Finally.. and all in one place. These are art supplies that I have purchased, used and loved.

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March 25: Fix tape leak! 👇 My must-have glazing liquid:

Glazing Liquid Tap Here

ACRYLIC MEDIUMS

Secret sauce. Magic Juice. Acrylic Glazing Liquid Know this: NOT ALL GLAZING LIQUIDS ARE CREATED EQUALLY. This one is slow drying and I use it in EVERY painting I make. This is a JULIE MUST HAVE. This glazing liquid has a lower viscosity, so when you put it down or drop a few drops of it, it will not “run” unless you push it a long a little.

Designed to work with the OPEN paint line from Golden, OPEN Medium is great for further extending the working time of your paint. I like to spread it on the canvas as a base and then work paint on top of it. If you use this medium in conjunction with OPEN acrylic paint, the OPEN paint will give you even more working time than it does on its own. When used alone with traditional acrylic paint, you can get a boost of working time. I have not tested this with a stopwatch, but I feel that this medium stays workable longer than Acrylic Glazing liquid. I would not combine the two while painting.

I recently purchased this amazing medium and I am in love! After only one experiment, my mind is spinning with possibilities I have not had before with my acrylics. Different than Glazing Medium, but I think I will use them both. The feel of Airbrush Medium under the brush is really really nice! This medium will flow a lot, like water. You will not be able to control the movement of it when you pour or place it. I mix heavy body paint with this so that I can sign my paintings easier with a detail brush.

A good texture medium to use that is archival, lightweight and STABLE is light molding paste. In this video here, I use this paste.

The more dense and hard version of the paste in the same video is here. Use the light paste to create an almost “airy” texture that is stable, or regular the regular for a heavier, more solid texture.

How to make acrylic skins: Shown Disposable palette sheets (Dick Blick), Golden leveling paste, and Barvotti scrapper tool. I’ve been buying these Fabriano cards for YEARS: The envelops shown in the video are linked here. The matching folded notes are linked here. To attach your skins as collage or as seals, I recommend this gel as your adhesive, rather than a liquid.

This gloss medium is great to extend your acrylic paint. You can create glazes and washes with it, you can pour it, but it does NOT dry slowly. I sometimes use this to add a gloss coat to little scrap paintings that I can pass out here and there. The matte version is the same consistency and provides the same purpose, only it dries matte. For a fun video description of the two, click here. I included a lot of info in the caption.

This ground is GREAT for adding the texture you need to get pencils and crayon to really take hold on top of acrylic. I also use a little smear of it to help write my name on my art when I am finished. Can dry clear when applied thin- and it still creates tooth. Better than liquid gesso because it stays put (it’s a paste) AND you can build texture with it. Two products in one.

I have a popular reel (click here to see it) where I mention liquid glue and why I normally do not use it. I prefer a gel medium for adhesion because it stays put exactly where I put it and it can also be mixed with acrylic to create texture. This soft gel is my most commonly used. You can cut out the gloss when you are done by applying varnish.. This matte gel is the same thing, but it will not dry 100% clear. I like to find multiple ways to use each of my supplies, so for me, regular gel is the most valuable. Soft gel has the consistency of yogurt. If you want to hold something other than paper, (like a metal object) OR of you want to create heavy peaks and have them hold, get this gel.

SKETCHBOOKS

These books are not the same as what you see me recording my paint swatches in. These book are books that I work in with limited paint and dry media (crayon, charcoal, oil pastel, soft pastel, etc.)

You can’t beat Moleskine. This book has great paper. I have spread thin layers of acrylic ground on some pages, matte medium and fluid acrylic on these pages. The pages will not hold up to heavy scrubbing with paint brush, but for a splash of color as a starting point, it is a great book. (This is the book you see in my Instagram video where I am sketching with pastels.)

This is a beautiful book I received as a gift. The paper is light weight, so I am going to mark this book as dry media only. It is the only book I have seen with this color pages. Really beautiful, I can’t wait to use it.

MARK MAKING

⭐️ New! I have independently reviewed and shared my thoughts on several of the supplies you see here on video. See them as they work on Acrylic paintings and hear my honest feedback on each. Studio Notes (2026) is open now. Click here for more info.

🎨These artist crayons are water soluble. You’ve seen me use them a multitude of ways in my reels. They are densely pigmented and last a LONG time. Over the years I have collected every color. Do you obsess over getting something in every color, and would you love an amazing wooden storage box for these crayons? Click here for the mother of all sets.(You’re going to need fixative to work on TOP of these. See below.)

