Kathleen Denis

Supply List

 

 

Updated 9/3/26

KATHLEEN DENIS SUPPLY LIST

Thank you for allowing me to help you in your art journey.  I hope you are as excited to learn some new things as I am to teach you how to become an even better artist!  Below is a list of my latest supplies; however, I often change items, so please check this online list as your class gets closer. Go to: http://kathleendenis.fineartstudioonline.com/page/27960/supply-list  

You will find lists that include General Supplies and those for your "Specific Class" items.  I look forward to seeing you soon!

CLASSES/WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:

  • Classes may be taught in Oils, Acrylics, or Gouache.  
  • All levels are welcome, but being familiar with your painting medium is beneficial.
  • Class/Workshop tuition includes the workshop instruction only (unless otherwise specified).  Each artist must bring their own equipment and art supplies unless indicated in advance.  Some art centers provide items, so inquire with them if needed.
  • I often have paintings with me which may be available to purchase.  I accept Cash, Checks, Zelle, or Venmo for payment.

 

GENERAL SUPPLIES:  (See Additional Supplies Below for YOUR SPECIFIC Class )

  • PAINTS - Oils, Acrylics, and Gouache:  Make sure to use professional-grade paints. I use a warm and a cool of each primary color as follows.  These colors are absolutely necessary for my Color Workshops and Classes if you want to mix as I do in my lessons:
    • Cadmium or Permanent Lemon (cool yellow)
    • Cadmium or Permanent Yellow or Yellow Medium (warm yellow) 
    • Cadmium or Permanent Red Light or Medium (warm red) 
    • Permanent Rose or Quinacridone Rose (cool red) 
    • Ultramarine Blue (cool blue) 
    • Pthalo Blue, Green Shade (warm blue) NOT RED SHADE
    • Titanium White (cool)
    • Additional Optional Colors:  Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Orange, Dioxazine Purple, Pthalo Green, Chromatic Black (by Gamblin) or Lamp Black, Indian Yellow, Transparent Oxide Red and Transparent Oxide Yellow.
    • Note: Utrecht makes Cadmium-Free colors for Oils and Acrylics! 
    • For Acrylics: I recommend soft or fluid paint. I like to use Golden Satin Glazing Liquid, for pre-mixing piles, allowing paints to stay wet longer, and to create transparent layers.
  • Brushes – 
    • Oil Classes - Long handle, variety of brushes. Sable and Bristle of various sizes and types. (Such as Flats, Long Flats and Filberts, Rounds and Riggers) I like Rosemary Brushes and Grey Matters Brushes best.
    • For "Let's Get Loose" Class: Chip Brushes in various sizes from Home Depot or Bonn Bristle Mottler by Creative Mark. 
    • Acrylic and Gouache Classes - I use cheap, short handle, synthetic brushes.)
  • Metal Palette Knife - for mixing paint.
  • Rubber Scrapers - Various sizes and types.  I like Spatchers by Creative Mark.
  • Palette -
    • For Plein Air painting, I use the inside of my Pochade Box.  
    • In the Studio I can use the inside of my Pochade Box, but I usually paint of a large pice of strong glass.
      • I paint the backside of my glass with a medium value Gray.
    • For Acrylic I often use Sta-Wet Box by Masterson with Sta-Wet paper. This works wonderfully for keeping paints wet longer in the palette.  
  • Easel -       
    • For Plein Air Classes: Portable Freestanding Pochade Box with Tripod - My favorite is by Strada.
    • For Studio Classes: Portable Freestanding Pochade Box with Tripod, or any standing easel or tabletop easels can be used if tables are provided.  Some Studios/Centers provide easels, so check with them before bringing your own.
  • Solvents and Mediums -
    • I use Cobra water-based oils, which only need water as a solvent, along with Walnut Oil as the medium.
    • Gamblin's Gamsol Solvent can be used for traditional oils.  Please DO NOT use anything with an odor in the studio.  You will be asked to remove it if so.
    • Gamblin's Solvent-Free Gel in tube, Solvent-Free Fluid in bottle, or Walnut Oil to help move the paint.
    • Containers for your solvents and mediums if needed.
    • Acrylics - I use mostly water, and I use Golden Acrylic Glazing Medium, a slow-drying extender. 
  • Canvases - 
    • For Lessons and Exercises:  Canvases, Canvas Sheets or Gessoed Paper –
      • I like "Yes!" brand Canvas Pads/Sheets (16x20), kinda pricey though.  
      • Or you can use large (scrap) canvases for exercises and divide them into several smaller boxes for lessons.
      • Or you could Gesso hard stock copy paper or any sort of board, like poster board.  Bring a few for each day.  
    • For Paintings:
      • Apprx. 1 Canvas per day – 9x12, 11x14, 12x16 or larger.  
      • I like a smooth surface, such as Jack Richeson Gessoed Hardboard, Ampersand Gesso Board, or Centurion Universal Primed Linen Panels (not oil-primed if using acrylics).  
      • You can also use Gessoed Birch Wood (with three coats of gesso, sanding after each coat).  
      • For Studio painting, you can use stretched canvases as long as they're not too rough a surface. You can gesso and sand them to make them smoother. They are not best for Plein Air because light comes through them. 
  • Sketch Pad for Value Studies and Sketching.  Medium or Large. 
  • Gray Value markers, or Black and White Paint, or Vine Charcoal and White Out - to make gray shades for Value Studies
  • Large Black Sharpie for Notans
  • Notebook and Pencil/Pen to take notes
  • Paper Towels (white soft Viva is my favorite) 
  • Plastic Grocery Bags for your trash
  • View Finder - View Catcher, Zoomfinder, or EasyL VF-68G 
  • Value Viewer – Red plastic.  EasyL has a good one, or you can make your own.
  • Color Wheel (Pocket size is convenient) Quiller Wheel is recommended.
  • Q-Tips - for lifting out paint 
  • APPS: If you are able, download the following Apps and/or Programs, as they can be helpful in the creative process, but not necessary - GridPainter, MobileMonet, ProCreate, or Photoshop (which is a bit pricey but great to have).
  • Reference Materials: A print of your reference is good, but using a digital form, such as a tablet or laptop, is also beneficial, as it allows for more clarity, better color, cropping and editing of images, and color adjustments.
    • Don’t forget your power cord and extension cord.

