MATERIALS
• Brushes – I always use a large flat brush for large areas particularly at the block in stage. I use smaller ones as required. Select the right size and type of brush for what it is you are painting. Filberts are good for general brushwork and for softening edges. I often use them in portraiture and still life painting. Flat brushes are useful in achieving a bold blocky treatment as well as for• Palette Knifes – These are very useful not just for achieving very sharp edges but also for creating textural and other effects not possible with the brush. What they lack in accuracy that more than make up for in versatility.• Paints – I use artist quality paints of various brands: Art Spectrum, Rembrandt, Old Holland and Michael Harding. The latter two are very expensive but have a much higher pigment concentration. My usual palette (as used in this painting demo) consists of: titanium white, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, cadmium yellow deep, cadmium orange, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, transparent oxide red, ultramarine, indigo and viridian.• Mediums – Generally I don’t use a medium as I prefer the consistency as it comes from the tube. Occasionally I’ll use Winsor & Newton Liquin or Art Spectrum Clear if I want to apply a transparent glaze to parts of a painting in its final stages.