🎨The Neocolor I crayons are NOT water soluble. Add these to your work when you want to keep your marks rather than blend them away. These crayons do not really smudge at all, even when wet. Something that I didn’t consider when I purchased them, is it is really nice to have the same colors in both water soluble and permanent.

🎨 I started using colored pencils in my paintings when I want da more stable mark. I use these pencils and am very happy with the color selection. They have a very high light fastness rating.

🎨Chalk pastels are great for smudging around in the sketchbook. Rather than fix the pages in the sketchbook, I just place a piece of deli wrap between the facing pages to prevent color contamination. As a treat, I ordered these soft pastels. The light fastness and color vibrancy (potency) is AMAZING. This set adds darker reds to that collection. The Richeson pastels are great for lines. For VERY smudgy, vibrant color..like super soft luxury- I have these pastels as well. I am learning that different pastels are needed for different effects.

One the pieces that I sell, I inform the collector that they need to be keep under glass. Before the sketches leave my possession, I spray a very light coat of this fixative on them. I light application reduces the smudging and I have not noticed that the colors darken as much as spray fixatives I use on top of other materials.

🎨Let’s talk oil pastels: I have had this set for years. The pastels are dense, firm to the touch and they smudge a little. However, they do not glide over the art in a super buttery fashion. (If you are sticking with the Caran D’Ache theme, again, you’ll have nice matching colors in that set.) These Sennellier oil pastels are squishy and messy when you touch them. Press them firmly to the canvas and you can see considerable “wear” on the pastel. Important to note: neither of these products will fully cure. Artwork for these will need to be placed behind glass to prevent smudging. (This is why I am using them in my sketchbook, and not on my paintings.)

For pastel organization, you can’t beat this set of drawers. It is light weight and decently made with dividers that you can reposition. The Richeson pastels are a snug fit, but the drawers open and close with a little pressure- they don’t get damaged by the snug fit. Click here to see the drawers.

Check out these HUGE CHARCOAL blocks …they are really messy..but SUPER fun.

I love the look of a lipstick like consistency product on the TOP of my acrylic paintings. The Shiva Oil Sticks. These cure to a touchable hardness in a day or two depending on climate and how heavy you apply them..and I have not had any issues using acrylic varnish on top of them.

I have almost every color of these POSCA paint pens. This set is great if you like journaling or works on paper. There are some concerns with the red and orange colors in these pens and that they may fade quicker than the other colors. If you use these on art that will hang, be sure to use a UV protectant varnish.

⭐️ The best pens for metallic gold and silver metallic- I use these for addressing envelopes and giving the edges of my work a gold leaf look. DO NOT buy these pens on Amazon (they are more than double the price!). Instead, use this link from Blick. GOLD, SILVER, ROSE GOLD PEN. (Note: I use these when I am doing paper crafts, not in painting abstracts.)

PAINT

Golden updated their mixing set to include some new colors. This set of colors are a great starting off point for mixing a LOAD of really great colors. If you are looking to learn in my “Expanding on Color” online workshop, and you need paint, this is great set.

I frequently reach for these paints when printing or making texture. They dry slowly..like they take a really long time to dry offering the artist a lot more flexibility than with traditional acrylic paint. This set will yield a load of mixing opportunities.

I would file these under ink or paint because they are versatile. The High Flow line from Golden is the consistency of ink. It can be filled into paint markers, or used with a brush. So why do you want these? If you want liquid paint, but don’t want to obliterate the vibrancy and pigment load you get with adding a load of water, these are for you. You can mix the SAME colors you do with paint with these, so they can match perfectly. So the Airbrush medium can also give you a nice consistency, but these are even easier. This the color mixing set of High Flow here.

VARNISH & FIXATIVE

Another most frequently asked question: Which varnish do you use? Get the sister product to remove the varnish if you make a mistake or want to re-work your art: My favorite varnish. The remover. Before you varnish, you will need to “fix” anything that is on your art that is unstable. I use this fixative. Here is a really great varnish brush.

BRUSHES AND TOOLS AND TAPE

⭐️ This is a great set of silicone scrapers. I use these in every painting!

Long handled, synthetic brushes. CLICK HERE

I was buying inexpensive large brushes for years and continually was frustrated with their price and quality. I just ordered these brushes and am happy with the initial tests. They are great for moving larger amounts of paint. (I use them in the initial stages of the painting before I start to edit.) There is a 2 inch, 3 inch and 8 inch. This is a densely packed bristle, on the stiff side. I like them lot.

