Showing posts with label art supplies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art supplies. Show all posts

7/24/2026

TALENS Amsterdam Acrylic Paint (Greenish Blue) (500 ml)

This greenish blue acrylic paint a mix of Phthalo blue and Phthalo green pigments and resembles a Phthalo deep turquoise colour. Isn't a Phthalo blue with green shade, as the colour is different. This Amsterdam paint has medium body viscosity and a high degree of lightfastness.  I mix it with ivory black or Payne's Grey to get darker values or with different kinds of greens to get a multilayered blue. As this colour has a high degree of  transparency, I tend to mix it with a similar but opaque paints when I want this colour to be less transparent. I can also dilute it to make washes. 
 
This format of Amsterdam acrylics are great value for money and, for whatever reason, this colour is always cheaper than others in the same line and size range. That's great for me as I use this colour in my artwork often. The only thing I dislike about these large bottles is that the pout is too big, something that doesn't makes easier transferring the paint from this bottle to a small bottle or when you want to dosage the paint with precision. For the rest a great colour and paint at an affordable price. 

7/16/2026

Yosoo White Chinagraph Peel-Off Wax Pencil (8pc set)

My disappointment at getting this slightly white wax pencil turned into a blessing in disguise. Because I've used it as guide on some coats of paint to draw something and I was able to delete it afterwards with little effort. It is a very waxy pen, and it's more like those flat wax sticks that one used for drawing sewing patterns of fabric but with less white lead. 
 
THE SO-SO
> I don't particularly like the peel-off system as you cannot control the volume of lead out.
> The first pencil I used broke its point, in a chunk, after using it two seconds. 
>  I have a true China white pencil and this is a wax pencil not a Chinagraph. I haven't used it on glass or fabric just on top of dry acrylics or dark surfaces and it's barely visible and too waxy to stick to anything else. 
> The lead is slightly white not really strong opaque white. 
 
ANNOYING
Although very cheap, I wanted to buy one pencil, not a whole set.  
 

ESRICH 16-pack Canvas Board (5x5in)

These mini cotton canvas board  aren't only affordable but also decent quality (I'd say student quality, but they're also acid free). I use them with acrylics and/or mixed media, sometimes using a lot of wet products, and they stand abrasion and wet on wet work quite well. I've noticed, though, that the edges can deteriorate if you work hard on them, so I recommend giving them a coat of gesso to improve the edge resistance. They come packaged in groups of four, which is a perfect number to work on a mini-series. They are pleasurable to work on and  the final result  looks very lovely. They can be used with oils, gouache tempera, watercolour and acrylics.   

Fclub Vintage Rose Watercolour Tin Palette (20 Full Pans & Adhesive Magnets)

This is such a great watercolour palette. It is not only beautiful but also very light and comes with the empty full pans and adhesive magnets so the pans don't move once set in place. I store here some Gansai Tambi watercolour and solid pigment pans. I can comfortably fit 8 large full pans with a bit of room left either to put a short pencil or piece of charcoal or an eraser. It's a great case for travelling due to its capacity and the lightness of the tin material. 

Derivan Matisse Acrylic High Tooth Gesso MM36 (250 ml)

This is a very affordable good quality thick gesso with a lot of grit (or tooth) in hit; i.e. has a thick sandy texture. Initially created to use on encaustic work, I use it for my mixed media and acrylic artworks  as I tend to use watery products, inks or semi-fluid acrylics and love sanding or scratching surfaces. I tend to give the substrate two coats  using a silicone brush. Once dry, I can scratch, sand or carelessly work on my piece.  

4/05/2026

Kmart Easel Studio (161cm)

Good quality easels are really expensive, so I was thrilled to find this one at an affordable price at Kmart. It came in a flatpack, and I found it a bit challenging to put it together, but it ended like in the photo.  It's made of good quality sturdy wood and it is easily adjustable. A bargain for the price as similar easels would cost you double in, say, Officeworks and especially in an arts shop.
 
