Paint & Draw Paris

with Richard E Scott

Suggested Gear & Materials

You are welcome to use any drawing and painting gear you like. That said, for those interested, below is a listing of the gear and materials that I will be taking with me on the trip.

Click on the links (underlined text) to view items at Amazon, or you can purchase many of these items at Jacksons Art (my favorite art supply merchant), or your favorite local art supplier.

Drawing Gear

Pencil

Here is a pencil I’m using a lot these days:

Blackwing Pencil - Natural

Sharpeners

When using a traditional drawing pencil, you will need at least one sharpener. Below are my choices:

  • Kum Automatic Long Point Sharpener

    This is a good, inexpensive choice for a pocket-sized sharpener with casing to prevent litter.

  • Makers Cabinet Hovel Pencil Plane

    If you have the budget and love unique objects, this is your sharpener: actually a “pencil plane.” It takes skill to use it properly (I will demonstrate how I use mine on the trip). Do not try to sharpen a new un-sharpened pencil with this plane — best for re-pointing pencils that have become dull with use. If you buy this plane, be sure to also purchase the Hovel Base to prevent litter as well as some extra blades.

  • Afmat Long Point Pencil Sharpener
    This is old-style crank pencil sharpener is a must-have for me on a trip. It’s small, lightweight, and fits nicely in my luggage. It creates an especially long and tapered tip. I usually use this sharpener each morning before heading out and then leave it in the room, using my pencil plane to re-sharpen during the day.

(Left) Kum Automatic Long Point Sharpener, (middle) Makers Cabinet Hovel Pencil Plane, and (right) Afmat Long Point Pencil Sharpener

Erasers

Erasers can be used for erasing, refining values, and even as drawing tools (for making light marks). Here is what I use:

Left to right: kneaded eraser, retractable eraser, and rechargeable eraser

Drawing Pad

Quality, heavier-weight paper is key to an enjoyable drawing experience and a better finished drawing. Here is what I will be using on the trip:

  • Strathmore Series 400 Drawing Pad / 130gm (80lb.) / 24 sheets in various sizes / or Strathmore Series 400 Recycled Drawing Pad / 130gm (80lb.) / 24 sheets in various sizes

    I will be using the 6” x 8” and 9” x 12” sizes

Strathmore Series 400 Drawing Pads, regular (brown cover) and recycled (green cover)

Other Drawing Items

  • Blending stump — any brand is fine

  • Artist Chamois (pronounced “SHAM-ee”) — any brand is fine

  • Small brush — I use a compact makeup brush to remove excess graphite or eraser shavings from a drawing

  • Small microfiber towel — to rest my hand on so I don’t smudge the drawing

  • Small pouch to hold drawing materials — any type or brand is fine (not shown in photo below)

(Top left) blending stumps, (top right) chamois towel, (bottom left) compact makeup brush, and (bottom right) small microfiber towel

Watercolor Gear

Watercolor Block or Sheets

  • Saunders Waterford Watercolor Block / 16” x 12” (or any size you prefer) / Rough Surface / Regular White Color / 300gm (140lb)

  • Khadi Paper (in loose sheets) / various sizes / each sheet is handmade, resulting in a unique surface texture, and beautiful deckled edges. No two sheets of this paper are exactly alike.

  • Other good brands are Arches, Kilimanjaro and Fabriano / any size you prefer / Rough or Cold-Press Surface / 300gm (140lb)

    My suggestion is to stay away from inexpensive brands or any student-grade paper

The Saunders Waterford and Arches papers can be purchased from Jackson’s Art and Blue Rooster Art Supplies / Kilimanjaro paper can be purchased from Cheap Joe’s / Fabriano can be purchased at most art supply stores / Khadi Paper can be purchased at Blue Rooster Art Supplies, Hiromi Paper, and Amazon

(Top) Khadi handmade paper, (Bottom) Saunders Waterford Block - both come in a variety of sizes

Travel Brushes

  • The German-made Da Vinci pocket brushes have a thicker handle than other pocket-type brushes. Some people may not like the feel of these chunky handles, but the design has two advantages:

    1. The wider handle allows for a larger brush head than can be found in other brands (the #12 size Da Vinci brush is much larger than the #12 size in other brands)

    2. The threaded connection secures the brush head from flying off when you flick the brush

  • The French-made Leonard pocket brush is unique in that it is a mop-type brush with a pocket brush case. This is the largest pocket-type brush I’ve found anywhere — excellent for laying in large washes.

