Rosemary & Co
are a well established company that produce a range of exceptional Kolinsky sable brushes that deliver a virtuose performance.
Rubloff
These are delightful Kolinsky sable brushes from Russia that are exceptional to work with. Highly recommended. Available on Amazon.
Miscellaneous
White Glass Dropper Bottle
For the keeping and dispensing of the egg emulsion.
Palette
Tempera demands containers that can hold good quantities of fluid, so the pallette needs to have deep wells. I have used Arabic coffee cups for larger work.
However, for most smaller work a normal ceramic palette is ideal. I prefer ceramic because its easily cleaned, and the pigments grains don't scratch the surface as is the case with a plastic palette.
Masking tape
Masking tape is invaluable for all sorts of little jobs. It comes in different degrees of 'tac', but a lighter tac is more useful for the icon painter.
Compass
A fixed wheel compass is well worth the investment, and an ink nib attachment is used for applying the halo.
A longer armed compass is also useful for larger sized icons.
Circle templates
A useful little tool that can be a real help in the analysis of icons geometric proportions, as well as for applying small halos.
Metal ruler
Metal rather than plastic as the edges are more robust, and its useful when using a blade or scroring tool.
Shellac
I use shellac when painting on gold. It can also be used as a varnish to project the gold. Here is an excellent article about shellac, explaining what it is and is uses.
An Italian company that specialises in making excellent quality boards, as well as supplying many other items of interest for the budding iconographer.
I buy my boards from them and they ship to the UK and worldwide.
Good source for genuine vermillion, lapis lazuli, yellow ochre, terre verte, burnt sienna, burnt umber
Papers
Tracing Paper
Decent quality tracing paper, either in a pad or on a roll, or drafting paper is useful for making sketches over a geometric template, giving you flexibility to repeat work if it goes wrong without having to start all over from the beginning.
Transparent Graph Paper
This is not easy to find, but it is a real bonus when doing lettering. If you can get it, do!
