Hannah Robinson

I got back into acrylics with my grandkids and wanted bright color without fuss or big expense. honestly Student grade tubes marked soft body have been the sweet spot for us because they spread easily and still cover well. I like a small set of around twelve to start and a bigger tube of white so I am not squeezing every last drop. For flowers, having a warm and a cool version of each primary makes the mixes pop. If drying too fast is the headache,, keep a little mister bottle at hand and give the palette a quick spritz now and then. Or add a tiny bit of retarding medium to the mixes. Works great. Two water cups help keep things clean, one for the first rinse and one for a final swish, then a quick wash with gentle soap and the brushes are good as new. Canvas panels are my go to with kids because they are sturdy and inexpensive, and acrylic paper is nice when I want to test ideas. Synthetic brushes are all you need. A couple of flats and rounds in mid sizes and a small detail brush cover almost everything. If you make a mistake, let it dry and paint right over it, no drama. Keep the painting session low stress by covering the table with freezer paper or an old plastic tablecloth and you can toss the mess at the end.

Use a cooling pad with one large slow fan and an open grill & then slide it so the airflow lines up with your laptop intakes for quiet, effective cooling. Keep the tilt low with about a centimeter of clearance, push the laptop forward if it exhausts at the hinge to avoid recirculation, and power the pad steadily while covering any LEDs.