INSTRUCTOR: Shira Avidor
COURSE: Painting I (PT100-5)
MATERIALS NEEDED:  Paint – Oil:
  • WHITE – Titanium
  • BLACK (During the first few weeks of the school year, all students work monochromatically – black and white only. Black is then removed from the palette until later in the year when students are better able to use it effectively.)
  • BROWN – Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber will be used as the first color added to the black and white palette. Burnt Umber looks warmer when thinned but quickly becomes quite cool when mixed with white. Burnt Sienna is a warmer brown color and will work well when used with a black and white palette.
  • RED – Choose one red. All others are optional. Possibilities include Cadmium Red Light, Medium, or Deep (all cadmium reds are on the orange side; “deep” is the least orange of all); Vermilion, Napthol Red.
  • YELLOW -- Cadmium Yellow Light. A light yellow gives a greater range of color mixing possibilities. Darker yellows, such as ochre or mars, are great “shortcut” colors and can be relatively inexpensive. Naples Yellow can also be a great “shortcut” color, but be aware that it has been weakened by the addition of white. These “shortcut” colors are optional.
  • BLUE – Ultramarine. Other blues are optional: Cerulean is a strong color and can be quite expensive. It has a certain amount of yellow in it that allows for bright green mixtures but cannot mix a satisfactory violet. Cobalt is rather transparent, has good mixing capabilities for green and violet, but it will not produce quite as dark a value as ultramarine. It can also be expensive. Pthalo Blue is an extremely strong color that can often dominate a painting. It has great tinting properties. Beginners should be wary of this pigment’s invasive tendencies. It is relatively easy to end up with an overall greenish-blue tinge throughout the painting because of this pigment’s strength.

Medium / Media of choice:

  • Just as watercolor need water, oil paints may need a medium. Linseed oil mixed with turpenoid (a turpentine alternative) is a fine medium. Stand oil (boiled linseed oil) can also be mixed with solvent and used as a medium.

Brushes:

  • Larger brushes – one inch wide or two inches wide – will help develop painting skills much more effectively than tiny brushes ½ inch wide or smaller. Tiny brushes encourage tiny strokes which, in turn, encourage over-painting and over- detailing. Larger brushes require adept brush handling and encourage economy.

Solvent/Thinner:

  • Turpenoid or Eco-House orange solvent. No Grumtine or Turpentine.

Canvas or panels:

  • Stretched canvas, canvas board (okay for student problems, not for masterpieces), gessoed masonite, primed canvas pieces, etc.

Other materials:

  • Palette.
  • Palette knife (for cleaning palette, mixing paints, scraping areas of painting.)
  • Paper towels.
  • Cotton rags. 
  • Masking tape. 
  • Pencil or pen. 
  • Small notebook for thumbnail sketches. 
  • Bag to hold materials. 
  • Rubber gloves – if needed, mineral oil for cleaning skin, “barrier cream” or “invisible glove” hand cream can be useful.
COURSE: 2D & 3D Design (PT160)
MATERIALS NEEDED: During the fall semester, we will not use color. Instead, we will work with black, white, and all the grays in between. Rather than bring everything on this materials list to every class, simply be sure to bring a small assortment of materials. Black construction paper is useful, especially during the first few weeks. Paper, scissors, rubber cement, markers, and pencils are necessary.

Materials listed in bold type will be needed on the first day or during the first couple of weeks:
  • X-acto knife or scissors
  • 14 x 17 inch Strathmore drawing pad or equivalent.
  • Rubber cement or glue.
  • Black markers - at least one fine tip pencil.
  • Construction paper - black, white, gray.
  • Kneaded eraser or Magic-Rub eraser.
  • Box to hold materials -- Artbin, tackle box, whatever works.
  • Sketchbook or notebook -- you must have cheap paper for thumbnail sketches.
  • Ink - India ink or black rapidograph ink for filling in large black areas
  • Envelopes - large, to hold cut shapes.
  • Portfolio to hold your artwork - it can simply be two pieces of cardboard taped together.
  • Brushes - preferably 1 inch or ½ inch watercolor brushes.
  • Ruler - optional.
  • Palette tray for ink washes and paint -- white or clear plastic.
  • Plate, ice cube tray, whatever works.

