• SKETCH PAD: get a Smooth Surface Drawing Pad (rather than newsprint pad) that is bound at the top, size 18x24 (“Canson Biggie” is really good.)   If you want, you can bring higher quality paper, but it needs to be smooth for the charcoal to spread to an even tone.  You will do a drawing each morning in either charcoal or graphite, your choice, depending on your skill level. Intermediate would do better to use soft charcoal, advanced may use graphite if you desire. 

• CHARCOAL:  It is essential that it be SOFT vine charcoal.  Bring 4-5 full sticks.  If you cannot find it marked as SOFT, then test it in the store.  TEST: Make 10 parallel lines close to each other, and then rub in the opposite direction with your fingers.  If it is SOFT then the lines will disappear into a soft  grey mass.  If the charcoal is medium or hard, the lines will not disappear completely. 

•  **BINOCULARS:  These are helpful to see details on the model when your easel position is at some distance.  Since we will be focusing tightly on the features, you will want to see details. Binoculars will be needed to see the demos in greater detail.

• KNEADED ERASER (you may want to bring two, so you can get some very clean lights)

• PAPER TOWELS:  brand VIVA, 1 roll

• CLIPS:  4 large bankers clips to clip your paper to your board

• FOAMCORE: ¼ inch thick to use as a backing board, 24” x 30” or at least the size of your drawing paper.

• WORKABLE SPRAY FIXATIVE: (for charcoal, pastel, pencil)

• MEASURING STICK:  you can use either a bamboo barbeque skewer, a dowel stick (3/8”  diameter, 20” long) or a knitting needle.  Anything that is thin, straight, and lightweight

 

You may find it helpful to also add to your supplies the following items:

 

• MASK: If you are sensitive to charcoal, or pastel from your own easel or others around you,  you will want this.  I prefer a surgical facemask that hooks behind my ears. It’s most comfortable.  

• VISOR:  A visor is helpful to block the light, if it points right into your eyes from the other side of the room.

• MIRROR:  A hand-held mirror is very helpful to check your painting by viewing it in reverse.  The best mirror is found at a beauty supply house, is a large square, and has a handle.

• **GLOVES:  You will not need gloves.  The procedures for dry materials (charcoal, graphite and pastel will require that you use your fingers without gloves.

If you chose to work in graphite, in addition of the above mentioned items:

• Bring an assortment of drawing pencils: HB, 2B to 6B

• Kneaded Eraser, and other hard erasers

• Exacto Knife to sharpen

• Hand held pencil sharpener or electric

• Soft Brush to brush away eraser pilings

• Variety of tortillons or stumps

Easels and Taborets provided by the Spruill Center.

 

 

 

 

**SPECIAL NOTE:  On Saturday afternoon, we will work on both the Nose & Mouth as a unit. 

This involves a lot of complex forms and two features.  I encourage everyone to work in graphite or charcoal on Saturday.     If you wish, you can limit your oil painting even further.  You can choose to do a monochromatic grisaille study each day rather than trying to develop a full color study.  For this you will use: burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and titanium white. 

 

OIL PAINT:  Get only these brands of oil paint: Gamblin, Winsor Newton, Grumbacher or Rembrandt

GAMBLIN, GRUMBACHER OR REMBRANDT	WINDSOR NEWTON
Burnt Sienna Permanent Alizarin or, in         Old Holland brand- Crimson Lake Deep Cadmium Red, medium Cadmium Red Light   (or WN Cad Scarlet) Cadmium Orange Cadmium Yellow Cad. Yellow Light or Hansa Yellow Lt.  Cadmium Green (pigment name in Gamblin) Ultramarine Blue Dioxazine Purple(Grumbacher) Titanium White (Gamblin, Grumbacher, or Rembrandt or Winsor Newton)	Permanent Rose Cadmium Green Pale Viridian Green

       

******If you are new to oil painting, look carefully on EACH tube to make sure that you are buying OIL, not acrylic, watercolor or any other type of paint.
*** Please use only Artist Grade Paints = NO STUDENT GRADE PAINTS
 (such as, Winsor Newton Winton,  Grumbacher Academy or Rembrandt Van Gough)

 Please do not bring any colors other than those listed above.

 

 

OTHER MATERIALS for OIL PAINTERS

 

• TONED CANVAS:    Only STRETCHED canvas.  PLEASE, NO CANVAS BOARD.  Cotton canvas is just fine to use for class work.  You will only need ONE CANVAS, SIZE:  16”x 20”, or 18”x 24.

• PALETTE    Please, do not use white, waxy, disposable palettes.  A Plexiglas palette is the best, toned with the same medium grey painted on the backside.  (Brand:Golden Acrylic,  Color: N6 Neutral Gray)  It is important that you be able to judge your values and color mixtures on the palette.  In order to describe the large and small forms in the features of the head, you will need to achieve close value & color relationships.  This can best be done on a palette that is toned a middle neutral grey.  A white palette will cause you to make incorrect judgments about value relationships.

