutely nothing that I needed.

And if you would like to do that, by all means go ahead. It can be a treat if you like. What I would like to convey in this post however, is if you are trying out art, getting your groove on creating, or just wanting to have a play around with inks, it really does not need to be expensive, and this could be your first point of call in creating and finding a technique that you like without breaking the bank.

I have purchase many, many, many items at $2 shops. Some of my favourite art brushes are uber cheap, and while I know that might not go down well with a lot of the elite art community, it really is the truth. Don't get me wrong I also have my favourite brands, and trusted product that I absolutely love to use, but I really had to get my head around how I liked to create art first, which meant using pastel and acrylic, and pencils and ink. Not cheap if you just go ahead and purchase them all.

What I want people to know from this expressive/creative art journalling is that it is an exercise in relaxing, it is not meant to stress you out, so use some cheap products on your first run, then go out and trial some newer more expensive ones on your second run. You get me.

That being said, what are my go to products I always have on hand, or love to use, and I will pop some links below for you in order of how often I use them.

For me they are as follows:

ART JOURNAL/ ART PAPER// I have about 20 art journals, or art papers on the go. I LOVE paper. I collect watercolour paper, pastel paper, any type of paper. My go to choice for an art journal would be Gordon Harris Art journal or something simple in A4 or A3. You can grab one in NZ here . That being said I have purchased very cheap journals out and about that were fine. I use mine a lot so I am not looking for something expensive I am looking for something with thick paper that I can use to death.

MARKERS // Possibly from my early graffiti days Molotow is my go to brand for markers. They have re-fillable markers which I often will use refills direct on the page without the pen so I find this super handy or if I want to mix a colour up, they have fine liners, pump markers, chalk markers. I love Molotow as I adore their neon range of brights.

WATERCOLUR PAINTS// My watercolour go to brand is Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours. To be fair I don't often try new brands with watercolours as again I love their range of colours, and I love the way these work with ease so I have become quite addicted. I get mine in the tubes as I like to individually pick my colours but you can use them in a pan set which might be good if you are beggining and just want them all on hand.

SPRAY PAINT// Again go to for me is Molotow - I LOVE their spray paint. Its just the best, the colours are incredible, you can get translucent colours. It again has just spoiled me and I have never moved on to a different brand. I did like Ironlak Sugar sprays also as these are more eco-friendly (and that does concern me with spray paint as I use it so often) but I found them increasingly hard to source in NZ. However if overseas you might be able to grab them

ACRYLIC PAINT// I try different acrylics all the time in honesty. I just grab anything in front of me. There definitely IS a massive difference in quality however with acrylics so if you do not want a watery product then I would go for a more expensive brand. There is nothing more annoying than white paint which does not look like anything on the page. Winsor & Newton again is a great brand, Pebeo studio Acrylics I do like to use, Cromacryl student acrylics is alright for some instances.

EASEL// I actually own a massive easel and a baby easel - I never use it. There I said it. Personally I am like most artists I know hunched over an artwork, scrutinising it to death. You might not like that opinion but it is true.

BRUSHES// I think everyone will choose their brushes they love. So just try some out. Mine are a collection of very cheap and very expensive. I do like very expensive brushes for fine lines and for big brushes, I like the brand Da Vinci and Winsor and Newton, but I also shop a lot for brushes in $2 shops as often they can be used in amongst the good ones. I use foam and brushes a lot when doing charcoal drawing so will often get a coarse brush for this - cheap $3. This should probably be at the top I use brushes more than anything haha.

CHARCOAL// I use expression willow from Gordon Harris or I often collect pencils and will shave mine down to a powder or create my own custom powder.

Special notes:

MASKING FLUID//I use Schmincke liquid frisket Masking fluid a lot. I LOVE using this with charcoals and watercolours, or gold leafing or mix media.
ODD BITS// I personally always have different mediums on hand, as in things to have a play around with, very cheap foam brushes or rollers, pieces of foam, heavy card for pushing around paint (or a credit card works well haha) or to be fair one of the vinyl installing cards we use for our murals is perfect haha but don't tell my mural company that - but seriously PERFECT! But I always have these things on hand to play

These are the very basics of product believe me I have an entire hoarded house of art supplies. There are oil paints from last century I swear! But I just listed the basics so you could see what I use, and what are my pretty much everyday go to items. I also use pastel pencils ALOT, and I have a massive collection of charcoal pencils, metallic pencils, white ink pens. Theres so much. But if you stick to the basics then you can have a play with some items and see which fits your art groove best.

Enjoy!