mindful art studio

favorite
SUPPLIES

These are some of the supplies that I most enjoy using in the studio. I believe in having a few, good quality supplies that behave like they should instead of cluttering my space with many that don’t work quite right. This is a link to my Amazon Affiliate store, you can shop there and support my work if you wish. Happy creating!

PAINTS

WATERCOLORS

I love a good travel watercolor set. Not only does it allow me to create on the go, it makes doing watercolor at home seem more accessible too.

Favorite acrylic paint

HIGH FLOW ACRYLICS

High flow acrylics move like milk and make beautiful patterns all of their own.

Favorite acrylic paint

WATERPROOF INK

I enjoy working with ink with a bamboo brush to make beautiful, organic marks in my journal, or to obscure something.

BRUSHES

artists favorite paint brushes

ACRYLIC + MIXED MEDIA BRUSHES

These brushes aare a great all around set. They work for acrylics, watercolor and mixed media. I use them principally with my acrylics, however.

Well brush

PORTABLE WATER BRUSH

Water brushes are my favorite way to paint with watercolors in my journal. Whether I’m out in the woods, or at my kitchen counter while the water is boiling, having the water in the brush just makes getting started too easy to pass it up.

Script Liner Brush

WATERCOLOR BRUSHES

I love the Dick Blick Golden Taklon brush series. Go for the Scholastic series, and for a better set, go for the Masterstroke Series.

artists favorite paint brushes

MEDIUM BAMBOO BRUSH

I love bamboo brushes and the organic shapes they so easily make. I use them with ink and watercolor.

Well brush

LARGE BAMBOO BRUSH

This is a wishlist item for me – I have not yet used it, but am keen to try for large washes.

Script Liner Brush

BAMBOO BRUSH ASSORTED SIZES

You might like to have an assortment of sizes. I find I use the size 6 the most. 

PALETTES

People often ask about my large, ceramic watercolor palette. You can easily get a white plate from a thrift shop. However, if, like me, you find you need more space to spread out with your paint, I love this porcelain tray. It measures 26.5 x 39.5 cm.

FOUNTAIN PEN SUPPLIES

phone holder for live teaching

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

Currently this is the fountain pen that feels most comfortable in my hand. It’s their most popular pen.

best ring light

Lamy Z28 Converter, Black

This is the reusable cartridge that allows you to pour ink from a glass bottle into the pen, instead of using plastic throw away cartridges.

best lighting for videos

Lamy Nib Black Extra Fine

This is an extra fine nib for drawing detailed work of the type I typically do.

phone holder for live teaching

Lamy Joy Calligraphy Fountain Pen

I’ve just begun exploring using fountain pens with refillable cartridges to cut on plastic waste from pens. This pen is a popular choice.

best ring light

deAtramentis Document Ink Urban Sienna

I love this ink. It’s a gorgeous light sepia color. It’s waterproof – great for mixing with watercolor work.

best lighting for videos

deAtramentis Document Ink Black

This is a wonderful waterproof ink for drawing with my fountain pens.

phone holder for live teaching

Sailor Fude de Mannen Fountain Pen

I’ve just begun exploring using fountain pens with refillable cartridges to cut on plastic waste from pens. This pen has a bent Fude nib that does a thin line one direction and thick the other.

best ring light

Sailor Fountain Pen Converter, Black

This is the reusable cartridge that allows you to pour ink from a glass bottle into the pen, instead of using plastic throw away cartridges.

best lighting for videos

De Atramentis Document Ink Black

This is a waterproof black ink that works well with fountain pens.

DISPOSABLE PENS + MARKERS

best drawing pens

DRAWING PENS*

A good drawing pen is so fun to use. Something that doesn’t pool ink when you pause is super important. I have information about refillable fountain pens to help cut on plastic in the section just above this one. Micron pens are typically single use. Some folks do have luck refilling; look on Youtube for guidance.

best white gel pen

WHITE GEL PEN

I love using gel pens and paint pens on high flow acrylics in my journal. This is my favorite white gel pen. It stays put on the page and doesn’t transfer as much as some other brands.

