There are a few supplies and colors I use in every painting. One of my favorites is Titanium White acrylic paint, so I got it in an enormous bottle. After awhile, it started to thicken. But I didn’t think too much about it.

Then, during a super inspiring painting session, I had three backgrounds ready to go. I couldn’t wait to add my characters. But when I grabbed my white, it globbed out like old glue. I knew I had to try something else.

For my faces, I generally begin with a layer of Titanium White and Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold acrylic paint. This creates a surface with a bit of shading so I can add my initial eyes and features. After sorting through my studio closet, I found a Naples yellow and buff titan. But no bright white.

When something goes wrong with a painting, I usually call it a beautiful mistake. But sometimes it’s just really frustrating.

Most of the time I’ve learned that if I push through these frustrations, I’ll uncover something lovely and new.

So I tried my new color combination of Naples yellow and buff titan. And I hated it. It made the rest of my face painting so difficult because I couldn’t get the softness I wanted. The consistency was different in my paint. It just wasn’t what I was used to and it wasn’t working.

I realized that while I take chances and am generally carefree with my artwork, my favorites are still favorites. And there’s some supplies that I just can’t live without. Now I’m a bit more diligent about re-ordering my favorite supplies.

Here’s what’s always on my studio table:
* Titanium White acrylic paint
* Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold acrylic paint
* Cobalt Teal acrylic paint
* Pyrrole Red acrylic paint
* Yellow Orange Azo acrylic ink (by Liquitex)
* Antique white oil paintstick
* Burnt Sienna oil paintstick
* Fluorescent pink and white paint pens (by Sharpie)
* Water-based black pencil (a Stabilo Marks All Coloring Pencil)

You’ll see how I combine some of these supplies with my favorite techniques in my Free Painting Workshop. I hope it all keeps you inspired!

Click HERE to join me for a Free Painting Workshop.

Happy painting!
xo, Juliette

Ps. If you want even more inspiration and insights into my creative process, plus behind the scenes sneak peeks + free videos that I only share in my newsletter, click HERE to sign up for my newsletter and join my free painting workshop .