USEFUL INFO 
Measurements: 161cm (H) x 83cm (W) x  65cm (D).
Materials: Beechwood and meta

Montana Cans Montana GOLD 10 Tryout Capset Spray Paint Cap

These Montana Gold nozzles are supposed to work with Montana Gold spray cans, but they also work with Montana Black cans and Liquitex spray paint cans (I've tried this myself). The package comes with a printed illustration of what each nozzle does, so that you get familiarised with each one. Also, the colour coding of the caps and mouth point makes them easy to recognise. The pack is really cheap, especially taking into account that the nozzles work with different brands of spray paint. 

4/04/2026

Liquitex Professional Acrylic Spray Paint (400 ml) (Carbon Black, 0337)

This spray paint was designed with the professional painter in the head, so it has all the things that an artist looks for in an acrylic paint: great vibrant colour, good coverage, lightfastness, and a good description of the paint properties on the cover. The result is a perfect spray paint can with a good spray system that has no smell at all. I recently discovered that the Montana variety nozzles I own can be used also with Liquitex, so that's awesome because, in this way, I can change the nozzle when I want the spray to behave differently, or cover a wider/narrower or larger/smaller area.

Montana Can Black Spray Paint (Tiffany) (400 ml)

I purchased this Montana Black can variety  due to the difference in Price with Montana Gold and especially with Liquitex. After using it, I can explain the difference in price. The colour spreads well and evenly, however this can has an unpleasant strong chemical odour even when wearing a professional spray mask. Like the smell of a spray varnish or fixative. Liquitex has not that problem and doesn't smell of anything. I guess Montana Black  was designed to be used outdoors (graffiti or mural painting for example) and the smell will definitely be less noticeable in an aired space.

The nozzle is interchangeable, so if you have the nozzle variety pack (sold separately), you can easily change the nozzle to control how the spray behaves. 
 
The blue colour in this can is slightly different from the photo, less teal-ish and more blue-ish, but it is still  beautiful. 
 
I was a bit hesitant to buy this can as I bought a bottle in the past and the spray system didn't work at all, so the bottle cannot be used or emptied out. I found the same complaint from other customers online. However, I'm happy to say that this can works beautifully.  

10/11/2025

Ohuhu Mix-Media Hardover Pad (210cm x 210cm)

This Ohuhu pad looks expensive due to its luxurious leather-like cover, flexible soft binding, elastic band, ribbon bookmark and decent mixed media paper. It comes in a sturdy cardboard box that protects it and makes it perfect for wrapping and gifting. It comes with a complimentary silicone sheet that can be inserted between pages to prevent bleeding and staining. All the design is really well thought and the price fantastic. 

I was looking forward to having this pad for mixed-media painting, but the first results were disappointing. I first tasted the paper without gesso priming and I was getting quite happy with the paper performance despite using a lot of wet media. My happiness ended when, after finishing a grid layout, I started to remove the low-tack soft masking tape I normally use. This tape glides off beautifully on most papers, but it ripped the paper apart destroying most of the painting area. I got me really annoyed.

The product page states "Designed especially for use with alcohol markers, the 120lb (200GSM) mixed media paper has a pleasingly smooth surface that resists smudging and feathering." To me, this is not the best paper for wet mixed-media because the paper definitely wraps and buckles, and needs of gesso to work on it to prevent the paper being ruined or torn apart. However, the pad is perfect for dry media, pencils, crayons and markers.  
 
In the end, I decided to use it as a collage sketchbook with limited use of water-based products and I'm very happy with this pad for that purpose. 
 
The pages are punctured so you can cut them off if ain't happy with what I'm doing or the paper gets damaged. However, the part of the binding before the puncture stays in, so if you have many pages cut off, it bulks up and it looks cheap. 
 
For the rest a good quality pad perfect for limited wet and dry media, and collage.  

