William Noonan Oil Painting Class Color List - OIL PAINTS 3 yellows + 3 reds + 3 blues + white + black + 4 earth tones = 15 tubes of paint         Yellows: yellow green or cinnabar or lemon yellow (yellowish green) cadmium yellow light (true yellow) hansa yellow deep (school bus yellow color) Reds:  alizarin crimson, magenta or quinacridone (purplish red)  cadmium red or cadmium red medium (true red)  cadmium red light (orangey red) Blues:  french ultramarine (purplish blue) cobalt blue (true blue) viridian or turquoise or prussian green (greenish blue) White: Permalba white (any white is fine... I prefer this brand) Black: ivory black (beginners will not use this color) Earth Tones: raw umber burnt sienna yellow ochre mars violet don’t worry about brand, avoid “hues”(imitation pigments) on the cadmium red and the cobalt, otherwise student grade paints are fine. Paint names may vary from brand to brand get pigments that match color descriptions such as “school bus yellow”. BRUSHES I like china bristle filberts the best. You will need to start out with a good range. Start with at least one filbert of each of these sizes #2,3,4,5,6. A good rule of thumb is that you should have brushes that are approximately the size and range of your finger nails.  Avoid synthetic bristles- they don’t stand up to the rigors of oil painting. As you paint you will discover which brushes you like best and you will continue to add to your brushes. My experience is that brushes that come in “sets” are cheaply made and not worth it. SOLVENT Gamsol or Turpanoid or some other odor free mineral spirit is best. You don’t need a big can - you will use this sparingly. The “Turpanoid Natural” is great for cleaning brushes but you will not want to use it on your painting. PALETTE I use the “Tupperware” type with the blue lid and a 1/4 in plate glass inside it. you may want to start out with a disposable paper palette. PALETTE KNIFE I like the kind that has a bend in the handle and is shaped like a pointy trowel. CANVAS The surface you paint on will depend on your preference and the task at hand. For beginners it’s best to have a few canvas boards to start out with around 9x12 or 10x14. Canvas boards are relatively inexpensive and are easy to cary. I like to paint on gessoed paper. Any rag paper with three coats of acrylic gesso works fine. return to previous page