About Us
"Winter Pond," 12 x 24" oil on canvas
My Favorite Painting Things...
When it comes to your painting supplies and equipment, you should purchase the best quality that you can afford - and that doesn't always mean the most expensive products. Manufacturers' prices vary widely for similar quality and some manufacturers gouge you for absolute junk products.
​
I've been painting long enough to discern quality and have really found a bunch of products that I have stuck with for several years. I am a gear and paint junkie. I try out a lot of items each year to decide whether or not we will carry it in our stores.
I do use different setups when painting outdoors than I do in the studio, so I will detail the different setups I use. The only true reason that my paint supplies are different is the weight! In plein air painting I'm usually hiking, so I take only a few paints with me.
In the studio, though, I like to keep a giant set of paints!
​
I have included the Brian Sutton Studio Collection and the Brian Sutton Plein Air Collection from our store so you have links and info for everything I use.
Brian's easel, timer and mahl stick
In the studio:
My studio setup is very large and far exceeds my abilities as an artist. That was by design, actually. Every time I paint I feel I have to do my best to justify the expense of my art habit. So I work hard to improve.
The Easel:
Where I never skimp is on the easel. The Sienna Counterweight Easel from Richeson I use is absolute gold and worth every penny. I got mine in January 2022 and it was heavenly to switch from lightweight, portable easels to the behemoth that the counterweight easel is. I previously used Karen's in the past couple of years for video shoots. I was fortunate enough to get some art sales that gave me some extra supply purchase money to order one for myself. It won't make you a better artist, but it sure is a wonderfully stable platform on which to work. For those of you familiar with my old metal easel, sometimes I could get old workhorse shaking pretty hard!
I'm not suggesting you lay down $2,500 for an easel, but it's what I use. When you paint nearly every day having the best gear is helpful. In most cases for most artists your small tabletop easel you got for $10 is sufficient.
​
Brushes:
I exclusively use Richeson brushes for my studio and plein air work. I use the synthetic Grey Matters series because I like the quality for the price. They are less expensive than other professional brushes I have paid for but the quality of the fibers is excellent.
I still use my #5 Bob Ross palette knife. It's just a good tool. I also use a Richeson diamond shaped knife and a Richeson Italian Knife (similar to Bob Ross's #10 knife).
​
Paints:
In the studio I like to have a ton of available colors for no other reason than I like the pretty colors. It's true. I'm a color junkie.
So if you are like me I have a really large list in my Studio Collection page of colors that I use. To start I would recommend getting one each of the primary colors plus white (and maybe a black), especially if you are on a budget. Just about any color can be mixed out of the three primaries (yellow, red and blue) + white so there's really not a need at first to buy a bunch of color. You'll learn a lot more about mixing when sticking with just four tubes of paint. I wish I had known when I started out that I only need the primaries!
​
Palette:
My palette is homemade out of an 18 x 36 inch piece of glass I got at Home Depot. I taped it to a neutral gray hardboard with duct tape.
​
Brian's DIY palette
Mahl Stick:
I have also started to use a mahl stick to steady my hand for detail work. We can get them for you in our store at $55 each, but that seems like robbery to us. I recommend a DIY version that performs just as well for under $10, depending on how fancy you want to make it. See the photo below. This is a game changer for those who really want to get the details in but shaky hands cause some not-so-happy accidents.
My mahl stick was constructed in about 10 minutes by purchasing a 3-foot piece of 3/4 inch dowel at Home Depot. I fitted it with a 3/4 rubber chair foot and then took a few minutes to wrap the handle with 550 parachute cord to make holding it more comfortable. You might choose to give the handle a light sanding with super fine sandpaper and either leave it natural or coat it with a varnish or a rubbing with linseed oil. I opted for the handle because I like the look and comfort of the wrapped handle.
To wrap the handle, follow these instructions.
​
Want to see how to use it? Here's a quick video to help you.
See my entire studio supplies and equipment by clicking the button below.
En Plein Air
Plein Air, or outdoor painting, is where I like to be these days. It's super challenging, super fun and I get to enjoy the outdoors and get in some hiking to find great subjects to paint!
Plein air painting presents another challenge - you can't really take your studio setup to the field very easily. This challenge requires a different set of gear.
I recommend reading my blog posts on what plein air is and what basics you need. Once you read those you'll be primed to take a look at my complete setup for plein air, which is markedly smaller than my studio setup. In fact it all fits into a backpack!
Now that you have read the blog posts, take a look at what I use by clicking the button below:
I hope this has been helpful to those of you who have asked for a supply list or for those starting out who may feel overwhelmed with the volume of available products out there.
Check out our recent blog posts