The following items will be used later in the semester:

  • Foam board or stiff cardboard.
  • Aluminum wire or inexpensive galvanized wire.
  • Wire clippers or needle-nosed pliers.
COURSE: COLOR AND DESIGN (PT165)
MATERIALS NEEDED: Bring items marked ** on first day.

Optional text:
"The Elements of Color", by Johannes Itten, 1970 – A treatise on the color system of Johannes Itten based on his book "The Art of Color."

WATERBASED PAINTS: Oil paints are NOT allowed in this classroom. Be prepared to use opaque, water-based paints on the very first day of class. Students may choose to work with different types of paint during this course. My favorite is gouache, an opaque watercolor. It is marvelous in producing flat areas of consistent color. It lightens, somewhat, as it dries. Many students use acrylic well, although many do complain about how quickly it dries and how difficult it can be to achieve flat, unstreaky color. Tempera is also a fine option.

**COLORS: Choose one “warm” and one “cool” version of each primary color.
Red – In choosing a red, be sure to unscrew the cap and see the color for yourself. In order to make a good standard red, a “fire engine” red that is neither too pink or too orange, you’ll need a warmer red (perhaps CADMIUM RED MEDIUM or LIGHT – cadmium colors are rather orange, especially cad. Red light – but look at the medium and dark cadmium reds, for they can be excellent but do vary from brand to brand) and a cooler red (possibilities include “primary red,” NAPTHOL RED, or QUINACRIDONE RED. Alizarin crimson is a gorgeous color but can be invasive.
Yellow – Choose a light, bright yellow, such as CADMIUM YELLOW LIGHT, haansa yellow, or LEMON YELLOW. Mars yellow and cadmium yellow look warmer when compared with haansa or lemon yellow, which look rather cool. (Naples yellow is not a possibility because it has been diluted with white.)
Blue – ULTRAMARINE BLUE and CERULEAN BLUE are great choices. Ultramarine contains a lot of red while cerulean contains green. (A “dangerous” alternative to cerulean is pthalo blue; it is extremely potent and may be overpowering and invasive. You may want to try pthalo later – one of its attributes is its ability to be tinted quite light without losing its color strength. Another alternative is Prussian blue, yet its dark value may be problematic for our exercises. An alternative to ultramarine is cobalt, which is lovely but does lack the dark value range of ultramarine.)
White
Black – you probably won’t use a whole tube of black

**small container to hold water
**brushes – preferably watercolor brushes (flexible but not limp) ½ inch wide or ¼ inch wide to even 1 or 2 inches wide
**palette tray for color mixing – a white or clear plastic plate works well, or even those clear plastic egg cartons
**Xacto knife or scissors
**14” x 17” Strathmore drawing pad or other sturdy paper
**rubber cement or glue
tracing paper – optional, but very helpful
pencil and eraser;
sketchbook or notebook -- you must have cheap paper for “thumbnails”
box to hold materials -- Artbin, tackle box, whatever works
envelopes - large, to hold cut shapes
portfolio to hold your artwork - it can simply be two pieces of cardboard taped together
ruler - optional


 
COURSES:

Figure Painting I (PT 270)

Figure Painting II (PT370, PT470)

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Paints: (brands Gamblin/Winsor Newton/Williamsburg)

  • raw umber
  • burnt sienna
  • ochre
  • cadmium orange
  • cadmium red
  • quinacridone magenta
  • cadmium yellow
  • ultramarine blue
  • viridian green
  • titanium white

Spirits

  • linseed oil
  • Liquin
  • Gum Arabic
  • Turpenoid

Brushes - Winsor Newton/The art store/Simmons

  • Brights, 3 - 4 sizes, small, medium ans large (1/4", 1/2"/ 3/4" 1")  the smaller ones should be soft watercolor style, the larger ones bristle.
  • Filberts, 3 - 4 sizes (1/2", 1", 1 1/4") all bristle
  • Round small brush for details - sable or artificial

Canvas/Panel Surfaces

  • Birch plywood or masonite panels (different sizes - smallest 12" x 12", largest 40" x 50")
  • Canvas unprimed linen or cotton
  • Stretchers (various sizes, same as panels)
  • Gesso
  • Rabbit skin glue
  • any 2" - 2 1/2" brush without hair falling out to apply gesso
  • Palette - wood or formica - no paper
  • Palette knife for color mixing, not painting

Extra Materials

  • Pencils 3B/6B; regular eraser; sketch paper (newsprint); metal rular 25" or larger
Revised: August 18, 2008