PREPARING  YOUR   PALETTE:   A Go to a frame shop and get a piece of Plexiglas cut to fit inside the Masterson Box (See below).  Measure the inside carefully and have the Plexiglas cut ¼” less than the inside of the box. (This space will allow you to lift the palette out of the box for use in the classroom.) 

**If you intend to use a glass palette, please have a sheet of toned canvas under the glass (See How to Tone your Canvas).

 

The best system for bringing paint back and forth to class is the Masterson Paint Saver Box.  It will allow you to save some of your paint between classes.   Buy the Masterson Paint Saver Box  (it is white plastic bottom with a blue top, Size 16 ½ “ x 13 ½”).  

 

NOTE:  For this 3-day workshop: Features of the Head, we will have the room 24/7, thus you can leave your equipment in the room and lay out your palette the first day and refresh your paint each day.   

• BRUSHES:   NOTE:  Please use only FILBERTS made with  HOG BRISTLE (No synthetic or sable).  Either look on the handle of the brush and it will say Filbert, or ask a sales person to help you. There is a big difference between Filberts, Flats, Brights and Rounds.

SIZES:   #2  -- 3-4 brushes ; 

               #4 -- 2 brushes;

               #6 -- 2-3 brushes

Bring 2-3 sable brushes: 2 small #2 sable filberts, and 1 #2 round.  If you have other brushes from previous classes or that you use while working at home, please leave them at home.  We use only Filberts – in good condition please.  **And for this workshop we may use sable brushes to refine the forms.

• SOLVENT:  Use as your medium the solvent Weber: ODORLESS TURPENOID  in a blue/white pint size can or Gamsol by Gamblin.  Bring this to class in the can that it comes in.  You can then pour it into the metal palette cups.  Bringing it in a glass container is too dangerous as they often are knocked over and broken. DO NOT bring mineral spirits, turpentine or any other type of solvent.  They have strong odors and cause headaches in class.  You will not be able to use it.

• PALETTE CUPS:   Get the 2” double metal palette cups that are connected and clamp on to your palette.  There are two styles: one style has the cups open, the other style has a screw type lid.  My preference is the screw type lid.  They must be 2” to allow your brush easy access.   Don’t even bother to get those tiny ones.  If you can not find any with screw type lids, then just get the open ones.  Do not get plastic cups, as they often dissolve.

• PALETTE SCAPER:    You will be able to clean your palette easily with a straight razor mounted in a paint scaper.  In the paint department of a hardware store, get a paint scraper holder for the straight razor.  After painting each day, you can clean the mixing area of your palette with the paint scraper.  You can clean this mixing area even more thoroughly by using alcohol (rubbing or denatured).  Certain paints may need to be refreshed, but many will be quite nice.

• PALETTE KNIVES:  Get TWO sizes, one small and one medium, each with a wooden handle surrounding an angled  metal rod that becomes an elongated oval  blade with a gently rounded end. 

• RETOUCH VARNISH: Grumbacher Spray Damar Retouch Varnish.   You may bring it, but will probably not need it in a 3-day workshop.

• NUT CRACKER:  I like to use an old fashioned nut cracker to open stubborn paint tubes, but you could use small pliers.

• BRUSH CLEANER:  Get the “Master Brush Cleaner” in a tan colored, round plastic container.  It is a hard, non-sudsing cake soap that will complete the cleaning of your brushes after use.   You might also want the “Masters Hand Soap” which even removes dried paint from brushes, and sometimes from clothing.

• BRUSH HOLDER:   Later on you might want to invest in a brush holder.  I recommend the Winsor & Newton one.  It provides a secure way to store and transport your valuable brushes.  Made from cotton canvas, a rigid support and Velcro strap enables the holder to stand upright when open.  When it is closed, your brushes can be transported without damage.  It is 16” when open and has 22 slots for various sizes of brushes.  Or you might find a brush box, but make sure the brushes are not free to slide forward onto their tips and ruin the shape.  These boxes usually have a coil inside that allows you to press the brush into place.

• CARRIER BAG:  This is a lot of equipment to carry back and forth to class.  Get a sturdy, spacious canvas bag (or even two bags that will allow you to carry all of this in various kinds of weather and keep the number of trips down to one).  It is very helpful to have a luggage carrier or small cart to bring bags in from the car.  A few bungee cords come in handy to hold it all in place.  A large plastic garbage bag is handy to throw over it all in case of rain. There are no steps to climb, but there is a curb and two difficult doors to pass through, if you can park in the front of the building.

EASELS and TABORETS PROVIDED BY THE SPRUILL CENTER.