Use a gel plate for creating awesome prints on deli-wrap paper (paper at the bottom of my list here). I have had my gel plate for years and it is still as good as the day I opened it. I have heard home made gel plates do not hold up. In my opinion. this is a great tool to have access to when you need it.

For attaching collage, this is my favorite palette knife. It has less give than a silicone scraper, allowing you to firming get that collage into the gel medium.

This is a great set of needle tip applicators if you want to use fluids for straight, thin lines.

Catalyst Wedge tools are nice and allow your hand to feel more connected to the art because there is not a handle. I use them for the same things as my silicone scrappers. This grey wedge is a great multipurpose tool and this green wedge creates great texture.

These paint brushes are inexpensive and HOLD UP for several uses with heavy, “aggressive” painting. I am not a delicate painter and these hold up even after sitting in my water bucket for a long time. I have been using them for years. I also like the angle brush in this set.

BRAYER: I have a reel featuring a technique I use to apply paint irregularly to canvas. This is the video. I love this brayer.

I purchased several paper trimmers when I was making cards and enjoying rubber stamping. When I bought THIS TRIMMER, I never bought another. It stayed sharp.. I use this to trim EVERYTHING from labels to Card Club, to my mini’s…everything. I bought it in 2009! (No maintenance, no replacement blades….seriously- this is the gold standard if you need to make a card or trim paper for mini’s.)

From my free video tutorial on how to apply masking tape (painters tape) to your art for best results: I use a heat gun similar to this. A bone folder is a studio must have. I use this blue tape for gallery profile panels. I will soon be testing another tape for paper, stay tuned for the results.

CANVAS, PAPER AND WOOD PANELS

This unstretched canvas is a good price if you have space to hold a roll of it. If you want the ability to paint on unstretched VERY GOOD quality canvas, or like me, if you have a painting you want to store, then stretch new canvas on the stretcher bars you have, this is great. I credit this canvas to my creativity burst because it feels SOOOO good to paint on.

I purchased cheap and cheerful canvas panels off Amazon and they were terrible. Paint resisted on the surface and I found the product to be very inconsistent. I then switched to these panels sold by Blick and they are night and day. I am linking to the size you see most of my reel videos.

This is a very close canvas if you would like to buy it pre-stretched. I always paint on one or the other of these two canvases.I buy back stapled, gallery profile.

Arches watercolor paper is great. Sometimes, I use a light layer of gesso first. Watercolor paper is meant to absorb water, so acrylic paint will dry very fast on unprepared paper. I just purchased this paper to try with my RF Oil sticks.

These wood panels are REALLY great. You will need small grit sand paper. Before painting, I give light layer of GAC 100. Once dry, add a layer of gesso and sand it. Repeat until you have 3 layers of gesso and you will have an OUTSTANDING surface to work on. (Sand in a well ventilated area.)

Golden has updated their recommendation for prepping wood. Gloss Medium is now the preferred base layer before gesso. Please note- this is NOT gel medium, which would leave texture if used as the base. Gloss medium is the cousin to matte medium. Both are fluid and both can be used to adhere collage and extend paint. The difference between gloss medium and matte medium is that the gloss medium will dry crystal clear and if layered, the matte medium will begin to obscure what is beneath it.

OTHER

These mat and backing board sets are nice to frame works on paper. This is a double mat (which is extra nice) and this is the matching single mat. They are a fair price if you can’t make it to your frame store.

You can pull great prints with this paper and use it as collage which will appear to melt right into the surface of your art. (Amazon Affiliate link.)

I make art cards with these beautiful pre-made card and envelope sets. Paint directly on the card or apply collage.

I use this glass palette in my studio. I love the 16x20 size.

This is my easel! I purchased this solid oak (HEAVY) easel in 2011. If you are going to work on large paintings OR if you want to work flat AND standing…AND if you need this to fold up, I think it is great. This link will take you to the Dick Blick website where you can view more info.

PENS

A few pens that I love to have on my desk. I use these for greeting cards, packages, daily writing fun… I do not use these in the artwork that I sell. These glitter pens are awesome. I always use them over black ink or to decorate envelopes.

On paper or small paintings, I use these pens to sign my name. I like my signature small, so making the letters with a brush is too difficult. These pens are archival.

BOOKS

I co-wrote the book, “Acrylic Solutions” in 2013 and it is still available.

I also self-published the book “Caught Up in the Layers”, which you can purchase digitally or a paper copy by following this link.

My Expanding on Color Manual contains a load of color mixes. I suggest people look at all the mixes before buying paint colors. You can gain a great visual idea of how the paint will mix before you buy it. (Available in print or digital download).

Julie's Favorite Art Supplies