MY ART SUPPLIES

ByPamela Wingard
golden paint acrylic painting supplies

My art supplies vary depending on what I’m painting. And trust me, I’ve tried them all – oils, watercolors, graphite, charcoal, oil pastels, oil sticks, cold wax, gouache, colored pencils, markers, and Conte crayons, to name a few. Lol. Like most artists, buying art supplies is almost as fun as making art. I’ve had to restrain myself, but it’s not easy!

As far a brushes go, I use a variety, and most are inexpensive, because I tend to not treat them as well as I should. I get in a hurry cleaning them and sometimes have to restore them with solvent because I’ve left paint in them. Also, brushes from the hardware store make for great texture and marks. I like Princeton synthetics too, and I try to take better care of them.

art supplies pamela wingard brushes

Although I learned to paint using oils, I paint primarily with acrylics these days and use gouache when I travel. I do use other art supplies in my work as I layer various mediums, including charcoal, graphite, and oil sticks.

woodys and charcoal


It’s so easy to get excited by all the different art supplies and paint colors!

So many pretty colors! However, my paintings improved once I started mixing my paint colors and learning how they interact. As much as I love buying art supplies, using fewer paint colors and understanding how they interact helped me grow as a painter. Knowing and taking the time to think about which paints are transparent and opaque and which are cooler or warmer made a big difference in my process and my art. Taking the time to learn how to mix colors makes for more unified and cohesive paintings. It also makes it easier to remember what I used to get a specific shade and remix it if I needed more paint. And it saves money on art supplies!

So, to simplify my palette and creative process, I have narrowed my ‘core palette’ of Golden paints.

golden paints pamela wingard

I still like to buy art supplies and will spring for an occasional tube of a fun color or something new, but this is what I use for the most part. I wouldn’t call it a ‘limited palette’ by any means, but it does provide a warm and cool for each primary, neutrals, and my favorite ‘Green Gold’ color. Most of my paints are Golden, but I’ve also used Liquitex, and I love the ‘premixed’ acrylic paint colors that Charvin makes. I’ve chosen alternatives to cadmium yellow and red because of its reputation for toxicity. I use Liquitex matte and gloss mediums as well as their glazing medium.

Art Supplies: My Core Palette

  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)
  • Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
  • Hansa or Benzimidazolone Yellow Light
  • Benzimidazolone Yellow Medium
  • Yellow Ochre
  • Vat Orange
  • Pyrrole Red
  • Alizarin Crimson
  • Jenkins Green
  • Green Gold
  • Titanium White
  • Zinc White
  • Payne’s Gray

One of my goals for 2023 is to simplify my life, and I tend to make things complicated. Simplifying my palette and the number of art supplies I buy has streamlined my process and allowed me to be more deliberate when I paint.

painting supplies pamela wingard
my art supplies pamela wingard

Want to read about traveling with art supplies? Or see my newest collection?

What are your thoughts?