Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Acrylic Art Supplies
22
items These are my favorite VEGETARIAN acrylic art supplies - they are high quality supplies made without animal ingredients and used in my professional art practice. These are chosen for lightfastness, ease of use, high pigmentation and longevity.
Sections
5
Canvas Prep
Acrylic Brushes
Acrylic Paints
Additional details
Sealing and Varnish
Canvas Prep
I use P400C sandpaper, which is a fine grit sandpaper, to prep my canvas before painting. When you take out your canvas, use this on it first to smooth it down. Next, brush away any dust with a clean, dry brush. After that, apply your first layer of gesso. Let the gesso dry, then repeat this process at least two more times to ensure a properly primed canvas.
1 Piece Sandpaper Waterproof Abrasive Paper Emery Paper, available in all Grits
Thin, flat brushes like these are more than enough for gesso. Don't get an expensive brush for this purpose because gesso brushes get a lot of wear. I use the largest size and the smallest size to gesso my canvas (the smaller size is great for getting the edges) and I use the middle size for varnishing my painting when it's cured.
Premium Professional Gesso Brushe Flat Tip
I use whatever Gesso I can easily get locally, and this one works well.
Marie's Gesso Primer For Canvas 500ml
Acrylic Brushes
I use this really cheap filbert set and it's more than enough for my acrylic work. Acrylic brushes get a LOT of wear, so you don't need to get very fancy or expensive brushes, just whatever works for your style. The rounded edge of these filberts helps me to paint flowers very quickly.
Keep Smiling A6075Z (Filbert) -12pcs Drawing Paint Brush Set Wooden Filbert Tip - sizes 1 to 12#
I use this detail brush for fine lines and details, tiny paintings and also to thicken the lines on my lettering artworks.
Mont Marte Mini Detail Brushes Signature 5pc.
Acrylic Paints
These paints are smooth as butter to use and mix like a dream. They are heavy body, but can be diluted with water or mediums for thinner coverage. This color range will provide you with a lot of variety and mixes. All of these paints are vegetarian.
A True, Primary Red, this neutralizes when mixed with Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Quinacridone Red, 5 oz tube
A Red Orange hue, this neutralizes when mixed with with Turqouise (phthalo) from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Cadmium Red Medium, 5 oz Tube
A true orange, this neutralizes when mixed with Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Pyrrole Orange, 5 oz tube
A yellow-orange, this neutralizes when mixed with Ultramarine Blue from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Cadmium Orange, 5 oz Tube
A true, primary yellow. This neutralizes when mixed with M. Graham Ultramarine Violet
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Cadmium Yellow Light, 5 oz Tube
A blue violet that neutralizes when mixed with Cadmium orange from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Ultramarine Blue, 5 oz Tube
A blue-green that neutralizes when mixed with Cadmium Red Medium from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Turquoise (Phthalo), 5 oz Tube
A true, primary blue that neutralizes when mixed with Pyrrole Orange from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
A magenta or purple-red color that neutralizes when mixed with Permanent Green Light from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Quinacridone Violet, 5 oz tube
This is a yellow-green that neutralizes when mixed with Quinacridone Violet from the same brand.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Permanent Green Light, 5 oz Tube
This is a true green which neutralizes when mixed with Quinacridone Red from the same brand
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics - Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
A true purple that neutralizes when mixed with Cadmium Yellow Light from Golden brand.
M. Graham Artists' Acrylics - Ultramarine Violet, 2 oz tube
Additional details
These liner pens are great for drawing fine lines or outlines on a piece. I also prefer using these if I need to do any lettering on the piece - it allows me to get very neat and precise letters.
Uni Posca Paint Markers - Basic Colors, Set of 8, Fine, Bullet Tip, 0.9 mm-1.3 mm
Sealing and Varnish
The products I recommend to help you finish your painting.
I use gloss gel medium as an isolation coat. After my original painting is dry to the touch and cured (I wait at least a week for my acrylic paintings to cure, just to make sure there is no moisture left in the painting), I dilute this with a bit of water (ratios are written on the package) and... I wait at least 24 hours for that to dry, then move on to the varnishing step.
Liquitex Basics Medium - Gloss Gel Medium, 250 ml
A gloss varnish will help bring out the colors in your painting and give your piece a crisp, clear finish. If you are using ONLY a gloss varnish, 2-3 coats work best.
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Varnish - Gloss, 75 ml bottle
A matte varnish can help hide some of the bumps and choppy brushstrokes in your painting by removing the glare from your painting for a matte finish. It can dull your colors and details if you use it by itself, so you might want to consider doing a single coat of gloss varnish first and then doing a coat or two of matte varnish.
DO NOT exceed 2 coats of matte varnish - it can cause your painting to look cloudy and dull.
DO NOT exceed 2 coats of matte varnish - it can cause your painting to look cloudy and dull.
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Varnish - Matte, 75 ml bottle
Pick a thin flat brush (like these gesso brushes) for your varnish. I use the middle size in this pack. Make sure that your varnish brush is ONLY used for varnish and not anything else because otherwise you risk the varnish getting contaminated with paint and turning it cloudy.
Do NOT get an expensive brush for this purpose, varnish brushes get ruined quickly.
ALWAYS rinse your brush COMPLETELY after varnishing to help extend its life - if any varnish is leftover in it, your brush will become sealed and unusable for varnishing.
Do NOT get an expensive brush for this purpose, varnish brushes get ruined quickly.
ALWAYS rinse your brush COMPLETELY after varnishing to help extend its life - if any varnish is leftover in it, your brush will become sealed and unusable for varnishing.
Premium Professional Gesso Brushe Flat Tip