I use Matisse Structure Acrylic Colors for about 85% of any painting.  The colors are used to form the background and anything in the foreground requiring more space than a line, dot or other fine detail work.  These colors have a nice consistency and work best when they are used right out of the tube.  I do mix colors, but often they are mixed only with white to lighten the color.  Matisse offers a color range large enough to satisfy my palette.  The range of Australian colors is very unique to other lines, I use the Australian Sky Blue in conjunction with Liquitex Glazing Medium, this produces a luster in the sky that shines through the foreground in a brilliant manner.  For the brush work I tend to use Pro Stroke Powercryl brushes.  These have very nice spring and I find the brush maintains its shape through many hours of painting sessions.

After the entire background is painted I begin using Turner Acryl Gouache for the detail work.  I find this to be the most enjoyable part of the painting process.  Turner offers a consistency that cannot be achieved by thinning heavy body acrylics or using traditional fluid acrylics.  This works great for details in tree bark, water ripples and grass and foliage.  I usually use the Pro Stroke Red Sable brushes as they are softer and allow for thinner and smaller lines.

 

I use a variety of painting surfaces, as far as canvas I like linen, like that of Centurion. I enjoy painting the sides, so I always try to use 1-1/2” canvases.  I also like painting on panels, by far and away the best panel I have seen is Ampersand Gessobord, unlike other panels I have tried this does not seem to warp at all.

As a palette I use Masterson Sta-Wet Premier Palette in conjunction with Jerry’s Castaway Paper Palette.  One piece of palette paper fits flush into the plastic Sta-Wet palette.  At the end of the painting session, I have the option of throwing the paper away or covering the palette.  This is  great, because it lessens the chance of any wasted paint, and there is no hassle of having to clean palettes at the end of the day.

I use both the Pablo Studio Easel and the Renoir Table Easel.  I like the Pablo Easel because the painting tray drops all the way down to the floor.  It is easily adjustable and light enough to move to different heights and to different areas of the room.  The Renoir is a very suitable table easel.  I found the drawer to be a hassle so I removed it and found the vacant drawer space to be ideal for transporting smaller canvases.

For sketching and studies Raffine offers a variety of pencils and erasers suitable for all my needs.

All these supplies can of course be purchased at www.jerrysartarama.com