Winslow Art Center Erin Raedeke The Self-Portrait: Exploring the Unconventional Palette [email protected]

Supplies

Paint:

Cadmium Orange Cadmium Medium Alizarin Crimson Quidacridone Red Dioxazine Violet Pthalo Chromium Oxide Titanium Oxide French Ultramarine or Ultramarine Blue Sevre’s Blue (Williamsburg sells this . It is about the same price as Cerulean Blue . If you have Cerulean Blue or Cerulean Blue Hue that is fine as well).

Raw Umber (or Burnt Umber)

Optional: Cadmium Lemon, Yellow Ochre

Brushes

For oils, I prefer to use synthetic sable brushes. For my own work, I really like these particular brushes: Princeton 6600 Synthetic Mongoose Brushes. They are soft, yet still have a nice spring to them and they do last for quite awhile (I do use linseed oil rather than Gamsol though to clean my brushes while painting)

https://www.utrechtart.com/products/princeton-imperial-series-6600-synthetic-mongoose- brushes/

A variety of sizes of brushes as well as a variety of rounds and flats are ideal. Especially for the portrait I recommend having one or two very small brushes - size 0 or so. We will be using the palette knife to make small marks as well, not just the small brush.

Palette Knives: I use the palette knife quite a lot when painting - both to scrape down areas, as well as make marks. Make sure you have a good quality one, and even a few different sizes)- something like this: https://www.utrechtart.com/items/03117-2011/ Surfaces:

I prefer making my own surfaces using either muslin on board, or the more traditional linen or canvas on stretcher bars. I did make a demo video on how I make the different types of surfaces, please let me know if you would like me to send you the youtube link, or if you have any other questions. It is important to have a quality surface to work on though- if you do buy pre-made canvases, you might want to put a few extra coats of gesso on them.

As far as number of surfaces and the size - I know different painters are comfortable with different sizes. I tend to like to work about life size. My most recent portraits have been around 12” x 12” or a touch bigger. In my two most recent self-portraits I have wished that my surface was larger - perhaps a 16” x 20” would be ideal for me? I have only been focusing on my head, neck and the top of my shirt with the last two portraits. Bottom line, choose a size that you are comfortable with.

I hesitate to require an exact number of surfaces, perhaps 3-4? Ideally, each student will work on 2-3 “quicker” self-portraits that are more immediate, and then the last 2-3 weeks can be focused on sustaining one portrait - allowing for more specificity as well as experiencing the ups and downs (tolerating when a painting enters that “ugly” stage) - and seeing it through which often leads to a new sense of discovery and confidence both as an artist and with the painting process.

Other Supplies:

Palette - the bigger the better. Personally, I think glass is ideal

Inexpensive Linseed oil (I use this instead of gamsol or turpenoid to clean my brushes when I change while painting. There are no fumes). https://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-studio-linseed-oil/

Glass Jar for the linseed oil or Gamsol/turpenoid

Metal Scraper if using a glass palette

Paper Towels - I have been using Viva Paper towels for years and absolutely love them.

(I don’t use any medium when I paint - I think it helps since I use linseed oil to clean my brushes while I paint).

For Acrylic Paint:

I have much more experience using oils than I do with acrylic paint, but I have taught many students who do use acrylics. Make sure you have a spray bottle with water to keep you paints from drying out. There are also some mediums that you can use to extend the drying time.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I am very excited about this class!

Best, Erin Raedeke