Arttec Oil & Acrylic Sketch 240gsm A2 Pad (12 sheets)

This pad is one of the few affordable A2 pads in the market that allow you to work with oils. acrylics and mixed media. I've used it with mixed media and it's great both as a sketchbook and for producing studies or art pieces that you aren't going to sell. It has a beautiful canvas-like texture on the front, and a sealed plastic-ish smooth back that prevents bleeding. It's not meant to replace good quality paper, but allows creating quality studies and sketches without breaking your budget. You can still have some rubbing and scratching done on the paper, but to a certain point. I gesso the pages before working on them so that the pages don't tear or break when doing that. The pad is not only affordable but the twelve sheets are a generous number for the price. 

10/08/2025

TEHAUX Paint Brush Cleaning Tub (10.5 X 21cm)

I was so excited about finding this brush cleaning tub at a good affordable price. The good thing is that it's made of stainless still and it costs half of what you'd pay if it were from an art brand. However, after getting it and using it, I've found that it's a bit of a nuisance in my studio. The ringed holder only allow small thin brushes to be inserted; otherwise, the brushes will pop up and fly across the room like popcorn. I use a mix of brush sizes in my art practice, so it defeats the purpose. The brushes, can be placed vertically or inside the ring, horizontally. This tool would need of more space than the one I have on my working table to be fully functional. In all honesty, those brushes that fit in the rings, dry better, quicker and get less damaged. 

Yitexin Canvas Pencil Roll Wrap (72 slots)

This is a good quality large pencil wrap with 72 slots. Perfect to keep pencils, average pen and thin/medium markers. The elastic band are  tight, so it's difficult to get some of the markers in. At the same time, this prevents them from sliding off. There are too double fittings, which are perfect to insert thick markers or several small things, like pencil/pen refills, erasers, etc. I miss having a couple of more of those double fittings to put all the things I wanted in. This wrap has thicker canvas and is better quality than others I own. I fit tons of stuff in this.  

YOUSHARES 6-pc Aluminium Pencil Extender Set (Assorted Colors)

These pencil extenders are not only good quality aluminium in six good-looking colours, but perfect for average pencils when they get too short. It fists most artist pencil brands and all the short pencils I have.  
 
USEFUL INFORMATION
Measurements: 7 mm dia x 105 mm long.
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CarSleek 2-Pack Non-Scratch Plastic Scrapers with 8 Blades Replacement

I love this little tool both as a everyday scrapper and as an art tool. I have one these devoted to removing paint from my desktop, small little drops on the floor and other hard surfaces. The manufacturer says that It can be used to remove sticker decals and glue on glass, cook-tops and ovens. I haven't tried this tool on those surfaces so far, so I cannot comment. But the blades are sharper than you think and work well on the surfaces I've tried them on. This scrapper is also a great mark-making tool. Easy to store as it's pretty flat. I love the ergonomic design, as well. I appreciate the complimentary blades. 

9/21/2025

Egoaugx Vintage-Style Scrapbooking Date Roller Stamp (Black)

I've been looking for one of these traditional stampers for a while, to use it with my archival ink pad as I use a stamp to date my journals artwork and most stamps out there have self-inkers with ink that isn't archival or waterproof. This seemed the perfect alternative. 
 
I love the stamp vintage style and the fact that is really small but the numbers sizing is clear and readable. It looks great on my desk and the wooden base prevents the ink left on the numbers to stain anything. I can use this with any of my archival inks, black or coloured, which is great both for office and craft purposes.   

Having said that, the stamp structure is feeble. The numbers adjusting wheels are a bit loose, so they don't hold their position as strongly as other stamps do. The knob is loose and rotates, something that doesn't bother me, but it's another proof of its mediocrity. The edge of the numbers box will be printed if you press the stamp a bit too strong on the ink pad.
 
The product arrived used, with some of the numbers already tried and blacked by ink.  No problem with that if I had known that I was buying a used product and that the price had matched that.
 
I would have loved something like this, just good quality without any of the faulty features that I have mentioned. However, it's OK for the price. 
 
USEFUL INFO 
Measurements = 5L x 4W x 10H centimetres 
Date Range =   2025-2036 (I had to post a question for the seller to mention this important item of information). 

