Whitney Ruiz Art

This large easel:

Portable Easel Stand

This has changed my life and saved my back. Seriously it is so convenient. And the fact that it collapses to save space was the nail in the coffin for the purchase. It is so easily adjustable and is actually quite a bit sturdier than it looks.

These watercolor pens:

Watercolor brush pen

I use these all of the time. They are smoother than markers and you can water them down to blend colors, or simply lighten your current color. They work on paper and wood! Painting without the mess? Sign me up!

These alcohol markers:

Ohuhu alcohol markers

These are coveted in my house. Only a very select few are allowed to color with them. They are so rich and vibrant, you want to make sure you have something underneath if you are coloring on paper, because they will soak right through. But their precision is unmatched and the smoothness with which they color makes them a favorite of mine. They allow for a gradation of color that is hard to come by with other mediums.

Flat and tiny paintbrushes

I cannot tell you how many times I need a tiny paintbrush. And the ones from the dollar store won’t cut it because the bristles are made of fine plastic usually, which means they fray and will paint anywhere they want. I need more control in my artwork, and these really do the trick for me!

A mini projector that can connect to your phone

I feel like a fraud sometimes because 90% of my artwork starts with tracing. Having a mini projector helps me get objects in the right place and really helps with spacing, perspective, and proportions. Before I got a mini projector, I was using a large hand-me-down projector that required a laptop with an HDMI port. It was quite a beast to set up and near impossible to get everything aligned well. But now I set up my easel with the canvas or wood attached, and shine my mini projector on it (on a real tripod – that makes height adjustments so much easier!). Then I can trace without bending over or worrying about keeping the laptop awake. Seriously, having a mini projector makes a world of difference when dealing with large art projects.

A sand eraser

This is a no-brainer. Not only does it actually erase everything it promises, but it also will erase printer ink. This is so important to me since I do a lot of printed transfers onto smaller wood projects. It is magic. And costs next to nothing.