This is a post that I think mostly only really interest other artists as they know the pleasure of new art materials. Yes, I guess it I have to admit it is a form of shopping therapy.
But that aside, it all does have practical uses. I'm merciless when it comes to my small synthetic brushes. They barely retain their original shape after a few oil paintings. So I've now resigned myself to accept that this will be the way of things and I'll just have to calculate that into my production costs.
The small rounds are for details of course, but I've come to love working with flats not only for covering surfaces, but also using their sharp edges and corners for details. The down side is, after a while of this sort of (ab)use they lose that nice crisp edge. Again, I'm going to have to accept the "collateral damage".
The canvases are self explanatory. The small bag of brass fittings are the hanging system I attach to the reverse side of the canvases.
Last on the list for today is refined poppy oil. I've never worked with it before, but I'm going to test out its slower drying time. With the combination of oil pigments I use and their thin application, they tend to dry rather quickly, which I am usually grateful for. However there are some occasions it would be beneficial if they stayed open for longer, especially on palette. I like to save myself the work of mixing up new batches of colour and having to attempt matching it to the previous mix.
I have plenty to keep me busy materials wise, and certainly much more with artworks to finish.
Watch this space...