5 great art supplies to use in your art studio

In this article you’ll find reviews of art materials I use a lot in my painting and drawing practice. These art supplies make a big difference in the final result of my art presentation.

5 art tools to keep in your studio:

#1 The color shaper set

5 art tools for your studio
These are great tools for oil painting, pastel painting and even colored pencil work (if you work on the Icarus board to blend the wax-based pencils).
1. When I paint, they help me clean a sloppy edge.
2. Its easy to take the extra paint off the area I put in by accident.
3. I can “carve into” the freshly applied paint to make a specific pattern or texture. 
4. You can create an entire underpainting by applying the brown paint first and then lifting out some of the paint with the color shaper creating a drawing!
Made of silicone, the shapers have unique property of not absorbing the paint. Rather the paint comes off their tips easily and doesn’t need washing. Just wipe the color shaper off with a paper towel. Besides moving the paint around, removing or carving into it, the color shapers are great to blend the oil pastels or wax-based colored pencils (Prismacolor Premier) when heated, using the Icarus Art board. The color shaper set has several tips that you can buy separately or as a complete set. I find that I mainly use the taper point (round tip) size #2 in my art.

You can buy the color shapers at any art supply store online like Jerrysartarama or use this link to buy it on Amazon.

#2 Gloves in a bottle

gloves in a bottle review
This is a truly unique product that I love! I especially use it when I paint since the lotion provides relief from a very dry skin, making a protective layer between the skin and the chemicals. A modest amount of lotion works like gloves I use while painting. Its unique formula bonds with the upper layer of my skin and creates the invisible protection from harmful chemicals. It’s waterproof and doesn’t wash off, rather it comes off naturally shredding the dead skin cells. The bottle comes in two sizes. Give it a try!

Gloves in a bottle is a lotion https://amzn.to/3SxSE93

#3 Luminance, professional colored pencils

luminance review
Swiss-made, Luminance colored pencils is the Cadillac of professional colored pencils. All colors have supreme lightfastness rating. They’re very durable, highly pigmented and have the softness I love. The price tag is very high. Please don’t be tempted to buy them in strange places because they could be the fakes. Buy these from the established art supply companies only like the jerrysartarama. You can buy them in sets or as open stock.

#4 Professional panels for oil and acrylic painting

gessobord review
These are durable, archival and acid-free surfaces that are great for oil painting. Remember, paintings of the old masters have survived through the centuries because they were painted on panels, not canvases. If you paint professionally and want your art to last, paint on panels.
The cradled gessobords provide much greater support against humidity as the panels resist warping.  Gessobords have a very slightly textured surface making them perfect for oil painting because the oil paint needs some tooth to adhere to to create a permanent bond with the surface. Avoid using panels that are too smooth or cheap canvases because the paint doesn’t adhere to the surface properly.
I also use gessobords for my silver gilding. I do sand the surface some with a 800 grit sandpaper but the silver leaf goes over the panel perfectly.
Toned, neutral gray surface of Richeson panels is great to begin painting without any additional preliminary work needed but I find their surfaces too smooth and thus questionable if the paint makes the bond with its surface.

#5 Grumbacher final fixative for drawings and scratchboard art

This is a really great product that’s different from cheaper brands. It makes a very nice, even sheen, eliminating the surface’s unevenness, finger prints, and other imperfections in scratchboard. Colors look nice and bright. It works great on paper too. And I use 2-3 coats on my colored pencil drawings.
Like other sprays, the final fixative protects your artwork from the UV-rays, moisture, smudges, and humidity.
The only downside is its smell. It’s not a product to inhale. So spray it in a well-ventilated area or outside in low humidity environment.

Don’ confuse the fixatives with the varnishes as the varnishes are used in oil and acrylic painting.

educational books, drawing instruction books, travel books
Art Lessons in Drawing, Painting & Beyond, 2014 | This is an art inspiration book filled with creative and technical advice coming from contemporary realist artists. Realist artists share their painting and drawing inspiration in the Art Lessons book available in print, on Kindle and as a digital download (pdf file) from: https://veronicasart.com/product-category/art-instruction-books/
colored pencil manual veronica wintershow to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters
These art instruction books are on sale on Amazon!

Art supplies: