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 I suggest 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.
I recommend 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 (max 9). You will also need to buy Australian power cords for around $10.
This sector is evolving quite quickly as Australia catches up with the rest of the world in terms of art-specific LED lighting that has high colour rendering. When I looked last year to set up my new studio this was the only obvious option, in terms of both specification AND cost. That may have changed.
Go through all the Waveform Lighting links below and you’ll get a thorough understanding!
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. Good for more portable options. They only come in 6000K, but as I mentioned above, your eye will get used to that. What is crucial is the high CRI.
Brush Washers
Large Portable 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.
Holbein Studio Brush Washer
For big days in the studio!, I’ve had my green one for over 30 years. I’m uncertain what’s actually available at the moment, but even the large stainless steel one pictured will be good.
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.
It will give you control over flat and blended surfaces without leaving chisel shapes everywhere, like Flats can do, and they can be turned on their sides for nice sharp and long marks. Can be pretty much a universal brush.
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/95-filbert-synthetic-neef
The Rounds are also very good, especially the smaller ones for fine work.
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 price! 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 types of mark making very freely.
Parkers Art Supplies has a good source for them (not the ones on their shelf called Prime though!), 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 signifying this round shape found across lots of 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.
Thank you Laurie from Tuesday night!
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.
Thank you Julie from Monday morning, who has had hers for over 15 years!
https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-au/pro-arte-prolene-synthetic-brush-series-101-round-size-24
OMEGA BRUSH SERIES 1053
These large bristle brushes are very reasonably priced and ideal for big expressive mark-making in oils! It’s crucial when you want to increase your scale that mark-making scale comes with you.
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 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
When mixing with Titanium White for body colour, it’s the only thing that comes close to achieving Hot Pink! Even more intense when glazing.
Michael Harding Deep Purple (Dioxazine)
Unbelievably powerful and impossible to make 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
Pigment Database
Great for working out what’s actually in your tubes, most paint ranges will specify the actual pigment number on the tube.
This can also be a wonderful way for you to understand what the key ‘source’ colours are, ones that come up again and again, and that are reflected in my essential paint list. It means you’ll be able to replicate those favourite mysterious tube colours that combine several pigments, and that you thought you couldn’t live without!
Another important thing to understand about pigments is that when they are combined together some intensity is lost - mostly this is good!, but Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow mixed together does not give you Cadmium Orange in all it’s glory.
Oil Palettes
I’m a big fan of these simple rectangular 30x40cm oil palettes for class, you could possibly have two of them in case you’re having a session with a lot of different colours involved, and your mixing needs to spread! You can still hold them in the traditional way, or spread two of them out like a studio table palette. The off-white smooth surface is hardy and very easy to clean, and great for assessing colours and mixes.
This one can also work well for Acrylic Painters.
The other way to go is to season a wooden version of this shape with plenty of Titanium White and a dash of Raw Umber, but you’ll be happier with prepared surface version.
https://www.eckersleys.com.au/jasart-white-wooden-painting-palettes
Oil Dippers (for mediums and solvents)
Another area that can cause frustration for oil painters is when you don’t have a sufficiently big enough dipper to get your brushes in and out easily without adulterating the medium or solvent! For the same reason we also need to avoid the habit of putting too little medium or solvent in our dippers, where we end up scraping the bottom with a loaded brush.
I tend to have my medium in different strengths for different types of painting, or at different stages of a painting. I finish with 100% Galkyd when painting portraits, but I tend to use 50/50 Galkyd and Gamsol for most other painting. I may even draw in with pure solvent at the start, but I try to get at least some binding in with the pigment early on. For this reason, it’s good to have the double dipper when using both in a session, and possibly the single one for those sort of days past the beginning stages!
I haven’t bought these specific ones, but they seem quite a good size.
Large Double Artist Dipper (2x2” diameter)
Extra Large Single Artist Dipper (2 3/8” diameter)
Acrylic Palettes
Something we talk about a lot! Acrylics can be very complicated because you have very limited time for manipulation before it dries. To help you as much as possible, you need good brushes and a really functional, reasonably large palette area, ideally in white. Something where you can have colours off to the side, and a large mixing area that can be easily wiped out when it fills up. Unlike oil painting, acrylic mixing palette space tends to fill up quickly and you can get into bad habits.
Some people have found success with an A3 disposable palette pad.
I’ve also found these options below and will be adding to them. Personally I like a whole collection of smaller Decor style containers, because it suits my acrylic use which is often quick, gestural, simplified and abstract. I don’t use acrylic to render exacting flesh!
Masterton Sta-Wet Premier Palette (16x12” 40x30cm)
https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-au/masterson-sta-wet-premier-palette-16x12in-apx-40-1x30-5cm
Masterton Artist Palette Seal (16x12” 40x30cm) - you can put other palettes inside this one for your paint to stay active
https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-au/masterson-artist-palette-seal-holds-any-palette-up-to-16x12in
Masterton Sta-Wet Super Pro Palette (16x12” 40x30cm)
https://www.jacksonsart.com/en-au/masterson-sta-wet-super-pro-palette-40x30cm
Decor Tellfresh 2.5L Pastry Storer Clear (approx 30x30cm)
You may like this cheaper option, but it is clear so not ideal, unless you always have something white underneath.
The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques - by Ralph Mayer
This is a PDF version of the classic technical handbook that covers pretty much everything! Available in better revisions, but at least this one is easily viewable.
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70073/page/n3/mode/1up
Odourless Solvent (reasons we use it and its benefits)
Understanding odourless solvent can be pretty technical, but the simplest way is to know that it’s considered safer because it:
Has a lower evaporation rate, and
Removes most of the aromatic compounds, making it less harmful when inhaled
It’s still not entirely non-toxic though!, but much safer for us in a class situation. Whenever I use conventional solvent in the studio I’ll generally wear a respirator. Gamblin, makers of Galkyd medium and Gamsol solvent (what I use) tend to be at the cutting edge on this.
https://gamblincolors.com/studio-safety/studio-safety-create-without-compromise/
Canvas Stretching
I realised the other day that I’ve never once bought a stretched canvas!, this is because when I was starting out nothing else was really available (except for the cheap American made Frederix canvases) and we all made our own, including gesso-ing our raw canvas. These days I buy 10m rolls of budget acrylic-primed linen for my studio painting (still very good quality), and top of the line oil-primed linen for portrait commissions, by the metre.
The key tools are good canvas pliers (with the rubber-lined jaws), a staple gun, and a staple remover.
Also some good scissors, a straight edge, a hammer and maybe a rubber hammer as well. A tape measure is used constantly to make sure you’re keeping everything square. All these things can be bought from various sources, but I’ll list the best.
You can buy primed canvas or linen by the metre from Parkers, Pigment Lab, The Sydney Art Store etc.
Holbein Canvas Pliers No.5
The best, but very expensive!
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/canvas-pliers-holbein-no-5
Art Spectrum Canvas Pliers
Rapid R23 Medium Duty Staple Gun
Great for stretching canvases, but very expensive from Parkers, can be found for half the price on eBay. Cheaper light duty staple guns should be fine. Annoyingly, staple guns need to have their exact staple, so easy replacement needs to be considered. You will only need a 6mm staple. This one takes the Rapid 13 Series staple.
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/staple-gun-metal-rapid
Rapid Staple Remover
https://parkersartsupplies.com/products/rapid-staple-remover
CreateART - budget canvas and linen products
I’ve had a great relationship with this Sunshine Coast company for many years, they also do readymade canvases too. Suppliers of my acrylic-primed linen 10m rolls.
