I’m often asked about my art supplies and I’m just as curious about other artist’s supplies so here are some of mine.

I bought myself a kids set of paints (Reeves, I think), just because i HAD to have that cheery red tin and I’m rather addicted to making new portable watercolor/gouache palettes. I removed the kids paints and wrapped them in a ziploc bag and gave them to my neighbor’s kids who were thilled to receive them. Then came home and filled them with my empty pans, and a few half pans full of artist grade gouache. I used a little ball of poster putty to hold the pans in place.

Left to right:

• titanium white (m graham – best to use only a bit of white at a time and refill)
• lemon yellow (holbein – prob won’t replace as azo is all-purpose yellow)
• azo yello (m graham)
• cad orange (the end of it, will not replace…no more cadmiums for me -m graham)
• napthol red (i like this as well as pyrrol red) (m graham)
• aliz. crimson (m graham)
• phthalo blue (m graham)
• ultramarine blue (m graham) – for some reason M graham ultramarine isn’t dark enough for my taste, so might switch to Schmincke ($$) next.
• burnt sienna (m graham)
• neutral (schimcke)

Bottom row (half pans) – I added these after working with top row awhile….i had them in my box and thought, what the heck, a few new ones keeps ideas fresh.

• golden ochre (schmincke)
• opera (not lightfast but glorious nonetheless, winsor newton)
• quin rose (m graham)
• cad yellow green (holbein – forgot i had it, great color but won’t replace)
• silver and gold (holbein, just wee bits in there due to quick dry/crack, but really awesome fun)

At first i liked that there were no hinges and I held the top lid in my hand, seemed good. Then I tired of that and used my paper tape to hinge them and now i LOVE it. This sits on my coffee table and gets used all day, everytime i take a break from work and need to chill……i paint. This and my india ink and dip pen, and I’m in bliss! As I’ve said in previous Art Tips posts, the M Graham and Schmincke gouaches are the only ones truly rewettable and suitable for palettes such as this, lots of folks use other brands successfully but mostly straight out of the tubes.

I’ve got bigger palettes full of gouache for larger works, but I do 90% of my paintings from this little box.

• 8.5 inches long
• 2 inches wide

If you haven’t already seen it, I also figured out how to make a really EASY TO MAKE pochade box which works for oils or acrylics.  Watch the video here.

Click on any thumbnail and you’ll see enlargements and scroll thru them.