![PSST! MY FAVORITE THINGS](http://susannahcarson.com/cdn/shop/articles/Sennelier_Watercolors_1.jpg?v=1723073848&width=564)
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
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
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.
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I love Sennelier for watercolors. They’re made with honey and were used by the Impressionists.
3. WATERCOLOR PAINT TINS
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
5. CANVAS VIDEO PHONE HOLDER
6. CAMERA
You need a good camera for three things:
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Prints, or at least quality photos for your archives
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Website general photos
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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
8. FRAMES
9. DESK & CHAIR
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.
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This is for painting: a marble table stolen from my mother’s bedroom, and a second piano bench picked up at an estate sale.
Bonus tip: put felt pads on the bottom of your piano bench to slide it around!