I thought I would give a quick run-down of the art products I tend to use, and why.
Gouache, of course. I started out with Windsor & Newton, then moved on to Holbein, a Japanese make, and I also have some larger tubes of Schmincke as they are a little easier to get hold of as individual tubes and are sold at a wider variety of art shops.
The Holbein are 5ml – I got them in a set; the Schmincke are 15ml and they were bought individually.
I have a rather motley selection of paintbrushes, including both sable and synthetic. The sable are great but their springiness sometimes backfires with me and I get splotches on my artwork, which is annoying with the illustrations as I rely on so much white space.
I have a few flat brushes which I bought for the children to use at art class, but they prefer the water brushes so I have annexed the brushes for my use.
I don’t use coloured pencils very often, but most of these are leftovers from when I homeschooled my kids, and are a German make, LYRA which have a triangular grip and soft jumbo leads so I’m happy to use them. I have some Graphitint, the water-soluble Derwent pencils which are heathery and muted, and some regular Derwent drawing pencils in earth tones, and indigo.
I love these PITT pens by Faber Castell. Most are brush-tipped, but I have a few different widths in the sanguine, sepia and black, as those have always been my go-to colours for drawing. I also like the Uni Pin fineliners, and I have these in black, dark and light grey.
I prefer fountain pens to any other, but the Pilot Parallel pens are very good for lettering, although I need to practise a little more to get them running smoothly.
I have always had Parker pens, and I keep different inks, from blue-black, verdigris, sepia, red, and I have one with a beautiful blue-grey ink from Noodler’s which I bought in Chicago.
I use a water brush for softening edges and making a wash. Ink pens are so versatile – I love them!
If I had to choose one medium to use for the rest of my life, it would be graphite. I love drawing first and foremost, and the simplicity of a pencil and paper is an underrated joy in my opinion.
I use Blackwing Pearl or 602, and the accompanying sharpener makes a fantastic long point. I keep a 2H lead in the propelling pencil, and like the 6B mechanical clutch by Koh-I-Noor although I also have some sepia and white leads for that too.
The tailor-shape Art-Graf graphite tablet is great fun if very messy.
