5 of my favorite art supplies and why you should try them too

Paint bottles and paint brushes and some of my favorite art supplies

Me: “See, I can finally fit all my art supplies into one box!”

Husband: “Stop calling our house a box.”

That’s {almost} a true story. What can I say, I love buying {and hoarding} art supplies! Acrylics, inks, watercolors, fabric paints, acrylic mediums, gel mediums, crayons, pastels, pencils, brushes, brush pens, paint pens, foam rollers, glues, scrapbook papers, embellishments…the world of art supplies is vast and ever growing and filled with shiny beautiful things!

Add in the fact that I enjoy creating mixed media paintings, and that opens up a world of possibilities – suddenly, every medium is fair game for trial and experimentation and painty play! Despite this, I gravitate towards a few supplies over and over again in almost all of my paintings. So, without further ado, I present to you…

5 of my favorite art supplies

FW Acrylic inks: I love these to create drips, for glazing, and to add bursts of intense color. Depending on how you apply inks, they can be transparent, translucent, or almost opaque. And a little tends to go a long way. Acrylic inks are also excellent for adding fine line work and details. (Buy on Amazon)

Charcoal pencils: I love everything about charcoal pencils. The intense black line work. Smudging the charcoal to create shadows. And painting over charcoal with white to create grey or even a lovely rich black. Charcoal lines smudge and dissolve with water, and I love the unpredictability it creates when I layer over my line work. (Buy on Amazon)

Inktense pencils: I use these for everything! They’re waterproof once dry so I use them to ink in drawings before adding paint. They’re excellent for shading, mark making, and drawing in areas of interest in intuitive paintings. I also love to lay down some inktense pencils and then blend them in with acrylic inks to create shade and depth in my paintings. (Buy on Amazon)

Catalyst wedges: These silicon wedges are fantastic to scrape on paint and to add texture and interest on your canvas. I rarely use them in my art journal, mainly because I use thinner layers of paint in them. But on canvas or watercolor paper, where I apply thicker layers of paint, I love smooshing the paint and creating texture with these wedges. They’re pricey, but I haven’t been able to find a good substitute for them. (Buy on Amazon)

Uniball Signo White pen: A good, opaque white pen is an absolute necessity. Although the Signo isn’t waterproof, it features in almost all of my paintings. I use it to write and add in highlights or doodles; always making sure it is the last layer on my paintings. Often times, the judicious addition of a white pen can make an entire painting come alive! (Buy on Amazon)

So there you have it – 5 of my favorite art supplies! What are your favorite art supplies? Do tell me in the comments!

Please note: This post contains affiliate links, which means that I earn a tiny commission if you purchase anything using these links at no extra cost to you.

Pin for later

Sharing 5 of my favorite art supplies with honest reviews of why I love them, and why I think these art supplies would make a great addition to any artist's toolkit!

Posted in Art tutorials, Artists Toolbox.

I’m an artist and art educator, podcaster, tarot reader, and writer. I share my discoveries along the path to inspire you to live a more creative, soul-centered life. Receive my love letters for more of my musings on life and creativity. P.S. I love Instagram - join me there?

13 Comments

  1. I am a big art supply hoader too. And my husband expresses similar frustration ?
    Oh yes, white pen is a must. You never know when it comes handy. I have never seen the wedge before. Will try finding more about it. It’s great to know about your art supplies. ?

    • Luckily for me, my husband is a woodworker. And he hoards wood. So we both use that dialogue on one another 😉

      The wedge is great with acrylics. You get some really interesting textures with it.

  2. That catalyst wedge looks way too interesting! I need to get back to painting and I’ve been wanting to take classes for a while now. I was pretty good at it before but I lost touch somewhere. Art supplies are always lust worthy in my opinion! 🙂

    • They are so lust worthy! I’ve had to force myself to stop buying supplies this year – only replacement supplies allowed. I was largely successful so far. But my sis is coming from the US and I’m dying to try some oil sticks so….

  3. acrylic inks, inktense and wedge are my favourites too. And I love buying art and craft supplies. Must be an arty crafty thing!

Leave a Reply