I have provided links along with each recommended plein air painting supply so that you can buy what you need without delay. If you want to skip the blog and just start shopping, just click the button below, and I will link you to a shopping cart filled with all the essentials. Remember that you can add and remove items to your heart’s content.

Disclaimer: None of these people give me money—these recommendations are from the heart because I like you! 😉

SKIP THE BLOG AND START SHOPPING…

THE SURFACE

 When painting plein air, I recommend working on panels instead of stretched canvases. Why? Sunlight shines through stretched canvases making it very difficult to see your painting. I make my panels(Look for a future blog about that), but Ampersand makes my favorite premade panels. Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

It's true. Ampersand Museum Series Gessobord ™ is the most trusted pre-gessoed wood panel by artists for their work. The superior, professional quality acrylic gesso ground does not dull colors, and the wonderful lightly sanded surface provides exceptional paint adhesion and brush control. The bright titanium white ground makes colors pop, or can easily be tinted with any ground color of choice.  Just unwrap and paint, no additional priming needed!  Choose from 1/8" Flat Panels, 3/4" Cradled, 1.5" and 2” Deep Cradled Panels, all made in the USA

Panels sizes 9x12, 11x14, or 12x16 inches will work well for plein air painting.

SHOP FOR AMPERSAND PANELS

THE BRUSHES

I recommend bristle brushes sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. I use both flats and filberts along with a small, round watercolor brush for details. Robert Simmons Signet brushes have been my brush of choice for a decade, and I love them! I also use Rosemary Brushes and packs of cheap synthetic craft brushes. Every brush makes a unique mark, and I encourage you to buy a mix of synthetic and natural bristles.

SHOP FOR ROBERT SIMONS SIGNET BRUSHES

THE PAINTS

I use paints made by Holbein exclusively, and I can’t recommend them highly enough! This is what they have to say about their product: 

Holbein Extra-Fine Artists' Oil Colors are one of the world’s most exquisite colors. It is by far the best technically manufactured paint—ground up to 10 times to achieve a universally consistent viscosity! Each Holbein Artists' Oil Color is modified to compensate for the inherent differences in the working characteristics of the pigment. The entire manufacturing process is monitored to insure optimum quality, as it relates to pigment purity, color tone, applicability and adhesion, physical stability, light stability, thermostability and antibacterial stability.

If you want to take a better look at Holbein, visit their website by clicking HERE.

THESE ARE THE COLORS I RECOMMEND FOR PLEIN AIR

It would be wise to 110ml tube of Titanium White and 40ml tubes of all the others. A small tube of white will not get you very far.

Shop for Holbein Extra Fine Artists' Oil Colors

ODORLESS MINERAL SPIRITS

I use odorless mineral spirits(OMS) throughout my painting process to keep my brushes clean. I also mix it with my oil paint for the very first layers of my painting. REMEMBER that the TSA will not let you fly with OMS.

MEDIUM

I recommend using a gel medium for your plein air work because you can squeeze the gel onto your pallet without it running all over the place. I prefer the Galkyd Gel, but the Solvent-Free is completely non-toxic.

THE EASEL

THE CLASSIC

There are many different kinds of plein air easels on the market, and the most common is the French easel design. This classic easel folds down to the size of a suitcase with plenty of storage space for your brushes and paints. Here is a video to give you a better idea.

The number one complaint about this kind of easel is that they are HEAVY and a little challenging to set up. Still, this design is sturdy and gets the job done, as long as you buy a good one—my next point.

MADE IN FRANCE

A cheap French easel will fall apart after a few years of heavy use but one made by Jullian Paris will hold up for decades. My friend and fellow artist, Steven Hileman has used his Jullian French easel for twenty-five years and it is still going strong.

But, why take my word for it when you could take Wintson Churchill’s?

“I am easily satisfied with the best” — Sir Winston Churchill (A famous user of the Jullian easel)

SHOP FOR A JULLIAN EASEL

MADE IN AMERICA

But, I own and love a Strada Easel! World-class plein air painter, Bryan Mark Taylor created this easel. I think that is why the Strada is so great—it was designed by an artist for other artists. Watch the video below to see just how well this easel works for outdoor painting.

Strada offers five different sized premium easels along with backpacks, tripods, and everything else you need to get started. The only drawback is that these easels are a little on the expensive side when compared with a Jullian.

SHOP STRADA EASEL’S STORE

EXTRAS