Posca Acrylic Marker 8pc Set (Basic Colours) (5M, Medium Nib)

Posca markers are one of my favourite art supplies, due to their quality, versatility and easy of use. My preferred tip is this 5M medium one, which is also reversible. So, if the tip gets stained or tinted, I take it out, reverse it and I have a new brand one. The stained part will self repair when inside. In this way, the tips last for ages. Lines are clean and precise. 
 
The set has a mix of basic colours. They aren't primary colours per se, but basic bright gorgeous colours, plus black and white.  These markers have a good lightfast rating,  which varies from colour to colour, and they're waterproof once dried. If they aren't fully dry, they smudge, which sometimes you want to do to fill in small areas or produce artistic effects. 

The main downside of Posca is that they're not refillable, or not easily so. Therefore, they generate a lot of plastic waste and aren't environmentally friendly,  which is a shame.
 
For the rest, great value for money.  
 

8/26/2025

Liquitex Professional Freestyle Paddle Brush (1-inch)

This range of Liquitex brushes is level up anything I own. 

This 1-inch paddle brush is perfect for art journaling, sketching and working on small surfaces. I use it mostly on thick watercolour paper and it is perfect for blending, making chunky marks and for spreading paint on large areas. The bristles are slightly stiff but still soft on the paper. Easy and intuitive use, it becomes the extension of my small hands.

Very good quality handle and bristles. They don't deteriorate easily despite me keeping it inside a water bucket for longer than advisable.   

I wish they made this as a long-handle flat brush using the same quality handle and bristles.   

8/23/2025

TEHAUX DingDongTu Spiral-Bound Cold-Pressed 300mg/140lb Watercolor Paper Pad (26.5x26.5cm, 12x12")

This pad, and others from the Chinese brand DingDongTu are distributed by different Amazon sellers and sold with different names. However, the DingDongTu name brand is on the front cover and this how I refer to them. 
 
The cover looks beautiful, and it's made of sturdy hard cardboard. It holds the pad beautifully, even when all the sheets are fully painted and, therefore, thicker. The spiral bound system allows me to  get the sheets out, work on them individually without staining or damaging the rest of the sheets or the covers. The rings are sturdy enough not to self-open, but also easy to open. You have to pull each ring half up and to the sides at the same time to open them. If you pull the ring halves just to the sides, it won't work. 

The 12X12in size is perfect for art jounaling and experimenting without sacrificing space.  
 
The paper is a great -- cold-pressed 300gsm/140lb watercolour paper, which is great for watercolour and for any wet mixed-media. The texture is smooth. 
 
As I use this for mixed-media, I gesso each page before working on it. The quality of the paper is brilliant for the price. I use acrylic paints of different viscosities, acrylic inks, as well as water-soluble crayons and graphite sticks and the paper stands most things I do to it,  including scratching and rubbing. 
 
I'm a regular buyer of this DingDongTu pads, and they are a staple in my art studio.  

8/19/2025

Posca Acrylic Marker15pc Set (Assorted colours, 3M, Fine Nib)

Posca acrylic markers are one of my favourite artwork staples, and I like having different nib sizes to use for different art purposes. 
 
This size is perfect for fine detail and line work. These nibs are reversible, which comes handy when they become dirty or a bit "scruffy", because I can simply  reverse them and experience the marker as if I had a new one at hand. 
 
Posca markers contain acrylic paint, they create beautiful clean lines and last quite a while. The quality of the acrylic paint is fantastic. Permanent colours once dried and they dry quit quickly. 

To get the paint out for the first time, pump down the nib till is totally impregnate with paint. Shake markers before each use if they haven't been used for a while. . 
 
The selection of colours in this pack is great; although there is a predominance of warm colours, there is also some cold colours plus black, white and grey. Perfect for my needs and a prefect package for gifting, as well. Posca markers are quite expensive, so this pack is great value for money.
 
The main downside of these markers is that they aren't refillable or reusable, so there is a lot of plastic waste. Also, Yet, they are not refillable.