Supplies we used at Spirit Wings painting retreat
Paints:
Acryilcs: We used Golden fluid acrylics and Liquitex soft bodied paints for backgrounds and hair.
Light hair colors we used:: Raw Sienna and raw umber
Dark hair colors we used: Raw umber, black
Oils: We used Shiva Oil Paintstiks in the following colors for the face: yellow ochre, burnt sienna, antique white, titanium white, raw umber, burnt umber, black, naphthol red, alizarin crimson
Canvases:
*Dick Blick Studio Artist Boards – These come in a variety of sizes and I use these almost exclusively.
*Canvas panels These are what you painted on at the retreat. These are sold individually or in a pack.
Gel Medium
It’s super important to get the Regular Gel Medium in GLOSS. Golden brand is worth every penny.
Painting Palette
In class, we used disposable palette pad
Gesso
I like the Golden brand gesso but there are several other brands to choose from.
Pens/Pencils:
*Posco paint markers in white and all colors.
*Faber Castell Pitt Pen – I used the brush tip and skin tone colors to create faces.
*Stabilo “All” Pencil – Black
Alphabet Stamps/Stencils/Stickers:
*Stamps – Cavallini lower case and these upper case stamps are what I use.
*Stencils – We didn’t use these, but I want to mention as there are lots of alphabet stencils out there. Choose one that delights your soul.
Other Stamps/Stencils/Stickers
We didn’t use any of these but I wanted to include as they are fun for creating more textures in your background!
*Stamps – Look for background stamps, pattern stamps (for example: chevron, dots, etc), icon stamps (birds, wings, etc – whatever imagery speaks to you).
*Stencils – Look for background stencils that can help build interesting layers or stencils that capture your favorite imagery (ex: birds, wings, flowers, geometric shapes, patterns ,etc).
*Stickers – Have fun! Choose stickers that include imagery that speaks to you (shapes, animals, nature, patterns, etc). I love Cavallini stickers, but there are lots of options in craft stores nationwide.
Ink Pad
I’d recommend getting a black ink pad. I use a black archival ink pad. Try white, metallic, or any color that calls to you. Color Box makes great colored ink pads.
Texture Tools:
These are household items that will help us create really fun effects in our paintings.
*Bubble wrap
*Drawer/grip liner (waffle texture)
*Old credit cards
*Jar caps
*Pen caps
*Anything that could make a great mark when stamped into paint or ink
Collage Papers:
*Scrapbook papers: There are lots of options, but I love Tim Holtz, Echo Park, and K & Company papers.
*Gift wrap – Any gift wrap will do. I love Cavallini papers.
*Tissue paper – patterned
*Sewing pattern paper
*Wallpaper scraps
*Book pages (I love using pages from old music books)
*Maps
Heat dryer
I used an embossing heat gun.
Spray Varnish
I use Golden Archival Spray Varnish in either the matte or gloss.

photo credit: Zipporah Lomax
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