 

SUPPLIES FOR SPECIFIC CLASSES:

"VALUES ARE VALUABLE" CLASS - SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES:

  • Value Markers - Cool Gray 
  • Jumbo Sharpie Marker - for Notans
  • White-out Strip - To add highlights.
  • Sketch Pad - Large enough to make several sketches together.
  • Pencil and Eraser
  • For Black and White Painted Value Studies: 
    • Masterson’s Stay-Wet Palette - Small, 7 x 8.5 
    • Black and White Acrylic Paint - Any inexpensive brand will work, but DO NOT use Open Acrylic - we want them to dry quickly.
    • Size 2 & 4 Brushes - I use Princeton Aspen 6500F Flats.
    • Water in a Container

 

"LET'S GET LOOSE” CLASS - SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES: 

  • Brushes -
    • Various Sizes and Types of Brushes.
    • Chip brushes from Home Depot or Bonn Bristle Mottler by Creative Mark are good.
  • Photos – 
    • Pics of your favorite Loose or Abstract artists.
    • Your own photos that you want to paint from.
  • Large Canvas Sheets for Practicing:  
    • One or two for each class. Apprx. 16x20.  
      • An economical way is to buy cheap large poster board and gesso them. 
    • For Each Exercise You Will Need: 
      • One 16x20 canvas sheet, divided into six (6), 5x7 (approximately) boxes outlined with black marker.
  • Canvases for Paintings: We may not use all these but you’ll have them just in case.
    • One canvas for each day (Either 8x10, 9x12, 11x14 or larger).  
    • Smooth surface is best, such as Richeson Gessoed Hardboard or Centurion.
    • The rougher the surface the more difficult it is to move paint.  
    • Gesso and sanded helps smooth the surface of a rough canvas.
  • * You don’t need all my paint colors, since this isn’t a color class.

