Solvent Free Gel by Gamblin Artist Colors is one of my very favorite things. It is odorless, CLEAR, and thick enough to hold a good heavy paint stroke. It loads well on the brush and I love the way the paint feels when I lay it on the canvas. It is particularly great when using brushes that can support a lot of paint, like extra-long filberts. I began using it while painting in Plein air events to speed the drying time of my paint. Soon I was hooked and use it in my studio work now as well.
www.loriputnam.com
My Favorite Things
My Favorite Thing – Thomas Jefferson Kitts
The Ubiquitous All-purpose Palette Knife
When I first saw this palette knife in the hands of Richard Schmid a lightbulb went off. Years later, I have found this knife to be the most useful tool ever. I can rapidly mix my colors and paint with it, and it is substantial enough to scrape a wet or dry passage of paint down to the underlying ground. I prefer this knife because the blade is metal, wedge-shaped, and has an ‘off-set’ handle. The blade itself is about 1 inch wide at the base and about 3 inches in length. The width allows me to mix a lot of color quickly and the tip makes short work of applying a highlight. The length allows me to laid down an incredibly sharp line or crisp edge on the rare occasion I need one, far thinner than any rigger can create. I use this knife to mix my neutral light tints, such as flesh and snow, which keeps those delicate colors clean, and I use it to scrape off the inevitable failure when they occur. And yes, I abuse this knife constantly. I drop it often and clean my palette with it at the end of the day. (Or a week later, to admit the truth…ha!) And yes, the offset handle keeps my knuckles out of the paint – a constant hazard for me. These knives are so cheap I give them away in my workshops.
I have even sharpened the edge of the blade like a chisel, to give it the ability to cut through a crusty paint film without digging into the ground below. You can read about it here
www.thomaskitts.com
My Favorite Thing/s – Suzie Baker
My name is Suzie Baker. I am one of your OPA Board members. One of the ways I serve is to organize this blog. I’m kicking off a new, regularly occurring, feature to our blog called, “My Favorite Thing/s.” It will be a short, sweet and to-the-point paragraph or two from various OPA artists. They will share their favorite things. Most are finding it hard to narrow it down to just one thing. In the coming months, you will hear from Thomas Jefferson Kitts, Lori Putnam, and Ann Kraft Walker, to name just a few.
I’m going to start us off with a few of my favorite things. There are a few items in my collection of tools that I find indispensable. I use them for my signature in different circumstances. (Isn’t it crazy that we can do a great painting and then get intimidated when it comes to our signature).
Wipe Off Tool: I use this tool to sign my name directly into wet paint, it wipes off the paint down to the tone of the canvas. Great for Plein Air work. This tool can be found at almost any art supply store.
Ruling Pen: This is an oldie but a goodie. I’ve had this same ruling pen since I was in my 20’s. I’d panic if I lost it. On mostly dry paintings, I sign my name by thinning down my oil paint with Gamsol or similar. I deposit it into the opening of the nib with the side of a loaded brush and then write it on my canvas holding the pen vertically. Ruling pens can be found in protractor sets or online. Oh, how I love my old ruling pen!
Do you have a favorite thing to share? I’d love to hear about it. Please email me at suzie@suziebakerart.com or just comment here. I’ll watch the comments and maybe do a compilation in the future.
www.suziebaker.com