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Venture through the studio doors and enjoy glimpses into Artist, Christine Bell's Art Studio. Discover an inspiring place of solitude and tranquility where creativity is allowed to flourish.
Here for both Artists and creative souls can find not only beautiful inspiration, but also insight into Christine's painting process to include her most treasured "must haves" in her studio space.
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. Enjoy exploring, and check back often, as it is with my artwork, this page will be constantly evolving and growing as I too , even after all these years of painting, continue to always evolve and grow as an Artist. ~ XO, Christine
Come Explore Christine's Favorite Materials Supplier
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: Da Vinci Maestro Travel Brush, Watercolor Sketchbook 300gsm cold pressed paper leather bound, Portable Mini Wood Watercolor Gouache Paint Palette Magnetic, Winsor & Newton, FineLiner water-resistant ink pen, Book: "The Flower Hunter" by Lucy Hunter,
Those who know my work my be aware that I am known primarily for my large scale, modern impressionism and coastal paintings which are collected by homeowners, hospitality venues, and collectors alike. In my studio I always have a nice supply of canvas ready for the next inspiration or custom, commissioned painting. 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 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 pieces as well as oil paintings.
There are so many wonderful 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 my larger scale, layered, mixed media Acrylic and Oil Paintings, I use mainly palette knifes/spatulas and large brushes. I recommend BLICK Mega Natural Bristle Brushes for this type of work. However, for just about everything else, such as smaller scale oil painting, detail work, watercolor and gouache painting I recommend Princeton Brushes as a nice beginner and beyond choice, and I absolutely love Da Vinci Brushes! They hold the paint and pigments so nicely are wonderful for blending, and I have always been amazed at how well the hold their bristles and shape.
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 color and is a wonderful quality I do recommend both Gamblin and Winsor & Newton Oil Paints. They both have gorgeous consistency and color. WIth that said... I have a new favorite go-to when painting in oils. A few years ago I discovered Winsor and Newton's Griffin Alkyds Oil Paint - A LIFE CHANGER! They are made with traditional pigments and oil modified Alkyd resin which, and here's the best part... dries in 18-24 hours! Instead of waiting weeks to add new layers or months to varnish, your oil painting can be varnished in about 30 days!
The most common paint that I use for my larger, modern, abstract paintings is acrylic paint due to it's ease of application, beautiful color, texture and a more rapid drying time as compared to beloved oils. The quicker dry time is needed when I am creating a heavily layered impasto painting 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 layrs, but also built up when mixed with Painting Gels and Pastes.
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
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.
Christine is primarily known for her large canvas paintings, for which she normally paints on Blick Premier Cotton Stretched Canvas. They are 100% high quality cotton, gallery wrapped, 1/5" deep, primed, on sturdy wood stretcher frames, and have been Christine's go-to canvas for large pieces for 15 years! Christine actually recommends BLICK ART MATERIALS for many essential Artist Supplies.
Many of the pieces in Christine's sought after, Coastal Abstract Collections are created with layers of mixed media acrylics (Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Paint is her go to for thick paint) and acrylic mediums such as Liquitex Modeling Paste or Gels.
Christine uses a liquid varnish, Gamblin, Gamvar Gloss Varnish for all oil paintings and many acrylic paintings. Her go to spray varnish is Golden Spray Varnish, High Gloss. Both are highly protective against dust and UV rays.
Yes, Christine does accept commissions from Interior Designers and Homeowners / Art Collectors at different times of the year, based on what her schedule allows. You can read more on Commissioned Paintings here.
Christine does like to sketch and paint on a small scale (in a sketchbook, as studies, or her small Originals on Fine Art Paper) for example), but for her large canvas paintings she usually enjoys freely applying paint, thus allowing the painting to develop as she works.
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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