Products & Resources - Mathew Lynn
Still Life Shadow Box
A Still Life Shadow Box is like your personal stage in which you can arrange your still life compositions and have control over the lighting of your objects, using either a lamp, or with natural light. You can make your own box or stage setup, or Mathew suggests you buy these inexpensive things from IKEA if you’d like to try it out. The back wall can slide forward so you can play around with different shadow effects. The larger DRÖNA boxes may also interest you for bigger objects or setups.
• DRÖNA boxes (25x35x25 cm) - in White and Black
https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/droena-box-white-90467070/
• NÄVLINGE LED work lamp - White
https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/naevlinge-led-work-lamp-white-30404919/
Studio Lighting - NorthLux by Waveform Lighting
Studio lighting can be a confusing subject, various aspects are important, including the Colour Rendering Index, Colour Temperature, and Lumens (light volume).
• CRI (Colour Rendering Index) is the most important consideration, and it is difficult to get energy efficient LED lighting in Australia that has 90+ CRI. Colour rendering is how well your light source reveals all colours that you are observing, or working with as paint.
• Colour Temperature is about the Kelvin rating, from warm to cool, and has no bearing on Colour Rendering. You can work under any colour temperature and your eyes will adjust, but the crucial thing is that your lights have a high Colour Rendering Index. Paintings and artworks are mostly viewed in spaces with warmer lighting (3000K), so 5000K can be a good working colour temperature, rather than daylight 6500K which is a very blue light.
• Lumens refers to the volume of light you’ll need in a room, so you can plan how bright you’d like your working space in relation to the lumen output of each fitting.
Mathew recommends these universal 95 CRI LED fittings (will work anywhere in the world) made by Waveform Lighting specifically for art studios. You can get them in 4ft and 2ft versions, singly or in boxes of four, and in either 5000K or 6500K. They are sent by FedEx from Canada to Australia in around 4-5 days and are very reasonably priced.
You can fix them permanently, and they are also quite portable and can be fixed temporarily with supplied magnets. They can also be connected together in lines. You will need to buy Australian power cords for around $10.
NorthLuxTM 95 CRI T5 LED Linear Light Fixture
Colour Rendering Index (CRI)
https://www.waveformlighting.com/high-cri-led
Understanding Colour Temperature - Kelvin, 5000K or 6500K?
https://www.waveformlighting.com/art-painting/difference-between-5000k-and-6500k-bulbs
Calculating Lumens - the volume of light in a given space
https://www.waveformlighting.com/lumen-calculator?src=pse
Northlux info
https://www.waveformlighting.com/art-painting
The Daylight Company (high quality 95+ CRI lamps in 6000K)
I haven’t used these yet but they come highly recommended. For more portable options.
Large Stainless Steel Brush Washer for Oil Painting
These brush washers are a great option for class, and I would recommend bringing one in for when the colour in a brush gets a bit out of control when mixing. It also comes in a smaller size which may be even better for class as it’s more stowable, but the large one is a better all-rounder. You should be able to get them for around $30 on eBay, the smaller one around $20. They have a strainer to separate the pigment sediment and your brushes will end up much cleaner, plus they have a sealed lid for easy transport.
Brushes
You’ll find my extensive advice on brushes in my materials guide, but the following is a collection of some specific ones I’m often mentioning.
NEEF 95 Stiff Synthetic - Filbert
I’m often recommending this brush which gives great control to Acrylic painters for exacting things like flesh and still life objects, but can also be wonderfully expansive in the larger sizes. Also great for oils. The rounds are also very good, especially the smaller ones for fine work.
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/95-filbert-synthetic-neef
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/95-round-synthetic-neef
582 ‘Eterna’ Round Hog Bristle
This is a very generic brush that I’m often recommending for its incredible versatility, and absolute bargain basement pricepoint! Wonderful for blocking in larger areas with the #12 and #10 at the start of a painting, great for vigorous work because they can be punished without fear. #8, #6 and #4 do a pretty decent job with plotting out major details, and #2 and #1 are useful for some fine work. All of those sizes also act as great dry brushes for blending, because of the pronounced dome shape.
They are NOT like the good quality rounds that can be expansive PLUS have good points for relatively good detail and manipulation, which allows you to switch between both.
