My favourite studio supplies
My studio is a place of joyful experimentation. My head is always filled with ideas. I work with different mediums, tools and studio products. The world of art supplies filled with options, but that can also bring confusion. It took me some time to work out which specific items I always have at hand in my studio. Here are some of my favourites.
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Capturing ideas
My magnetic white board has proved amazingly useful for recording ideas and building a mood board that I can adapt. (It’s also a wonderful place for my granddaughter to leave secret messages as you can see from the image at the top of the page.
And here’s another version: combination pin board and magnetic white board. Nice design if you want to write notes and pin items that may be a bit too thick for a magnetic hold.
Storage
These clear stackable boxes may be listed as fridge storage units, but they are also ideal for storing cutting tools, paper scraps, pencils and any other small items you want to be able to find easily.
Getting messy
Painting is a gloriously, satisfyingly messy business. Here are a few of my essentials for keeping things at least a little bit clean.
Once I got an artists apron with those all-important pockets in front, I never stopped using it. Fewer paint drips on my clothes and somewhere to pop my phone and a pen while I work. I wouldn’t be without one now.
It pays to clean your brushes regularly. They last so much longer!
Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver (I used this one for years) and then I found this: Jacksons Marseille Soap Pellets. This is a big tub so it’s real value for money and will take me some time to get through.
Sustainability
I try to keep my studio as sustainable as possible. The smaller the environmental impact, the better as far as I am concerned.
Using every last scrap of paint in a tube feels very satisfying – and every tube completely emptied saves a few pennies. Try these Tube Wringers
I discovered these fabulous USB-rechargeable painting lights. That come in a 2-pack with 4 securing plates so you can move them around. The plates can be screwed in, or attached with command strips.
Once I started painting watercolour at a steeper angle, this table top easel became even more useful