Favorite Paint Pen

PAINT PENS

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Posca Paint Pens. They are a blast for creating both drawings and details over acrylic and high flow acrylic paints. What fun! 

ART JOURNALS

Moleskine art journal

HANDMADE COPTIC JOURNAL

Once you know you are into art journaling, making your own journal is an incredibly satisfying practice. I have a class where I teach you how step by step in photos, written instruction, and a video.

Strathmore Watercolor Journal

STRATHMORE WATERCOLOR JOURNAL

When I want to work a wee bit bigger, this Strathmore is my go to journal. I love the beautiful cover, and thick, quality paper. I have used my high flow acrylics in 5 or 6 layers and these books held up amazingly well. This means I have room for mistakes and do-overs. YAY! 

Handbook journal

HANDBOOK WATERCOLOR JOURNAL

Handbook, like Moleskine comes with a handy elastic to hold the journal closed, as well as coming in different fun sizes and colors. These journals also have lovely quality paper, not quite as sturdy as Strathmore, but the price is more economic.

PAPER

best watercolor paper

WATERCOLOR PAPER

Watercolor paper and I are friends. I use it for painting with watercolors, high flow acrylics, for making inchies, and for making my own handmade journals. 

best paper for paper cutting

TRACING PAPER

This is one of the papers I use for creating layers of drawing in my art journal. 

fluid art paper

MIXED MEDIA PAPER

This is the paper I use to create the “mini masterpieces” with high flow acrylic paint in Fluid Art. It’s a nice strong base for this very heavy technique. 

GLUE

best art journaling glue

YES PASTE

YES paste is my go to adhesive for a lot of jobs. I use it for a lot of the glueing in hand made journals and tunnel journals, as well as glueing small pieces to backgrounds. You apply the glue with an old credit card or a palette knife. I use this in the BIG ART, Fluid Art, and Handmade art journals classes, amongst others.

PVA glue bookbinding

PVA GLUE

PVA glue is a book binding glue. It’s acid free and is lovely to brush on. I use it in making my own journals and sometimes in collage work too. 

gel medium for art journaling

NORI PASTE

Nori paste is a natural, acid free adhesive. 

PAPER CUTTING SUPPLIES

Best paper cutting knife

PAPER CUTTING KNIFE

I like to use the Xacto Gripster together with the #11 Excel blades. The Gripster has a very comfortable handle, but the Excel blades are wonderful, but also more economic. 

best paper cutting mat

ALVIN SELF-HEALING CUTTING MAT

This is a wonderful, high quality mat. I like the larger size to start because you can work on small, but also larger projects. 

best paper for paper cutting

PAPER CUTTING PAPER

The 300 series Strathmore drawing paper is great paper cutting. Not too tough to cut through, but does not tear easily.

CAMERA AND TECH SUPPLIES

phone holder for live teaching

CAMERA HOLDER

People frequently ask how I hold my phone to show my art as I teach. This is the tool that holds the phone for me. I also use a tripod with a clamp holding a piece of wood over my table, depending on what I’m doing. 🙂

best ring light

CANVAS LAMP

This is what I use to hold my phone while I film. It’s the best light and phone holder I’ve found and comes from a family owned company. 

best lighting for videos

UMBRELLA LIGHT

I have two of these lights to create a natural, bright light that makes the picture look good both in photos and on video. 

art journaling habit, art journal addict

I’m Amy!

Hi, I’m Amy, the founder of Mindful Art Studio. I believe we are all artists, and I love having the opportunity to help nurture the artist in you. I think buying just a few, high-quality supplies, and then giving yourself permission to just play and experiment, is one of the most powerful things you can do as an artist. You don’t need tons of supplies or complicated techniques. You need supplies with rich color and that do the job they are meant to do so that your practice builds confidence, and you get more joy from your creative practice.