One of the things I love about being on dA is all the helpful information fellow artist are willing to give you about products & places they shop at, & in the spirit of sharing I am featuring three very helpful people, their artwork & the products they recommend.


Chris     
  Chris was kind enough to look through several websites to help me search for some soft grip paint brushes that are easier to use with arthritic hands.   He found what I was looking for on "Royalsoftgripbrushes" www.Royalsoftgripbrushes.com
It's very similar to "Natural Grip by Winsor & Newton" brand that I used to buy in Ireland.

Here is what Chris had to say about Rembrandt Oil paints & why he buys them:
" They're good, and have the smoothest silkiest texture of any paints I've tried. I don't use them for everything. The white is with safflower oil, that was my reason for choosing it. The shade of vermillion they offer is the most vivid I've seen it's almost fluorescent looking. And they have metallic colors I haven't seen in other brands of paint, silver, copper, etc. Mostly I have been avoiding linseed oil based paints though where there's an alternative, because of the yellowing, on the advice of an art store clerk who gave me about a 20 minute lecture on the subject one afternoon." Got to love those Knowledgeable sales clerks!

Jacob     
Jacob paints the majority of his artworks  on foam canvas. I had 'til then never heard of this product.  

Here's what he had to say about this product: "It's just this cheaper product I can get at the stores around here, very light weight and smooth surface. Once you seal it with gloss or matte and frame it it's just as good as regular canvas I've found."  That might explain that smooth iridescent quality found in his artwork.

Michael
  
The 1st 2 were done on foam board.  The Jellyfish was done on a black foam board. If you've ever had to paint a background black, you know what a time saver this product could be.

Here is what Michael had to say about this (foam canvas) product:
"I'm assuming 20"x30" is foam board from your local Wal-mart or school supply section at the grocery store. I use foam board a lot and 20"x30" is a standard size. Its cheap and the surface is fun to paint on. Try foam board out. Its cool 'cuz you don't worry so much about making mistakes and it frees your mind and relieves pressure on yourself!"

Here's Micheal's advice on buying Golden brand Acrylics paints:
" I cut costs everywhere except in the actual paint. I use Golden brand. Its the best value for me. Liquitex isn't much difference in price, but the quality in Golden surpasses Liquitex any day. Yellow is a fair substitute for white. When you're down and have less materials, that's when you get the most creative."


Three Products I've read good reviews about but have not personally tried yet:  
1. "SOY Gel Paint  & Urethane Remover"  by Franmar Chemical inc.  [link] Made with soybean oil ; removes multiple layers of (lead based, urethane, acrylic,  epoxy, &/or enamel)  paint fast & effectively. Safe, non-caustic, biodegradeable,  can be used indoor or outdoors, low to no odor.    It sounds like a wonderful product for striping old (garage sale) furniture or  wooden cabinets that need sprucing up etc.  Also available on Amazon.

2. Golden Light Molding Paste (Not the same as plain "Molding Paste" or " Hard  Molding Paste") First read about this item in  "The Artist Magazine"  May 2011 issue pg. 90 Article written by  Nancy Reyner.  
From what I understand, it's just a better alternative to using your white paint to lighten a color, ' cause  when you mix this product with your acrylic paints they retain a higher degree of color intensity without adding weight to it like gels or other molding pastes tend to do.
Read about it on www.goldenpaints.com   [link]
Product can be found online @ Dickblick   [link]

3. Has anyone tried the new Weber brand  "W-oils " Water Mixable oil paints? www.WeberArt.com   sold on Blick & advertised all over the Artist Magazines.

My preferred brand is Grumbacher Water soluble oil paints.  I've tried some  of the other brands out there, but none of those seemed to have the same flow/ fluidity, nor do they have a variation of hue within a hue ( where from one color you can get various shades depending on what you mix it with). Would be great if they W-oils, were a good emergency substitute & was available at most art stores, esp. as I am always running out of white.




Gloria   
P/S These are personal reviews & opinions of these products you don't have to agree or disagree with them.  My intention is just to share information, not to  promote or undermine any product or website over another.

IF you would like to recommend an Art related product  that you have tried that you feel strongly about please add it to the comments below.  It doesn't just have to pertain to painting but it should relate to art.  

Personally, I would love to find a good quality frame & matting place that is afford-ably priced yet meets all the criteria of most galleries (no saw back hooks etc.).