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Materials and Supplies
The materials and supplies for portrait painting
are rather expensive,
but they are an investment. Also, with care,
many of the materials will
last for several years. Ideally,
you should have all of the following items:
- An easel. I like to use a studio
easel which is big and heavy and
holds the canvas securely. You absolutely need
something that will hold
your canvas upright while you work on it.
Don't try to work with your
canvas lying on a table. You need to have the
canvas vertical so you
are not looking at it on a slant which will
cause you to draw things
somewhat distorted. Make certain that your
easel is sturdy and holds
your canvas securely. The kinds of easels with
a clamp at the top for
holding the canvas are best. An acceptable
easel can be made
inexpensively from a stepladder in the
following way: "Drill
two holes in the front lip of each step of
an aluminium step ladder and
two more holes (the same distance apart) in
an old piece of wooden
picture rail. A bolt through each hole of
both the rail and the ladder
and 2 C-clamps for holding the top of your
canvas securely -- bingo,
instant easel. Sturdy, cheap, very light,
folds up, and hangs in the
toolshed."
- A surface to paint
on. This can be a stretched canvas or, if the
portrait is small enough, a masonite panel.
The canvas should have a
fine, regular weave that looks like the border
around this text box. Canvas
can be purchased already stretched and primed.
- If you are going to stretch your own canvas,
you will need canvas pliers and a stapler.
- Gesso. If you are starting with raw
canvas, you will need gesso. The acrylic gesso
is excellent for this purpose.
- Sizing. (It seals the fibers so the
paint does not get to the fabric and cause it
to deteriorate.) Traditionally,
artists used rabbit skin glue which is
time-consuming and can be messy.
I like to use clear acrylic polymer medium to
size my canvas It
dries fast and is easy to clean up.
- Oil paints. I buy the
"studio" size tubes in all colors except white
which I buy in the pound
tube. The following colors are a good
"starter" set and will enable you
to mix all the flesh tones listed in these
lessons: Ivory Black, Paynes
Gray, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber,
Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium
Red, Cadmium Orange, Raw Sienna, Cadmium
Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Viridian Green,
Chromium Oxide Green, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt
Blue, Prussian Blue (or pthalocyanine
blue), Utramarine Blue, and Flake White (lead)
in a pound tube. If you prefer not to use a
paint with lead in it, Titanium White may be
substituted.
- Painting
medium. I prefer two Windsor &
Newton products: Liguin and Wingel.
Wingel comes in a tube and has a consistency
somewhat like gel
toothpaste. Liquin is a thick liquid. Both of
these are used for
glazing - painting very transparent color on
top of dry paint
underneath. If done correctly, glazing can
give the colors an
incredible depth and richness.
- Turpentine. I buy fresh turpintine at
the hardware
store. I do not use old turpentine or the
expensive "rectified"
turpentine. If you are allergic to turpentine,
there is a commercial
turpentine substitute called Turpenoid® which
is sold at most art
supply stores. Use turpentine to thin the
paint (especially in the
underpainting) and for cleaning brushes.
- Brushes (portrait painting requires a
large number of
brushes; you want enough brushes so you don't
have to stop and clean
brushes as you are painting.): a 3-inch house
painting brush for
applying gesso and sizing, a 1˝ inch flat
white bristle (ox
hair) oil painting brush for big bold strokes,
an assortment of about a
dozen ˝ - 5/8 inch flats and filberts (rounded
tips - my
favorites) both white bristle and sable
type for 95% of the
painting, 2 sable rounds - one smaller than
the other for very fine
details. A good quality 2-inch varnishing
brush (one that will not
shed) which you use only for varnishing and
nothing else. The two
mistakes that beginners make is buying too
few brushes and
brushes that are too small. Most of your
brushes should be about a half
inch wide. Brushes should be cleaned first
with turpentine, wiped
dry and then with soap (Whisk is
preferred) and warm water. I
wash each brush separately in the palm of my
hand with lots of lather.
Finally, use your fingers to shape the
bristles and then store your
brushes so the bristles are not splayed.
Standing with bristles up in a
jar or vase is a popular way to store brushes
safely.
- A palette. A piece of Formica or
glass makes a great
surface for mixing paint. It should be
approximately 16 X 20 inches in
size. I recommend having your palette on a
table to the right of your
easel if you are right-handed and to the left
if you are left-handed.
- An inexpensive palette
knife (not a painting knife) for
mixing paints on your palette.
- A wash can (such as an empty coffee
can) for turpentine.
- Damar varnish. I like the gloss
varnish because it is
clearer than the matte version which has wax
in it. The high gloss
definitely "mellows" with age.
- An ample supply of paper towels.
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