Richard Plein Air painting in Alaska, using his hand-made easel and painting box.
Tools & Materials
A note from Richard
Please understand that while I recommend the products I use, I do so only because they work well for me. I do not guarantee nor endorse them or have any business or financial relationship with any manufacturers of them.
I have my favorite materials just as you do. I pick and choose from several different brands to suit my needs. I do not have a degree in paint chemistry or the way art supplies are manufactured, but I have taken the trouble over the years to learn enough chemistry and other information, including the developmental history of artist’s materials, to understand how my materials behave. I know how I should use them to not only maximize permanence but to get the most out of my colors. What I give you here is what has worked best for me over the years.
“Don’t be afraid of your paints and tools. Be in charge.” - RS
brushes
“Brushes are my little friends…
They must be in a condition to perform for me. If the bristles or hairs are choked with dried paint where they go into their ferrules, they will lack the “spring” I need, and if they are not evenly shaped at the point, I consider them useless. Working with bad brushes is like playing the piano while wearing boxing gloves.
For my brushes, I now use Rosemary & Co Brushes exclusively. Rosemary offers a Richard Schmid bundle (my most frequently used brushes).”
– RS
ROSEMARY & COMPANY
PO Box 372, Keighley
West Yorkshire, BD20 6WZ England
Tel: (01535) 600090
www.RosemaryandCo.com
Photo courtesy of Rosemary & Co.
Palette Knives
“The ability to use a palette knife well is like having a whole new language.
Palette knife is an amazingly versatile instrument, and is such a different way of manipulating paint. Used skillfully, the knife can also be used to create effects beyond the reach of any brushes.
Learning and experimenting with palette knife painting may seem uninteresting and trying at times, and also hard to learn, but it is well worth the effort to acquire the skill. Most artists have to learn by experimenting on their own, as I did.” – RS
“My palette knives are Italian made (bought many years ago), and are very thin and flexible. There are many brands on the market today. Look for the ones called painting knives. They have the delicacy and flexibility necessary for precise painting.” – RS
Palette
“One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to keep your palette clean and orderly.
Lay your colors out in a sensible order, and with generous amounts of paint.
I have always preferred a glass palette for studio work as well as for my landscape painting because it is so easy to clean with a razor paint scraper and alcohol. For a landscape palette, I use a smaller, lighter weight window glass, glued to a very thin piece of gray-painted plywood.” – RS
Watch and listen to Richard explain his palette colors.
PAINT
(Oil colors)
“With these few colors I can duplicate virtually all the other manufactured colors (at least those worth bothering with).
Here’s a list of colors on my basic palette as well as additional colors I use as needed or just for fun.” – RS
additional colors
Cadmium Orange Deep
Cadmium Scarlet
Venetian Red
Cobalt Violet Light
Cobalt Violet Deep
Phthalo Green
Main Color Pallete
Cadmium Lemon
Cadmium Yellow Light
Cadmium Yellow Deep
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red
Permanent Alizarin Crimson (W&N)
Alizarin Permanent (Gamblin)
Terra Rosa
Yellow Ochre Light (or Pale)
Transparent Oxide Red
Transparent Oxide Brown
Viridian
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Titanium White
“Whether you work with oils, watercolor, pastels, charcoal, acrylic, conté, or all of these—study them! Experiment endlessly, see what they can do and what they can’t. Master them rather than the reverse.” - RS
color charts
“My advice (plea) to you is to do the charts for your sake.
Surprisingly, the charts took only two weeks to complete, and when I finished I knew more about my paint than I had ever thought possible. It was an astonishing experience—imagine being taken into the kitchen of a great chef and shown everything he could do with flavors. That was what it was like for me!
There was nothing tedious or boring about doing the charts. Each was a revelation of the power awaiting me when I did start painting.” – RS
Three examples of Richard’s color charts
Cadmium Red
Yellow Ochre Pale
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Two examples of Richard’s traveling color charts
color charts
“My advice (plea) to you is to do the charts for your sake.”
Surprisingly, the charts took only two weeks to complete, and when I finished I knew more about my paint than I had ever thought possible. It was an astonishing experience—imagine being taken into the kitchen of a great chef and shown everything he could do with flavors. That was what it was like for me!
There was nothing tedious or boring about doing the charts. Each was a revelation of the power awaiting
me when I did start painting.” ~ RS
Two examples of Richard’s traveling color charts
Three examples of Richard’s color charts
Cadmium Red
Yellow Ochre Pale
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Paint (Oil colors)
“My advice (plea) to you is to do the charts for your sake.”
Three examples of my color charts.
Cadmium Red
Yellow Ochre Pale
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Two examples of my traveling color charts.
To the right is a list of colors on my basic palette as well as additional colors I use as needed or just for fun.
Below is a list of colors on my basic palette as well as additional colors I use as needed or just for fun.
Main Color Pallete
Cadmium Lemon
Cadmium Yellow Light
Cadmium Yellow Deep
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
(W&N)
Alizarin Permanent (Gamblin)
Terra Rosa
Yellow Ochre Light (or Pale)
Transparent Oxide Red
Transparent Oxide Brown
Viridian
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Titanium White
additional colors
Cadmium Orange Deep
Cadmium Scarlet
Venetian Red
Cobalt Violet Light
Cobalt Violet Deep
Phthalo Green
Varnish
“I apply a finishing varnish to a painting when it is sufficiently dry. I allow three months for more heavily painted artworks. I no longer use the varnish I have referred to in my books and prior websites because of a recent problem in their application.
Today I use a conservator varnish, which is completely stable. It not only protects my artworks, but brings out all of my colors and values, and I can adjust the varnish for any degree of gloss I wish.” – RS
The varnishes are:
CONSERVATOR’s PRODUCTS COMPANY
UV Stable Finishing Varnish
UV Stable Matte Varnish
Oils & Solvents
Rectified Turpentine Pure Spirits
Gamblin Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits
Cold Pressed Linseed Oil
Stand Oil
Lacquer Thinner
Acetone
Denatured Alcohol
Paper Towels
I am often asked what type of paper towels I use. In fact, it’s one the most frequently asked questions I get. I use VIVA paper towels (not Viva Vantage).
Did you know that Richard designed and made his easels and paintboxes by hand?
Detailed descriptions on how Richard used these materials can be found in
ALLA PRIMA II and
ALLA PRIMA II COMPANION.
Detailed descriptions on how Richard used his tools & materials are found in his books, ALLA PRIMA II and ALLA PRIMA II COMPANION.
