Different Painting mediums

There is a huge array of materials available to the artist and sometimes this can be very confusing. Should you use oils or acrylics, chalk pastels or oil pastels, gouache or water colour? What is the best paper to draw on and what sort of brushes will you need? As an artist who is rediscovering painting after a long time away from it, there have been some new introductions to materials which were not around when I was at Art School. I have done some research and hope what I have found out will help you too.
OILS
First developed in the Renaissance and always the preferred medium of artists. It has a slow drying time which means it can be re-worked over time. It is also very versatile and can be used thick and unctuous or as thin glazes. Student quality oil paints: Cheaper as they use alternatives for the expensive ingredients found in Artist quality oils and may contain filers such as chalk. Look out for the word 'hue' on the tube which denotes a lower quality paint. They are still very good and have good permanency and can be used in conjunction with the higher priced artist quality oils for underpainting. Artist quality oil paints: these are made with the best quality oils and pigments and have a greater colour strength and permanency. Look out for 'series' on the tubes; series 1 (the cheapest) up to series 7 (more expensive).Different colours dry at different speeds! For example; Alizarin Crimson can take up to 10 days to dry. White Oil paints: Why are there so many different white oil paints and which should you use? White is used more than any other colour so it is a good idea to buy a large tube of good quality white paint. Flake White: Quick drying and crack resistant. Good for underpainting. Titanium White: Slow drying and the most opaque of the white. Good for mixing and for final highlights. Zinc White: Good for glazes and tints. Semi opaque. Water Soluble Oil paints: these paints can be used with water as the solvent which does away with the need for traditional solvents which and give off harmful vapours. I haven't used these yet but will give them a go at some stage. Alkyd Paints: Fast drying as they are bound with an oil modified resin. it is possible to mix them with traditional oil paint which helps to speed up the drying tome of the traditional oils. Diluents: Turpentine and Mineral Spirit. Only use proper artist turps and not the DIY variety as it causes the paint to dry slowly and leaves a stick residue. White or mineral spirit is cheaper, less harmful, smells less and dries quicker. Mediums: Artist use mediums to enhance or change the characteristics of the paint. There are many pre-prepared mediums on the market which can give a matt or gloss effect, help the paint flow easier, or help speed up or retard the drying time. Brushes: it is worth paying out for good quality brushes especially for oil painting. Oil painting brushes are traditionally made from Hog bristle as it is hardwearing and holds the paint well. Synthetic brushes are now available which can mimic the paint-holding capacity of natural bristle brushes. Brush shapes: Again, there is a bewildering array of brush shapes on sale. Rounds and flats are best to start with as a basic range. 'Brights' are short flat brushes and are good for making a textured effect in oils. 'Filberts' are like flats but with a slight curved tip. They are great for blending paints. 'Fan' brushes are splay out and are used for softening out brush strokes. Finally, 'Riggers' are very long and thin and used for very fine line work Basics of painting with Oils: - When mixing large amounts of oil paints use a palette knife rather than a brush to avoid wearing out the more expensive brushes. - It is important to keep brushes clean between using different colours to prevent 'contaminating' the new colour being mixed. - Do not use too much solvent as the paint will possible become unstable on the canvas or board and flake. Basic Palette of Colours: Cadmium Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Red, Permanent Rose, Winsor Violet Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre. Viridian French Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue, Titanium White.