    I purchase the Da Vinci brushes from my favorite online merchant. The Leonard brush is harder to find — at the time I write this, you can find it from this online merchant.

    Note: There are many other types and brands of pocket brushes available today. Escoda makes several lines worth checking out.  And if you find a new pocket-type brush out there, please let me know (you can reach me by clicking here).

My Plein Air “Pocket” Brushes

Palette

I highly recommend this palette for travel:

  • The Portable Painter Palette is excellent and inexpensive / get the “Classic Plus Kit” (it has extra wells for additional paint colors, if desired) / visit Portable Painter and enter promo code SCOTT during checkout to receive a 10% discount on your order (promo code is case sensitive)

My Portable Palette loaded and ready

Watercolors

You are welcome to use any colors and brands you like. Here are the colors I use and how I organize them on my Portable Painter Palette (corresponding to the 15 paint wells shown in the photo above).

Top Row (listed from left to right):

  • Titanium Opaque White – Schmincke Horadam Aquarell

  • (Middle well is empty - I use this spot for any new colors I’d like to experiment with)

  • Ivory Black – Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour

Middle Row (listed from left to right):

  • Cadmium Yellow Lemon – Schmincke Horadam Aquarell

  • Cadmium Yellow Deep – MaimeriBlu

  • Quinacridone Gold Hue – Schmincke Horadam Aquarell

  • Cadmium Orange – MaimeriBlu

  • Transparent Brown – Sennelier L’Aquarelle

  • Quinacridone Red - Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour

Bottom Row (listed from left to right):

  • Winsor Green (Yellow Shade) – Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour

  • Viridian – MaimeriBlu

  • Cerulean Blue - Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour

  • Utramarine Light – Sennelier L’Aquarelle

  • Mixed Violet – a mixture of two watercolors: Cobalt Blue – Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour and Quinacridone Red – Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour (I mix 2 parts Cobalt Blue to 1 part Quinacridone Red)

  • Quinacridone Magenta – Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour


Note: the mixed violet I use will not produce the most intense violet possible. I have found that a mixture of Ultramarine Light and Quinacridone Magenta makes the most intense violet. I prefer my mixed violet in most cases because it mixes beautifully with other colors without dominating the mixtures. 95% of the time this mixed violet is all I need. If I need a more intense violet, I mix together Ultramarine Light and Quinacridone Magenta.

All of the paints listed can be purchased online at Jackson’s Art.

Easel

Be sure to purchase one that is foldable, lightweight, and easy to carry. Below is the one I use.

My easel - a camera tripod with a masonite board attached to the top

Other Items (no photo of gear listed below - any style or brand is fine)

  • Daypack that you can carry everything in, except for the watercolor block

  • Sponge or Sham-Wow

  • Small spray bottle (any brand)

  • A handful of folded paper towels (I use Viva Select-a-Size)

  • Artist tape

  • Extra metal clips (to attached watercolor block to easel, if necessary)

  • Wax resist – you can use a wax stick, or even a wax candle

  • Very thin guitar pick - to cut used sheets off of watercolor block

  • Small fold-up chair - I will not be using a chair when I paint, but some people may want to bring a small fold-up stool that fits in their backpack, or can be easily carried

  • Water bottle (for you and your watercolors)

  • Hat and sunscreen

Important

  • Please order any needed equipment or materials EARLY to avoid problems and stress

  • To make sure your palette and luggage stay nice and clean, wait until the first morning of class to fill up your paint wells. Then, during our painting days, make sure your palette stays LEVEL at the top or bottom of your daypack.

  • Some locations may prohibit the use of rolling bags. If this occurs, please be sure you can carry all of your painting items with you (this means pack light).

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I’ll see you in Paris.

Merci!

Richard
richard@paintwithscott.com