 

 

"GOUACHE” CLASSES - SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES:

  • Palette: Martin Universal Design Watercolor Palette on Amazon.  You want a palette without deep wells so you can mix without wells.  I sometimes use the inside plexiglass palette in my Strada pochade box.  A disposable paper palette can be used.
  • Paint Storage Box:  Transon Paint Storage Palette Box, 24 Wells, Airtight Stay Wet for Watercolor, Gouache, Acrylic and Oil Paint on Amazon.  I have 2 of them for additional colors but not necessary.
  • Brushes:  Almost any synthetic Acrylic brushes you have will work but you want variety of sizes such as the following: (Don’t feel like you have to get all of these)
    • Small pointed/round for little details. Sizes 4, 2, 1, 0
    • Flats – 12, 10, 6, 4, 2
    • I like: Raphael Precision 8534 in sizes 4, 6, 10, 12 - and 8524 in sizes 4, 2 and 0. 
  • Substrate Surface:  Paper for painting with gouache should be at least 140 lb.  There are various types of surfaces to paint on and I encourage you to try different ones to see what you like. I usually paint on small paper - 9x12.  No larger than 11x14
    • Here’s some examples: (the first 3 are my favorites) 
      • Canson Spiral Bound, Mix Media Art Book,138lb, 9 x 12 – on Amazon
      • Strathmore Toned paper for mixed media 140lb – on Amazon
      • Strathmore Mixed Media Board – 6 Sheets in a pack – on Amazon
      • Saunders Waterford 140lb cold-pressed paper – on Amazon
      • Moleskine watercolor notebook – on Amazon

* If you use single sheets of paper in lieu of a pad, make sure to use a board and clips to attach paper to.

  • Medium:  Winsor&Newton, Watercolor Blending Medium is what I use to help make the paint more fluid.  A must-have!
  • A dropper or dropper bottle: to put this in with your paints, and a stir stick like a popsicle stick.
  • Varnish: If you varnish in lieu of a frame and glass, I use like Krylon Gallery Series UV Archival Varnish Spray Gloss
  • Painters/Drafting Tape: Masking tape for watercolor painting – on Amazon
  • Watercolor Pencil – Optional – I sometimes like to sketch in a warm color such as orange.
  • Water Container
  • Pen/Pencil & Pad - for Notes
  • Small Spray Bottle (filled with distilled water is best to use)
  • Paper Towels

 

"DOG PORTRAIT CLASSES"

    SUGGESTED PAINT COLORS: 

  • Cadmium or Permanent Lemon
  • Cadmium or Permanent Yellow or Medium
  • Cadmium or Permanent Red Light or Medium 
  • Permanent Alizarin
  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Radiant Turquoise (Gamblin) (optional)
  • Pthalo Green or Veridian Green
  • Titanium White 
  • Permanent Oxide Red and/or Permanent Oxide Yellow 
  • Burnt Sienna 
  • Yellow Ochre
  • Terra Verde or Venetian Red

 

    BRUSHES:  

  • Use a variety of brushes and sizes that you have.  
  • Rosemary Brushes - Eclipse Long Filbert and Red Dot Short. https://www.rosemaryandco.com
  • Any well-used scraggly bristle brushes in a few sizes are great for fur.

   

    CANVAS SHEET OR LARGE CANVAS FOR LESSONS/EXERCISES:

  • 2 Large (16x20) canvas sheets, posterboard or canvases.  Important: Gesso (24 hours in advance) for a smooth surface.
  • If you use canvas sheets, you’ll a large board, and tape or clamps to attach them to the board.

    CANVASES FOR PAINTINGS: 

  • One canvases for painting final dog portrait.  Apprx. 9x12, 11x14 or 12x16
  • I like a smooth surface, so you can Gesso to any canvas. The rougher the surface the more difficult it is to move paint.

 

FOR PLEIN AIR CLASSES - SPECIFIC ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES:

  • Carrying Case for supplies
  • Wet Canvas Carriers – I like PanelPak best.  “Wet Painting Tote” by Artmate” is good too.  If you paint in acrylics you won’t need this.
  • Various Bungee Cords and Clips – you never know!
  • Umbrella – For Plein Air - My favorite is EasyL by Art Essentials.  Clips onto my Tripod
  • Sitting Stool – For Plein Air - if you like to sit to paint and for when I’m teaching
  • Other Things - Bug Spray, Sunscreen, Hat, Water, Comfortable Shoes