PSST! MY FAVORITE THINGS

A little while ago I did a round-up of my favorite ways to save on cheap art supplies. Now, you can either attempt to be economical in all things, or you can embrace the balance that if you save on some things, you can splurge on others!

Lists of must-haves will always be personal, so I encourage you to come up with your own.

But here are 10 of my favorites to give you some ideas…and justification to make some essential investments!

N.B. I actually find that these “splurges” aren’t total luxuries and actually do help save time and earn money in other ways. Except, of course, No. 10.

1. PAINTBRUSHES

I have cheap brushes for some uses, but then there are the brushes that are the extensions of my fingers and they’re absolutely priceless. What are yours? Find them. Buy them. Go to local art supplies and feel the bristles and bend of every single paintbrush in the shop. When you find the right brushes, your painting will immediately level up.

My three favorites are the Princeton Velvetouch Mini Mop 1/8, the Princeton Imperial Round 2/0, and the Kingart Original Gold XS.

My favorite larger brushes came from AliExpress and were cheap, but they no longer make them so I’m in a bit of a panic. I tried everything and eventually bought a set of the top-of-the-line Hamburg brushes but they didn’t work for me and I had to return them. The point is not to splurge on brushes for the sake of spending money, but to splurge if you have to in order to get the right brush. Sometimes you don’t!

2. PAINTS

A word of friendly but firm advice: DO NOT BUY CHEAP PAINTS! Why? Cheap paints are low on pigment, and you won’t have the coverage, the mixability, and the ability to paint what you have in your head. You’ll assume it’s your fault, throw your paper or canvas into the garbage, pack up your supplies, hide them in a drawer, and never take them out again. Your self-esteem does not need the trial of cheap paints. Sets of these paints look pretty on the shelves. Walk on by. Keep your money in your wallet, and save it for the good stuff.

After that, the choice of which of the good quality paints you choose is personal. My favorite oil paint brands are Old Holland, Sennelier, and occasionally Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Williamsburg, and the very special Rublev. There are some colors I cannot live without, of which some can be by almost any brand (Deep Ultramarine Blue), but others can only be by a specific brand (Old Holland Warm Grey Light):

The standard best-on-the-market for gouache is Holbein, and there are two kinds: the Artist’s can be reconstituted like thick, rich, deep watercolors; the Acryla cannot and are more like opaque, watered-down, matte acrylics.

I love Sennelier for watercolors. They’re made with honey and were used by the Impressionists.

3. WATERCOLOR PAINT TINS

Should you buy watercolor tubes or watercolor pans? Sometimes you want to travel or have access to just a little paint. Sometimes you want fresh paint in a big puddle. The solution? Buy the tubes and then squeeze a little of the paint into tins for easy, quick, and less wasteful access.

You can find these on Amazon. The little paint cubes are magnetic and removable, so you can take them out, clean them, fill them, and reorganize them. I made a paint chart sheet and glued it to the inside of the top cover.

4. CHELSEA CLASSIC STUDIO LAVENDER & OLIVE OIL BRUSH SOAP

It’s smells lovely. It feels lovely. And it works better than the other brush soaps I’ve tried.

5. CANVAS VIDEO PHONE HOLDER

I rarely buy things from pushy Instagram ads, but I bought a couple of cheaper alternatives on Amazon, returned them, and then splurged on the shopcanvas.co device with the adjustable arm, rotating holder, ring light, and weighted marble base. Although I like having done reels, I don not like doing reels, and this reasonably nice-looking contraption makes the set-up as little invasive as possible.

6. CAMERA

Buy a good camera. I bought the Nikon D3500 a few years ago, and I ought to have indulged sooner. By now, there will be better options on the market, so do your research! Balance all-available-options, options-you’ll-actually-use, and price.

You need a good camera for three things:

Prints, or at least quality photos for your archives
Website general photos
Website product photos

Although I use my iPhone for product photos (I was told I could, and I believed it), I’m going to switch to my Nikon. On the one hand, transferring photos will be easier; on the other, editing photos will be trickier. But it will be worth it to capture all the delicate work I put into painting.

Bonus tip: splurge on the good camera, but buy the camera bag on AliExpress!

7. PRINTER

For prints, buy a good printer. I used to have a big beast of an Epson that I couldn’t figure out, and I swapped it for the lovely Canon Image PROGRAF Pro-300.

8. FRAMES

You’ve worked hard on your art: splurge on the right frame! Whether minimalist, maximalist, or just a well-finished edge, be sure to honor your work with exactly what it needs. I can never resist a glorious old gilt-and-plaster frame, and I actually paint my paintings to suit their frames.

9. DESK & CHAIR

Your workspace is your most important splurge, not necessarily in terms of money, but in terms of space and—I hate to use the word, but here it is—vibe.

These are my two work spaces. This is for computer work: an outrageous ormolu thrift store desk I splurged on for several hundred dollars, and the piano bench I’ve had since I was five.