Paints: It is important to use Alexander Oil paints with the Alexander Technique. The extra-thick Alexander paints are specially formulated to work with the Magic Mediums to give you great richness of color and detail. Traditional oils are too thin for the wet-on-wet technique.
They smear and bleed, causing a frustrating painting experience.

Palette: Bill’s style of painting requires ample space in which to mix and blend colors, so a palette with a large mixing area is best. Squeeze your paints, a few inches apart, along the top of the palette. Arrange the colors from light to dark. (If you set out your paints in the same order each time, you soon will be automatically reaching for the one you want.) From each color, pull a thin layer of paint down two inches with your Palette Knife. Clean you knife between colors. Having this thin layer of paint on your palette will make it easy when you want to pick up just a small amount of color.
You may find it helpful to write the name of each mix on the palette above each new color.

Easel: A sturdy easel is necessary, as the Alexander Technique of painting often requires you to “fire-in” on your canvas with some energy.

Canvas: A medium texture, cotton duck, double primed artist’s canvas is ideal. Portrait canvas is inappropriate because it is too smooth and doesn’t
“grab” the paint as well as a rougher surface. Canvas board is not recommended for the Alexander Technique because it doesn’t have the necessary “give”. It also soaks up the medium and doesn’t allow air circulation behind the canvas for proper drying.

Brushes & Palette Knives: The simple strokes that make the Alexander Technique so successful require specially designed brushes and Bill’s unique broad palette knives. Traditional oil painting brushes and knives will not give you the coverage or style of stroke needed for this technique.
With a little practice and experimentation, you will soon learn the strokes that will enable you to achieve "magic" with each one.