1 Claw hammer      Be certain to get a good one - 16 oz. is heavy but good

2 Screwdrivers          (Optional)  One phillips, one standard  (the standard one is more important)

1 Staple Gun          Buy a good, heavy-duty, one

1 Box Staples            Put your name on it!

1 Box Nails               4D or 6D finishing nails (1 1/2" - 2")

1 Pair Pliers              (Optional)   Sometimes called side-cutters (not really needed, but might help)

1 36" metal straightedge (Optional)   (not really needed, but might help)

1 measuring tape    (Optional)   (not really needed, but might help)

1 roll 3/4" masking tape  Always useful

1 pint Matte Medium (Optional)  (not really needed, but might help)  (Preferably Liquetex) Probably can easily get away without it, but you never know.

Assortment of Brushes
This is a personal decision, but I would suggest that you get a number of brushes with varying characteristics. Some rounds, some flats, some brights, some filberts. The important thing is that they be of good quality. You cannot do good paintings without good materials. Well, it is possible, but painting is already a struggle, why make it more difficult than it need be? You will be better off with large brushes rather than small ones.

Palette knives
Same reasoning as above. These are not as imperative as brushes, in fact it is not necessary to have any at all, but you will find it to be advantageous.

1 Palette
You can use any material other than paper for this.

The best choice is cardboard backed glass since it is so easily cleaned. Substitutes could be Plexiglas (tendency to scratch), Masonite (dark and harder to clean), wood (usually too absorbent), marble (heavy and expensive), formica (heavy), metal (expensive and sometimes repels paint) or commercial palettes (expensive). The choice, of course, is yours, but get something fairly large (16" x 20" or more), easy to clean, and white or with white backing.

Jars or Cans An assortment will be of great benefit. Coffee cans, Babyfood jars!!

Gesso Brushes  Large, and of a good quality.

Gesso Some people try to get by with white latex paint which can do if you are very desperate. Gesso is really better.

Canvas             This you can buy from me at the best price going.

Wood                We need to talk at length about this. Clear pine, Poplar or Ponderosa Pine.

                           1" x 4"s or 1" x 2"s (8 ft. lenghts are best)

 

 

 

Paint

---

Basic Oil Palette

Titanium White (Large tube. Most used color usually. Titanium works better than zinc.)
Mars Black (This is a warmer black and not as opaque as others) Ivory Black is cooler in tone, and does cooler grays.
Cadium Yellow Light
Cadium Red Light
Ultramarine Blue
The above listed colors make up the most basic palette.

 

Also desirable

Naphthol Red Light
Naphthol Crimson
Cadium Orange
Dioxazine Purple
Phthalocyanine Blue
Cobalt Blue
Phthalocyanine Green
Hooker's Green
Permanent Sap Green
Burnt Siena

Raw Siena
Burnt Umber

Raw Umber
Naples Yellow
Cadium Yellow Medium
Payne's Grey

The names of these colors might change with the manufacturer, but these are fairly basic names and should give you a fair idea as to where to begin. It is not necessary to start painting with 30 or 40 tubes of paint to do good work. Remember Picasso's Blue Period! Most of your choice will be a matter of personal preference. You will also need:

Rags     The more the better.

Jars and a couple of Cans  You can never have too many of these things.  Baby Food jars work well
Hand Cleaner The choice is yours, there are many brands on the market.

I would suggest that, if at all possible, you go in to Chicago and do your shopping at Utrecht. You can even buy their brand of paint which will work okay, and the Gesso is very inexpensive.

I will supply you with solvents.

This is a personal matter and the choice is up to you. You will need at least the following, and you can decide if you prefer tubes or jars. Jars are slightly more liquid and are somewhat more economical, and tubes are slightly more substantial as substance and work slightly more like oils. Here I suggest that you buy Liquetex Paints, but other brands can work well too. Some people prefer Golden Paints and some perfer those made by Utrecht. Whichever you perfer is fine, but I would avoid the Basic paints under the Liquetex name, because they are so diluted/unsaturated that you will end up using enough to more than make up for the financial difference.

Titanium White (Large tube or jar. Most used color usually.)
Mars Black (Sometimes same as white)
Cadium Yellow Light
Cadium Red Light
Ultramarine Blue
* The above listed colors make up the most basic palette.

I would add to this list an assortment of mediums. You do not need them all but a couple might help.

Matte Medium (Used to thin acrylics)

Matte Gel Medium (Reduces gloss, good adhesive)

Heavy Gel Medium (Dries glossy, use for impasto effects)

Gloss Medium and Varnish ( increases gloss & transparency. Good for glazes)

Retarder (Slows drying times)

Modeling Paste (Putty-like compound used for sculpting on surface or impasto painting)

Varnishes (Gloss or matte, protects painting surface) Liquitex Soluvar is removable

 

Also desirable:

Naphthol Red Light
Naphthol Crimson
Cadium Orange
Dioxazine Purple
Phthalocyanine Blue
Cobalt Blue
Phthalocyanine Green
Hooker's Green
Permanent Sap Green
Burnt Siena
Burnt Umber
Naples Yellow
Cadium Yellow Medium
Payne's Grey

Look at these and decide which ones you like. You can use any color you want instead of the above. These are only suggestions, and color is a personal thing. Good luck!