Parkers Art Supplies has a good source for them, because they can be a bit variable in quality, but you should find them pretty easily at most art shops. 582 is the generic number found across different brands.
The 579 Flat is good to have in a few sizes also.
UNi-PRO Easy Cutter Round Paint Brush - in 25mm & 18mm
Because of their synthetic bristles, these large and extremely cheap decorating brushes can be wonderful for experimentation in all kinds of water media.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/uni-pro-25mm-easy-cutter-paint-brush_p1662806
https://www.bunnings.com.au/uni-pro-18mm-easy-cutter-paint-brush-18mm_p1662805
PRO ARTE Prolene Synthetic : SERIES 101 : ROUND : SIZE 24
For a truly extravagant all purpose water media brush that lasts and lasts try this in size 24! It’s incredibly expansive and capable of fine details moment to moment - also available in sizes down to 4/0. It’s in the soft Golden Nylon style, but has a little more resistance, making it capable of handling watery acrylic. Great for free process works.
https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-au/pro-arte-prolene-synthetic-brush-series-101-round-size-24
Papers & Pads
I’m always on the lookout for good water media options for process work, something I talk about with you often. It’s good to have a range of qualities - from the cheapest cartridge paper for absolute non-precious gestures, to some of these options below which can either hold there own, or be the best available.
Art Spectrum Draw and Wash Pad 210gsm: Smooth (A5, A4 & A3 - 30 sheets)
For those looking for cheaper water media options these Art Spectrum pads are great. They’ll buckle a bit, but still wonderful for process work and studies. Also available in a Textured version.
Saunders Waterford 300gsm Watercolour Paper - 10 Pack, 560x760mm
Along with Arches, one of the best watercolour papers, available in Hot Pressed, Cold Pressed and Rough. Slightly softer than Arches and generally my preference. Also comes in standard or High White. This is the standard watercolour sheet size of 560x760mm, and can be easily halved or quartered for a premium quality water media paper. The best way to buy them is in the 10 Pack.
The 190gsm version could be useful too, and a bit cheaper if you accept the buckling.
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/pack-saunders-waterford-300-gsm
Saunders Waterford 300gsm Watercolour Rolls - 1.5x10m
For something truly spectacular, you could try one of these very large rolls, which can be easily cut into smaller pieces for convenience, and will mean you’ve always got plenty of paper on hand. Made in Hot Pressed, Cold Pressed and Rough, but supply is usually limited.
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/saunders-waterford-roll-300-gsm
Oil Paints
You’ll all have your favourites, and even favourite colours from different ranges. I tend to use a mix of Old Holland, Michael Harding, Wallace Seymour and Art Spectrum.
You’ll also know that my key range (with an historical understanding of all genres) is Titanium White, Ivory Black, Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Indian Red, Burnt Umber, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow Light, Phthalo Blue and Phthalo Green.
To these I add personal favourites, and colours that can’t be achieved any other way, some of which I refer to often and will list below.
Old Holland Oil Colours
One of the best, and my favourite for many of my colours - but never use their Titanium White!
Indian Red is called Persian Red in this range.
https://parkersartsupplies.com/collections/old-holland-classic-oil-colour
Michael Harding Artist Oil Colours
Many of my favourite colours are also in this range, including Quinacridone Rose and the famous Deep Purple (Dioxazine), their Phthalos are wonderful, and this is a more economical option for Magenta.
https://parkersartsupplies.com/collections/michael-harding-handmade-oil-colour
Michale Harding Quinacridone Rose
The only thing that comes close to achieving Hot Pink! (when mixed with Titanium)
Michael Harding Deep Purple (Dioxazine)
Unbelievably powerful and impossible to get this colour any other way, also the slowest drying pigment I’ve ever come across!
Wallace Seymour Oil Paint
My favourite way to buy every single Cadmium!, every bit as good as Old Holland but more economical. I use all of them, Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange Light, Cadmium Orange Deep and Cadmium Red Middle. The best Cadmium Red I’ve ever used. Available in Sydney from Pigment Lab.
https://pigmentlab.com.au/collections/wallace-seymour/category_oil-paint
https://www.wallaceseymour.co.uk/product/artists-oil-colours
