Supplies I Need To Use

I managed to start using my poor abandoned gouache this past week, so I've been thinking about what other supplies I have that I just plain need to use! The fact is - I cannot refuse a bargain - so I have plenty of things I got because they were a good deal but I've not really used much. Last night, I saw that Lindsay The Frugal Crafter had posted a much-requested video (seriously, every tutorial she does, someone asks for this!) tutorial using chalk pastels - incidentally, I cannot get used to Americans pronouncing "pastels" - in the UK, we say "pæstl", but in the USA they say "pæ'stɛl" (IPA). I replied to Lindsay's video to say "Y'know I really need to get some chalk pastels - and start using my oil ones..." - then when I started writing this post, I remembered, I have some Derwent Pastel Pencils, that I got for 50p each in my local art shop's "Clearance" section to make space for new stock - they normally sell for £1.80 each, so that was pretty good - I've not used them yet! I also have some Derwent Tinted Pastel Pencils I bought in a few specific colours to add to my stash thereof and, since buying those, I've not used them. So, that means I can probably try Lindsay's tutorial, albeit in random colours! I also have a set of oil pastels - Derwent Academy Oil Pastels - which are student-grade but they feel nice to use, I just wish I knew more techniques and found them a bit easier to use in terms of making what I'm looking for.

I've neglected my acrylics a LOT since I started painting watercolour every day as a challenge to myself. I have a mixture of different types, all from Daler and Rowney - CRYLA Artists' Acrylics, System 3 Acrylics and Graduate Student Acrylics - I don't have any of their budget line - the Simply Acrylic Paint. I've got some Simply Golden Taklon Brushes, which I think are fantastic value - they're really good quality for the price and are great for acrylics - you can kind of get away with using them for thick gouache application but not really anything else. I did get a set of Simply Oil Paints, because I wanted to learn some basic techniques and ways to use the paints without worrying too much about pigment load or quality etc - just something to practice and play with. Back to acrylics, Daler and Rowney oddly sell 4 grades - I'm used to "Artist, Student, Basic" combinations, like their watercolours - Artist's Water Colours, Aquafine Student Watercolours [sold as Georgian Watercolours in the USA], Simply Watercolours - but in their acrylic range, both the Graduate and the System 3 ranges are marketed as being student paints - the latter are better quality, however. I believe System 3 is for "amateur artists and experienced students" or some similar wording, but price-wise, Graduate just aren't as good value in terms of pigment load.

Finally, my dear neglected embossing powders - I very, very highly rate the range of Wendy Vecchi embossing powders by Ranger - the colours are fantastic and the quality is really high (I've reviewed all of them on Amazon). Wendy herself has posted some great mixes she's produced from her embossing powders - something that I've done a fair bit of myself and shared with her a technique for faux enamelling that uses her powders - something I'll be making a video tutorial on soon.

So, that's a whole load of stuff I want to make more use of! This is before I even get as far as inks...!