Acrylic paints can be harsh on paint brushes so I tend to use nylon brush packs. I like the mixed packs as they have a little of everything I would use (round, flat edge, angle edge, fan, filbert etc). As I am a big fan of using anything to create a painting it makes sense to ensure I have a little bit of everything. I don't have any preference for any brand.
This used to be a very difficult question for me to answer because I wanted to paint everything.
However, as my work has become more established I have found that painting a subject you are passionate about is vital. Also the process of painting is important (more about process in the Q&A)
I am passionate about woodlands. My paintings capture the structure of the woods and the colour captures the way I feel in the woods.
Yes I am.
David Hockney
He is my colour guru and a wonderful contemporary artist who has given time to talk about art.
John Sargent
A wonderful portrait artist whose confident brush strokes take my breath away.
William Turner
His ability to create atmosphere in his paintings is beautiful.
Quentine Blake
His magnificent scribbly illustrations for the Roald Dahl's books are full of character and confidence.
First of all lets clarify what tracing may mean.
Tracing another persons work to recreate their painting is morally wrong and illegal.
Should you have created a sketch that you would like to transfer to a canvas, you may need to trace it to get it right. I prefer to call this mapping than tracing. As a painter I only need to transfer across the component parts such as where the eyes, nose or focal point is. Once I start painting over the marks made from the mapping process all the lines will disappear. If you trace every signal line and then colour it in like you would a colouring book, then that is not a good method and will hinder your painting.
However, you may join an art workshop or online class where there is a drawing that the teacher would like you to transfer to a canvas or appropriate paper. This is permissible as you are learning a painting process and it is sometimes easier for the teacher to give you an outline drawing they have created for you to use. In this case you are not doing anything wrong, you are learning.
If you use tracing as a way of avoiding learning to draw, I wouldn't recommend it.
Practicing how to draw will always make your work better even if you are primarily a painter.
Hope this helps?
First of all lets clarify what process means.
It's simply the recipe of the mixing and layering method. A bit like making a cake.
For me my process is usually the following:
Visit woodlands - usually locally with my dog Ella.
Sketch woodlands - its important I get the structure of the landscape
Paint ideas onto paper
For bespoke sizes I will construct a canvas
Prepare the canvas with a layer of gesso
Choose the colours I wish to use that represent how I felt in the landscape e.g. at peace
Lay down a layer of background colour using my fingers, large brushes, rags or feathers
Start to build up the composition of the background trees using small brushes
Work on the midground, increasing the size of brushes
Work on the foreground using large brushes, palette knives and/or old credit cards to add texture
Standing back and ensuring the composition is correct throughout the process
Details are added
Ensure edges are completed
Sign it on the front
Add details to the back
Finished and ready to sell or hand over to a client
Other artists may start with the foreground first and then fill in the background or they may draw an elaborate sketch and use it to guide them like a more sophisticated colour in book. Some will throw paint at the canvas/surface until they get something they like, usually for abstract work.
The process is individual to the artists and what makes art so fascinating to look at. Each artists interpretation of their subject plus their process is why art is so unique.