Method
McEvoy Studio of Fine Art
Along the The Great South Bay of Islip, NY
Unique instruction, with the artist painting and drawing alongside the students. Kevin McEvoy offers small-class instruction, drawing on sight size techniques he acquired at the Charles Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy. Classes take place in Kevin’s studio near the quaint Main Street in Islip, NY. Maximum class size is six students.
Materials
As practiced at most classical painting ateliers, beginner students start drawing. They then progress on to painting. If you are new to the endeavor of classical art you will soon find that the materials different artists and traditions use to be a very complex process. Below are several different tables, listed according to the stage you are in as an artist.
The following table is basic drawing materials, for beginner classes. No materials are needed for the first day of a beginner class, as all material is provided by the studio. In the first class, the instructor will review the following table to show which of the following items are needed for upcoming classes.
Beginner Drawing Materials
The following table is basic drawing materials both for drawing the cast and drawing the figure.
| Item | Brand | Size | Description | Website Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pencils | Faber Castell, Mono, Derwent | - | Grades 4H through 8B | Utrecht Website | Pencil grades proceed in this order, from light to dark: 6H, 5H, 4H, 3H, 2H, H, HB, B, F, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B, 9B |
| Bristol Paper | Many good brands out there. Canson, Strathmore, Fabriano, etc | 18" x 24" | Utrecht Website | Good, sharp lines on this paper | |
| Quick Sketch Paper | Many good brands out there. | 18" x 24" | Just a common paper, no special type, for quick sketching | Utrecht Website | |
| Drawing board | Utrecht brand is suitable | roughly 20" x 26", not necessary to be this exact size | Clips on the top are a nice feature | Utrecht Website | |
| Roma Paper, Charcoal | Roma | roughly 18" x 24" | White only. Not grey, not beige, not cream. | New York Central Art Supply Website | One of the best papers available in the world. Used exclusively by many charcoal portrait artists |
| Nitram Fusain Charcoal | Nitram Fusain | - | Only Nitram Fusain brand. Three grades should be purchased- soft, medium, hard | Dick Blick Website | One of the very best charcoals available. |
| Kneaded Eraser | any brand | - | any size, any type | Utrecht Website | |
| Hard Eraser | any brand | - | No special type, just a stiff eraser, any shape | Utrecht Website | |
| Small Sketchbook | any type | - | Nothing special, just something to do quick sketches on, to keep ideas | New York Central Art Supply Website | A pocket sized book, to keep on you throughout the day |
Advanced Drawing Materials
The following is a table for sanguine drawing materials, for advanced classes.
| Item | Brand | Size | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | Twinrocker Yale Cream | roughly 18" x 24" | Twinrocker paper website | A great paper. Expensive, but worth every cent. Paper needs to be tinted by highly diluted, brown sepia ink |
| Conte crayons or pencils, reddish brown, white, black | Watteau, some other good ones out there as well, price usually a reflection on quality | - | Utrecht Website | |
| Charcoal pencils, soft, medium, hard | There are a few good brands, price usually a reflection on quality | Utrecht Website | ||
| Brown Sepia Ink | There are a few good brands, price usually a reflection on quality | Utrecht Website | ||
| Large, soft sable brush | I like Raphael, Escoda, Manet, Zecchi | Utrecht Website | For impecunious artists in a pinch, your wife's makeup blending brush will do nicely |
New!
Beginner painting students can click the following link in the table, and order all of their supplies at once from the Utrecht website. No more fussing through confusing, individual items, this list has everything that you need to begin painting. From brushes to oil paints, from a palette to cleaning solvents, this list covers all of the basics. As well, you may edit the purchase, to add more items, or remove items.
| Beginner Painting Package | Click for McEvoy Studio Beginner Package |
Painting Tools
The following is a table for basic oil painting materials, not including paints
| Item | Brand | Type, Description | "Click" for Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turpentine, not odorless | Winsor Newton, Robert Doak | Distilled turps, or Brazil Turps | Utrecht Website | Turpentine is more powerful than odorless mineral spirits. Should not be used for cleaning, but absolutely necessary when used in mediums. |
| Odorless turpentine | Gamsol | - | Utrecht Website | Good for cleaning, some people use it for diluting paints as well. Not very strong, evaporates very slowly, continually lifting paint off canvas surface |
| Palette cups | any | - | Utrecht Website | The deeper the cup, the better. Less spilling. |
| Palette | The best are available from Zecchi, and from New Wave Palettes. Tear away palettes are terrible, I highly discourage white ones | Zecchi is, in my opinion, one of the best art supply stores in the world, and I really like their simple palettes. New Wave is great, as well. | New Wave Palettes Zecchi | Make sure you order the correct palette! If you are right handed, you need to order a left grip palette. |
| Hog Bristle Brushes | Manet, Escoda, and Tintoretto are my favorite | filbert | Click here to buy brush set Manet brush set | I recommend between six and ten brushes for beginners, though less or more doesn't harm. As a beginner, you can buy bristle brush sets on the Jerry's Artarama website, and add individual brushes as you advance |
| Sable Martora Kolinsky Brushes | Escoda, Zecchi, Rosemary | filbert | Dick Blick, Zecchi | I recommend between six and ten brushes for beginners, though less or more doesn't harm. You can buy brush sets as a beginner, and add individual brushes as you advance. Brush sets available on Dick Blick website, better brushes individually sold on Zecchi website. |
| Palette Knife | Many brands are fine | All shapes and sizes. Beginners can just choose any mid size, and advanced students add more as they need | Utrecht Website | Some cheaper brands are too flexible. More expensive knives are firm, handle better |
Paints Level I
The following is a table for the basic paints, for beginners. This is a limited palette, not an extended palette.
| Item | Brand | Type, Description | "Click" on Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titanium White | Old Holland | 40 ml tube, or 225 ml | UtreOld Holland Websitecht | |
| Light Red. (not red light, not cadmium red, not any other red. Just "Light Red" | Old Holland | 40 ml tube, or 225 ml | UtreOld cht | |
| Roman Ochre, or gold ochre | Old Holland, or the better version is Zecchi, the Florentine art supply | 40 ml tube, or 225 ml | Utrecht Website or better is Zecchi website | Zecchi is a bit of work to order from, but their site is navigable. Worthwhile to order from Zecchi |
| Ivory Black | Old Holland | 40 ml tube, or 225 ml | Utrecht | http://www.utrechtart.com/Oil-Paint-Paint,Old-Holland.utrecht |
Paints Level II
The following is a table for the extended palette, suitable for landscapes and still life paintings. This is meant to be a supplement to the limited palette, and is designed for more advanced painting students.
| Item | Brand | Type, Description | "Click" for Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultramarine Blue | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Cobalt Blue | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Cadmium Yellow | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| English Red | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Venetian Red | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Indian Red | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Vermillion | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Schevenginen Blue | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Cadmium Yellow Light | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Cadmium Yellow Deep | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Raw Umber | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Burnt Umber | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website | |
| Burnt Sienna | Old Holland | 40 ml or 225 ml | Utrecht Website |
