William Noonan Studio
These are the materials lists for my classes
Basic Drawing
materials:
soft vine charcoal
at least 2 graphite pencils ( hb and 2b)
a pad of 18 x 24 newsprint paper
a pad of 14x17 drawing paper (not expensive stuff)
a drawing board to support your 18x24 pad
a chamois (these are cheaper in the automotive section)
a kneaded eraser
a plastic eraser
a pencil sharpener
_________________________________
Oil Painting
4 yellows + 3 reds + 4 blues + white + black + 4 earth tones = 16 tubes of paint
Yellows:
*cadmium green or cinnabar (yellowish green)
lemon yellow
cadmium yellow medium (true yellow)
hansa yellow deep (school bus yellow color)
Reds:
alizarin crimson, magenta or quinacridone (purplish red)
cadmium red or cadmium red medium (true red)
*cadmium orange (orangey red)
Blues:
french ultramarine or ultramarine (purplish blue)
cobalt blue (true blue)
viridian (greenish blue)
*cerulean ("sky blue")
White:Permalba white (any white is fine... I prefer this brand)
*Black: ivory black (beginners will not use this color)
Earth Tones:
raw umber
yellow ochre
*mars violet
*chrome oxided green
* colors you can skip if you are setting up a beginner set
don’t worry about brand, avoid “hues”(imitation pigments) on the cadmium red and the cobalt blue, otherwise student grade paints are fine. Paint names may vary from brand to brand get pigments that match color descriptions such as “school bus yellow”.
BRUSHES... I like china bristle filberts the best. You will need to start out with a good range. Start with at least one filbert of each of these sizes #2,3,4,5,6. A good rule of thumb is that you should have brushes that are approximately the size range of your finger nails. Avoid synthetic bristles- they don’t stand up to the rigors of oil painting. As you paint you will discover which brushes you like best and you will continue to add to your brushes. My experience is that brushes that come in “sets” are cheaply made and not worth it.
SOLVENT...Gamsol or Turpanoid or some other odorless mineral spirit is best. You don’t need a big can - you will use this sparingly. The “Turpanoid Natural” is great for cleaning brushes but you will not want to use it on your painting.
MEDIUM...Gamblin's solvent free gel is what I use.
PALETTE... use the “Tupperware” type with the blue lid and a 1/4 in plate glass inside it. you may want to start out with a disposable paper palette.
PALETTE KNIFE... like the kind that has a bend in the handle and is shaped like a pointy trowel.
CANVAS...The surface you paint on will depend on your preference and the task at hand. For beginners it’s best to have a few canvas boards to start out with around 11x14. Canvas boards are relatively inexpensive and are easy to cary. I like to paint on gessoed paper. Any rag paper with three coats of acrylic gesso works fine.
PAPER TOWELS ..... don't forget these! They are invaluable.