Welcome! Step through the doors into to Fine Artist, Christine Bell's Art Studio! Join The Artist Studio List to learn about her oil painting processes, techniques, and the art business. Discover a creative sanctuary. Artists and creative minds will find inspiration and insight into Christine's studio must-haves. Links to FREE video content and Painting Courses will be offered in the coming months to those on The Artist Studio List.
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A place where creativity flourishes
Welcome to my Studio
Hello, My fellow creatives, It is so lovely to be able to share a bit of my cherished Art Studio with you here. I find it to be my place of complete solitude where I can turn on my favorite classical music, sip my favorite tea, and lose myself in the painting process. As you explore this page you will not only get a feel of my painting processes, but also a bit of who I am. And, if you click around you might discover that I share some of my favorite, "MUST HAVE" art materials for my, and really any artist studio. For those who would like to be sent my FREE Guide of Preferred Painting Supplies and Materials please click below. Enjoy exploring, and check back often, as it is with my artwork, this page will be constantly evolving and growing as I after all these years of painting, continue to always evolve and grow as an Artist. ~ XO, Christine
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Shop Christine's Favorite General Art Supplier
Every Artist has their favorite brushes, as they should. I have a brush or my favorite palette knives in my hand most hours of the day. My favorite Brushes for my oil paintings are Rosemary & Co. brushes, specifically sable and Ivory collection. Rosemary is a fabulous company creating handmade brushes that are the best I've used. They are an England based company and I am alway stunned on how inexpensive and quick their shipping is to my California studio. Others I have and use more for acrylics and watercolors are DaVinci and Princeton brushes which are available in all style, sizes and sets. I linked to all the options, but honestly shop the individual sizes and styles that you like. I will share more details of my favorites in my upcoming Artist videos and courses so please join me!
Let's Create
It is an absolute treat to be able to have a career doing what I love... creating! If you are a practicing Artist, either a beginner or a selling professional, or even if you have a creative hobby that you love, you might understand the feeling of falling into "the zone" as you work. I describe it as a completely focused creative mindset, where I actually relax, enjoy the calm of my classical music, or the birds outside, and allow my mind to be completely present in the moment... to the extent that I say, "I lose all sense of time". I have had to be mindful in the past few years that I actually cannot only paint for others (my wonderful clients), but in order to keep myself inspired and my work fresh, I also must take time to PLAY and experiment, and to allow myself to enter my studio not only to "work" but to enter into this magical zone. Shown above: my favorite oils by Michael Harding.
Those who know my work my be aware that I am known primarily for my large scale, modern impressionism and coastal ocean paintings which are collected by homeowners, hospitality venues, and collectors alike. So for these large paintings, I always have a nice supply of canvas ready for the next painting I am inspired to begin or for commissioned paintings which may be up on my schedule. Since about 2010, my preferred stretched canvas has been the deep 1.5" Premier Gallery Profile Canvas found at BLICK Materials. It arrives primed, is 100% natural cotton duck, and is stretched nice and tight for my heavier textured and impasto paintings and comes either splined on the back frame (my go-to for the elevated look) or back-stapled. It has proven over my career to be a wonderful surface for both my mixed media acrylic abstract pieces as well as coastal and landscape oil paintings. Besides canvas, I have also recently taken to painting on panel. I find that I am able to focus on a higher level of detail, and due to the smooth surfaces available, can achieve a higher degree of precision of details, shaper edges and smooth blending. I have found two absolute favorite panel surfaces that I will be using until I can no longer paint: The first; copper panels, the old Master's go - to, which have been found to be the most archival of surfaces. Although genuine copper is quite pricey, it is an absolute dream to paint on. The second is Claessens Belgian Linen Panels. A gorgeous linen that is so fine that your oils behave beautifully. For details on these panels make sure you join The Studio List where you will receive the FREE Oil Painting Supplies Guide.
Investing in Easels and Palettes
Paint Brushes
There's more! Brushes are so important I will discuss it more in my videos and courses, however, there are so many paint brushes on the market these days, and they can be very specific to not only the type of paint you are using, but to the style of painting you are creating as well. For the majority of my current work, oil paintings, smaller or miniature oil painting, and for any watercolor and gouache painting I may do, again, I highly recommend Rosemary & Co. Brushes! They are simply top notch! They hold the paint and pigments so nicely are wonderful for blending, and I have always been amazed at how well they hold their shape. And I promise you, you will fall in love with the gorgeous handles that feel like a dream in your hand. For my larger scale, layered, mixed media, textured abstract paintings, I use mainly palette knifes/spatulas and 1" + large flat and angled brushes. One I recommend having on hand for this type of work is BLICK Mega Natural Bristle Brushes.
Oil Paints
There is nothing like the buttery feel and vibrancy of color when painting with beautiful, high quality oil paints. There are some amazing oils out there, made with gorgeous pigments that I could go on and on about, in fact I may need to write an entire article comparing oils. If you want a lovely paint which has lovely pigment, is all natural, and just a dream to work with, I recommend my go to: Michael Harding Paints. For others which are also nice quality I also like both Gamblin and Winsor & Newton Oil Paints. They both have gorgeous consistency and color.
Both clients and fellow artists ask me constantly, "How can I frame my artwork?" Well, here you go! I am able to provide frames for my client's Original Paintings and Prints through custom ordering my Floater Frames at Frame Destination. I love that I am able to order my frames for my art and my clients new art, in CUSTOM sizes, including the much loved Canvas Floater Frames that I use. Curious which is most popular? My clients love the one I call "Champagne", which is their Float Frame F131 in "Soft Silver". *Tip: If shopping to frame one of my Original Canvas Paintings or Canvas Prints make sure the interior depth of the frame (rabbet depth) is 1.5" or 1 5/8" as that is the depth of my canvases.
Acrylic Paints
Although I rarely use them much these days, in years past, for my larger, modern, abstract paintings I worked often in acrylic paint due to it's ability to create thick texture and more rapid drying time as compared to beloved oils. The quicker dry time is needed when I am creating a heavily layered impasto abstract paintings for clients. I use both Golden and Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Paint which provides me with a rich paint that maintains the textures of my brushes and palette knives. It can be thinned down for light layers, but also built up when mixed with Painting Gels and Pastes.
Watercolor and Gouache Paint
As I mentioned above, allowing yourself to paint on a smaller scale when starting out, to continue to develop your skills, or to create a beautiful smaller painting is so satisfying and educational. If, like me, you spend weeks on end normally working large spending time on paper or in a sketchbook can clear away the cobwebs of creativity. To me, it is like therapy for the soul. I've gathered a few budget-friendly materials here (linked below) to get any beginners started on their painting journey. To make it easy, I am showing only Amazon links below for the ease of ordering multiple "starter kit" items, and *sigh* let's face it, the quick shipping for those who want to begin tomorrow just can't be beat.
Shown: Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Pocket Set, Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor 45 Studio Set, 15ml tube Holbein Goauche, Permanent White, ARCHES 300gsm Watercolor Paper Pad 9x12", Winsor & Newton Studio Collection Artist Pencils, Watercolor Sketchbook with 300 gsm, cold-pressed paper. Not shown but always used by Christine are her well loved Gouache Paints: WInsor & Newton Gouache Paint Set
Venture inside and enjoy discovering more about Fine Artist Christine Bell's Painting process, art discoveries, and favorite "MUST HAVE" Studio and Art Materials. All which create a serene, beautiful, and a very Inspired Studio for all those who understand the joy of creating.
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