Welcome!
Introduction to “Intuitive Painting + Big Magic”:

Materials for Intuitive Painting + Big Magic!:

Right here at the get-go I want to say that if you have any questions at all about what supplies are right for you and your budget don’t hesitate to reach out via text, email or phone call.

There are two types of creative practices we’ll be engaging in with this course and I’ve divided the supply lists accordingly between:

  1. Intuitive Painting

  2. Art Journaling in a sketchbook

If you aren’t interested in all the granular information and just want to cut to the chase, this section between the scrolling bars is for you:

⬇️Basic Supply Kit with Links⬇️

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⬇️Basic Supply Kit with Links⬇️ 〰️

Here is the super simple/budget starter kit I would recommend:

  • Get your copy of the “Big Magic” book by Elizabeth Gilbert from Amazon, your favorite bookseller or the library

  • Buy a 6 pack of primary color premium tempera paint from Dick Blick in the 16oz size

    • All the other colors can be mixed from this set ⬆️ with the exception of Neon colors and Metallic silver and gold if you know that is something you want you may want to pick those up in addition.

  • Then buy a 24 color set of the jelly gouache sets from Michaels or Amazon.

    • Note, there are also 56 color sets available on Amazon that include neon & metallic colors

  • Pair that with a pad of mixed media paper in an 18”X24” pad, on Amazon, Dick Blick or any art supply store

  • Pick up the packs of brushes under $15 from Dick Blick, Michael’s or Amazon listed below.

  • Choose an art journal either from the list of my favorites under “art journaling supplies”, or better yet take yourself on an artist date to the art supply or craft store and let yourself check out all the different sizes and weights of paper — there is no “wrong” art journal!

  • 1.4”-2” wide masking tape from Dick Blick, or your local hardware store

  • Don’t forget the plastic to protect your wall/door/floor from paint splatters, you could get this from Dick Blick or get a shower curtain from the Dollar store

  • Gather up or buy these things you may already have around, scissors, glue stick, magazines you can cut up, crayons or markers, paper plates or a glass plate for a pallet.,

⬆️Basic Supply Kit with Links⬆️

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⬆️Basic Supply Kit with Links⬆️ 〰️

⬇️💖For the supply geeks and detail seekers amongst us,

here is all the granular information 💖⬇️

1) For intuitive painting here is what to look for (you’ll find links for all-the-things in the supplier lists at the bottom of the page):

  • Tempera paint in an assortment of colors ~ The tempera brands I like are:

    • Dick Blick premium tempera paint.

    • “Sax Versa” both heavy bodied and regular offered in standard colors as well as neon, metallic & pearlescent colors, these come from the supplier School Specialties

    • Chroma 2 Heavy Bodied Tempera, and Chroma glitter paint, Chroma-Temp Pearlescent

  • Paper ~ For painting purposes you want at least 80lb paper and the best size of sheet paper 18”X24”. In general paper is priced by size in inches and “weight” which is expressed in lbs (pounds). The pound weight indicates thickness, the heavier the pound weight of the paper the thicker and more durable it is. You want nice big paper for the painting process 18X24 is the big size most readily available, in the studio I stock 24X36 but that paper is sold only from suppliers in 250pc packs ~ too much for an individual at home, if you are local you can buy that size from my stock, it is 50cents a sheet.

  • Brushes ~ any decent brush for watercolors or acrylic will work for tempera paint. In general you want brushes that spring back and don’t flop over. Avoid camel hair brushes entirely as they flop over and oil paint brushes are generally too stiff.
    ~I don’t believe in buying expensive brushes~ look for those starter sets you can buy for under $15 with 8-20 brushes.
    You’ll also want some large house painting style brushes/and or foam brushes + sponges

  • Surface/Easel ~ for this painting process it is best to work standing up. You can use a wall or door to pin your paper up. To protect the wall behind your painting tack up some light plastic such as a shower curtain or plastic drop cloths available at the hardware store. Alternatively you can purchase a product called “rigid foam insulation board” in 4’X8’ sheets at Home Depot or other building supply stores, lean it or screw it into a wall and pin your paper to that.

  • Paint pallets + Container to rinse brushes ~ You can raid your recycle bin and find a large yogurt container or glass jar to fill with water and rinse your brushes. For a pallet you can use disposable paper plates with or without compartments or use a glass or ceramic plate. I don’t recommend watercolor pallets with the small wells ~ you’ll be painting big, you need a big pallet!

  • Other odds & ends: masking tape 1.5-2” wide, an old sheet or drop cloth for the floor, paper tubes from paper towels or toilet paper, an apron.

Short video about getting your intuitive painting supplies
and setting up your studio:

2) For Art Journaling here is what to look for:

  • An Art Journal - I prefer a bound journal, as opposed to spiral bound. I also prefer something in the size range of 9”X7” to 8.5”x11”. If you have time to browse journals at an art supply store see what appeals to you. I have also used the school supply $1 composition books! It REALLY can be anything.

