Painting Supplies List
For your convenience, I've compiled a list of the recommended painting supplies that I regularly use. I hope this helps save you time and money! Each of these products links to Blick, Michaels, or Amazon, whoever has the lowest price. (Please note that this page contains affiliate links. Click here to see my affiliate link disclosure.)
Surfaces

Specs: cotton, 15 oz primed, 1.5 inches deep, archival and acid free.
Note: if you are looking for something even sturdier and with a smoother surface ideal for realistic work, check out the Masterpiece Tahoe and Elite Heavyweight canvases also listed here.

Specs: cotton, 14.6 oz primed, 2.5 inches deep, archival and acid free.
Note: these canvases are about twice the price of the Level 3 canvases. They are definitely worth the money depending on what you are working on and where your painting might end up. If you aren't sure what canvas is the best fit for what you are trying to accomplish, go to a speciality art store and talk to someone there and tell them what you want to do. Take canvases off of the shelves and compare them, see how they are constructed and how the different surfaces feel.

Specs: linen, 18.3 oz primed, 1.5 inches deep, archival and acid free. Suitable for oils and water mixable oils.
Note that there is also an acrylic primed version of this canvas, which is suitable for both acrylic and oil paint.
Alternatively: Masterpiece sells stretcher kits, so for a lower price you can assemble their frames and purchase canvas separately: https://bit.ly/masterpiece-stretcher-kits. Aluminum frame canvases are also used by some professional artists I know because they are strong, rarely warp, and are lightweight. With a linen canvas they can be about as expensive as the Masterpiece Elite Heavyweight Linen canvases. Some artists feel the expense is well worth it. You can learn more about aluminum frame canvases here: https://bit.ly/aluminum-frame-canvas and mix and match aluminum stretcher bars here if you wish to construct your own: https://bit.ly/aluminum-stretcher-bars

Note: Prior to painting, seal (with Golden Gloss Medium) and gesso (with Golden Gesso) panels in order to increase moisture resistance and even out the tension caused by the application of paint. If you are planning to paint with oils, do three coats of gesso.
Learn more here:
https://ampersandart.com/full/priming-wood-panels-with-acrylic-gesso-or-oil-grounds

Note: Prior to painting, seal (with Golden Gloss Medium) and gesso (with Golden Gesso) panels in order to increase moisture resistance and even out the tension caused by the application of paint. If you are planning to paint with oils, do three coats of gesso.
Learn more here:
https://ampersandart.com/full/priming-wood-panels-with-acrylic-gesso-or-oil-grounds

Learn more about why and how to seal and prime here: https://ampersandart.com/full/priming-wood-panels-with-acrylic-gesso-or-oil-grounds

Note for those using hardwood or hardboard panels, apply sealer (Golden Gloss Medium) prior to applying gesso. Learn more here: https://ampersandart.com/full/priming-wood-panels-with-acrylic-gesso-or-oil-grounds
Note for those planning to paint with oils on top of acrylic gesso: over time oil paint becomes more brittle and less flexible than acrylic paint. If you are painting on a non-rigid support like a canvas the difference in flexibility may cause the oil paint layer to separate. This tends to be less of an issue with rigid supports such as hardboard. Golden maintains that their acrylic gesso is a perfectly fine foundation for oil painting and suggests applying at least three coats of gesso to control the penetration of oil paint.
Learn more here:
https://education.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo_oil_over_acrylic
And here:
https://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo/technicalinfo_gesso



Note: this paper has a slight texture. If you want a super smooth surface, go with the Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper.
Brushes & Mediums
If you're curious about what oil paint colors to use, I have created a chart of what I consider to be the best pigments available. You can access that chart and download it as a PDF here.
There are over 100 paints listed on that chart. You won’t need all of them. To simplify things, I’ve also created a couple of example palettes below. The first one is for anyone looking for a basic set of colors to get started with. The second lists the colors that I use to paint wildlife. I encourage you to test out different colors and different brands to get a sense of what you like.
Example Palette #1 (limited or beginner’s palette with just 8 colors)
Example Palette #2 (the 14 colors currently on my palette)


Winsor and Newton also makes a student-grade line called Winton, which is not meant for professional artists but can be fine for beginners.

Other lines to look at include:
- Blockx
- Daniel Smith
- Gamblin
- Grumbacher
- M. Graham
- Old Holland
- Rublev
- Schmincke Mussini
- Sennelier
- Williamsburg
When you're looking around, keep in mind that more expensive does not necessarily equate superior quality when it comes to artist lines of oil paints (all artist lines are meant to be professional-grade). It's more about your preferences.

Notes: safflower oil and linseed oil both slow down drying times, which can be good or a pain depending on what you are trying to accomplish. It’s generally not recommended to mix very much stand alone oil or any other medium in with oil paint. Also be sure to follow the fat-over-lean principle for best long-term results (i.e. the thinnest and least oily layer of paint should be on the bottom and the thickest and/or oiliest layer of paint should be on the top).
It’s also a good idea to get a designated oily metal trash can to dispose of rags or paper towels that are saturated with oil and oil paint. I have a good option listed below.

Notes: I've noticed that this line dries more quickly than the Artists' Oil Colours. I have found that certain water mixable colors, like raw sienna and burnt umber, dry more quickly - easily within a day - whereas the Artists' colors don't dry as quickly, which I prefer for realistic work. If you use water to dilute the water mixable colors they will dry even faster. The reason that I mostly use this line for abstract paintings is because I think their ability to turn into a watercolor type paint lends them to interesting applications.
I would not use water-mixable oil paint and traditional oil paint in the same painting because the linseed oil in water-mixable paint has been altered to become hydrophilic (allowing it to accept water), which makes it chemically incompatible with traditional oil paint.






Note: do not use this varnish for works with unfixed mediums (i.e. charcoal, colored pencil). Instead, use spray varnish. Winsor & Newton make a professional spray can varnish that I've also listed here.

Art Studio Essentials









