What Materials do I use and Why?

My painting approach leans towards a limited palette of colours, a few good brushes and accessories. For that reason I am not trying to promote thousands of materials, but only those I personally can vouch for. I learnt quickly that buying cheap led to a poor attitude and poor results. Having four tubes of good paint rather than ten tubes of dodgy paint is better every time. 
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Paints: 

I use Maimeri and Michael Harding oil paints. You can see more about Maimeri on their website www.maimeri.it 

Both paints are made with excellent ingredients - I believe this because the paints look great on the canvas, handle well on brush or knife and lets face it if they were made poorly someone would have pointed this out by now. As a professional artist I need to know that my paintings will look good for years to come and that collectors can be confident of what they buy. Technically there is a lot of information on their website and since I am not a scientist I will not repeat those details. 

What I noticed about their paint was:  the paint had good concentration of pigment (strong vibrant colour), consistency was not like toothpaste but oily (not full of binders and fillers), not necessary to use much medium (get stuck in!) and my paintings simply had more vibrancy and freshness. I love the buttery quality of the paint.

Brushes: 

I use Raphael brushes. Made in France according to time honoured traditions and to the highest standards. Brushmakers to the impressionists (and we know how heavy handed they were) so I cannot argue with their pedigree. Whether you want bristle, sable or in between Raphael have the brush for you. Value? Pay more than the cheap stuff and you will have a long lasting brush that will improve your painting. These brushes look amazing too. What a pleasure not to have disintegrating bristle brushes! Watch this video of these craftsmen at work.

I also use Rosemary and Co brushes. Although they cost a bit more they do last and are excellent. See a review here.

Accessories: We need these!

These are the accessories I personally use and can vouch for:

Artists spirits: I use a little as a medium when blocking in colour. Add an equal measure of linseed oil for a good all-round medium. Use odourless white spirits only. 

Medium: Handy to slightly dilute the paint for blocking in and glazing. I prefer Maimeri Eco-medium for its ease of use and eco credentials. Alternatively linseed oil and white spirits mixed in equal part makes a good traditional medium.

Oil Primer: Maimeri oil based primer for painting boards or canvas delivers excellent results.
Acrylic Gesso: is still a popular primer for most applications.

Maimeri Retouch Varnish: Every oil painting, once sufficiently dry, must get a coat of retouch varnish. You owe it your painting!

Brush Cleaner: Maimeri's eco-brush cleaner is for the occasional deep clean to restore your brush. It will handle some tough situations yet is friendly to the environment.

Alternatively low odour turpentine is excellent for brush cleaning at the end of the day. Never during your painting. Great value for money too, but use outdoors to avoid any volatile odours.