    Three of my faves:

  • Glue sticks, I prefer Avery brand

  • Magazines or other sources of images that you can rip and tear

  • Mark making tools ~ any of these that you already have or want to invest in: Pens, markers, crayons, oil pastels, jelly gouache paint - discussed below under the heading of Michael’s supplier, acrylic paint/craft paints,

  • Wax paper to keep your pages from sticking together

  • An now three of my most favorite (BUT TOTALLY OPTIONAL) art journaling supplies:

Short video about getting your art journaling supplies :

Materials by Supplier with links to “All-the-Things”:

Please note you don’t need to buy ALL of this! OMG, no. However, I did want to provide you with an extensive list with all of the options for you to choose what works for you and your budget now, and over time as your intuitive painting practice evolves. Again, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions!

Supplier ~ School Specialties:

Almost all the tempera paint I get is sold in pints or quarts which is quite a lot for one person. Nevertheless most of them are available from “School Specialties”and they offer free shipping after $69 dollars. Make an account with them here, then you can order what appeals to you from the following:


Supplier ~ Dick Blick:

Make an account here

The heavy white roll paper if you want an even larger surface to paint on, simply roll out the size you want.

Simple, good brush set:

And here are some small sets of tempera paint from Dick Blick, good starter sets especially if paired with the jelly gouache sets (see below under Michael’s and Amazon)

Supplier ~ Home Depot

  • Very heavy brown paper roll, can work well as a painting surface instead of the paper described above especially if painted white first with gesso or flat white houseplant::
    TRIMACO brand 3 ft. W x 100 ft. L X-Board Surface Protector Paper, $40

  • Less heavy brown builders paper roll, $14 can work as a painting surface or paper drop cloth

    • For either brown paper above it works best if you prime the surface first with Ultra Cover Flat White General Purpose Paint also available at Home Depot, $16 for a quart, or thick white art paint called “gesso” available from any art supply store ~ go ahead and get the cheapest brand of gesso, it will make no difference for this use.

  • To join paper sheets together you’ll need wide masking tape
    Masking tape 1.88” wide, $5

  • “Easel” made of rigid insulation $25, comes in 4’X8’ sheets - if you can’t haul that from the store due to its size you can easily cut it down to a size that will fit in your car with a carpet knife. Then once you get it home you can easily lean it against a wall or screw into drywall. Then you can pin your paper to the surface and acts as protection for the wall behind from paint spills, $25

    • One last thing, if using the rigid insulation board to pin up your paper you’ll want to get a box of these “T-pins” (also available at Joanne fabrics) — they hold the paper to the board much better than push pins.

  • Large house paint chip brushes and foam brushes, $18


Supplier ~ Michaels Craft Store

  • Jelly Gouache 24 Color Art Set by Artist's Loft™, $25 An alternative to tempera paint that works great both in your art journal and for the larger paintings is a newer product on the market called “jelly gouache”. I’ve been using a set since the pandemic (the Himi brand available on Amazon see below) and absolutely LOVE it, especially for art journaling. You can open the pallet and have all the colors BOOM right there in front of you they come in 18-56 color sets. The drawback for intuitive painting is that you may run out of the primary colors pretty quick. So, if going this route I would get a pack of primary tempera paint bottles to pair with it such as these from Dick Blick that were already listed above:

  • Note Michael’s also carries a nice 18X24 paper for intuitive painting
    Canson® XL® Mix Media Pad $33

  • Super Value 25pc. brush set, this could be all the brushes you would need!, $5.99

  • Set of large brushes, $3.99

  • A fun addition tempera paint sticks (but not a substitute for tempera paint).


Supplier ~ Amazon

Amazon, being Amazon, a lot of the brands/items I have mentioned above are available from Amazon, some at a higher price however. The items listed below are ones that are only available on Amazon:

Last minute entry, Supplier Nasco Education

I hesitate to list this supplier at all because I know they take awhile to ship and you may not get these supplies in time for the first week of class. However, I just found out they are having a big 25% off sale from their already very excellent prices (sale ends May 31st) . So, you may want to get some of the bare minimum supplies from other suppliers and fill in with loads of supplies from these guys.

Nasco offers tiered shipping:
Orders under $50 = $19.99 flat rate shipping
$50-$199 = $14.99 flat rate shippingf
$199 plus free shipping

You can make an account here. If you order don’t forget to put in the discount code 58904 to get your 25% off most items!

You can get almost anything in the world of art supplies from Nasco so it can be overwhelming — I’ll put some links below to specific things that have already been mentioned above:

All prices below are before the 25% discount, you have to make an account and be logged in order to apply the sale discount code.

Tempera paints: