'Hot Pressed' or fine surface is the smoothest paper but is not the easiest surface for controlling colour. Rough surface has the texture of paper-making felt in it's coarsest form. Where the pinnacles of the fibres retain less pigment than the cavities, this creates a pleasing dragged or speckled effect when wash is applied, so a light first wash of colour can break through a second wash to give sparkle and texture. 'Cold Pressed' is in between the roughest and smoothest texture of papers. This makes it a very versatile paper, popular for both Water Colour and Line and Wash Work. The spiral bond Langton water colour paper and standard Bockingford range come in 140lbs.(300g/m) and 90lbs (190g/m) weights and are available in various sizes. Daler-Rowney Oils are produced in two major ranges Artists' Oil Colour and Georgian Oil Colour. The major difference between them is the choice and strength of pigments. For Artists' Oil only the finest pigments are used and for Georgian Oil some organic alternatives are included, this allows the range to be sold at a more economical price. Also in stock are Clear Picture Varnish in various finished, Linseed Oil and Pure Turpentine.

Acrylics are artists' quality colours formulated with acrylic polymer resins. These resins are familiar to most people in the form of transparent plastic, such as Perspex. These resins can be manufactured in the form of milky white emulsions which give crystal clear films once the water has evaporated. Most of the traditional permanent pigments which are used in the manufacture of the highest quality oil and water colours can be mixed with these emulsions. The colour is thus imprisoned in an incredibly durable water-resistant transparent film. This system was introduced in 1963 and is now available in three ranges, Cryla, Cryla Flow and System 3. Cryla has a smooth buttery type consistency that retains the intended stroke of brush or knife and Cryla Flow has a more fluid formulation ideal for underpainting areas of flat colour and for hard edge techniques. The System 3 Acrylics are ideal for art, craft and design projects in college and schools. They are also ideal for the amateur and professional painter using colour in large qualities. To increase the flow of Acrylic Colours and reduce brush marks use Flow Enhancer. Cryla paper has a fine grain primed for acrylic painting and available in various sizes.

There are two ranges Artists' and Georgian water colours both available in pans and tubes. Artists' water colour is the professional quality, created with the finest pigments, manufactured to ensure pure colour that does not have hard lines at the edge of washes. We stock a comprehensive range of Georgian water colours, produced from alternative pigments offering a less expensive product. Masking Fluid is used to create specified white areas of the background and if required, seal the picture with Water Colour Clear Varnish.

Pastel work has an intriguing beauty and with advances in technology the good quality pastels do not crack or darken with age. Artists' Soft Pastels are unique, characterised by a velvet smoothness in working and the Square Pastels are particular favourites with both professional and leisure painters. Ingres Pastel Paper comes in 150g/m and 90g/m weights. To protect Pastel and Charcoal work use the synthetic-based Prefix, a colourless fixative applied by a simple spray diffuser or a CFC Free aerosol. Sable brushes are regarded as the finest for water colour painting because the hair has excellent colour holding capacity whilst still maintaining its fine point and spring. Although an expensive item to purchase, many artists find the initial outlay is worthwhile as with care, theses brushes will give years of service. Other soft hair brushes use ox, ox-sable, squirrel, goat and ringcat hair as an inexpensive alternative to sable. The oil and acrylic painters use pure hog bristle brushes or the synthetic range of brushes which have greatly improved over the years