Art Supplies
I often get asked what supplies I would recommend, especially for beginners starting their watercolour journey. I have listed all the supplies I use below, which may be a helpful starting point. Please note, this is just a guide with products that I love and use regularly - no ads here! I am always experimenting with different supplies and believe it is important to find out what works best for you.
PAINTS
Winsor & Newton are my go to for paints. You can get these in either a pan or tubes. For beginners I would recommend investing in a pan as this gives you a variety of different colours, and tubes can become expensive if purchasing individually. My last pan I had was for several years, apparently they can stay good for up to 10 years!
Winsor & Newton Watercolour Tubes
Winsor & Newton 45 half pan set
BRUSHES
Supplies are expensive, including brushes. However if you look after them well, they will last you a long time. My favourite brushes are Princeton Artist Brush Neptune Series and Winsor & Newton Cotman Brushes.
Beginner Tips:
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Larger brush size numbers are useful for washes and more fluid paintings. Smaller sizes are great for details.
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Never leave your brushes in the water for too long.
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Always dry and gently shape the brush after use to keep its shape.
PAPER
My most asked question is what paper do you recommend? There are so many papers out there, sometimes I think I haven't found "the one" yet. I would recommend trying a few to find what suits you as this is completely subjective. I tend to stick to rough texture, 300gsm and cold pressed. I mostly use these:
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Arches Watercolour Paper - Best for botanicals and portraits
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Bockingford Watercolour Paper - Best for washes / fluidity (think sealife or landscapes)
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Aquafine Texture Paper - A less expensive option which is great for practice.
PALETTES
Palettes are ideal for mixing your colours. Some pans, including Winsor & Newton sets, most often come with a palette built in. You can also purchase plastic ones for under £5.00 on Amazon, or in stores such as hobbycraft or the works. These work well however my personal preference is ceramic, which are more aesthetically pleasing too in my opinion. My current favourite is the Medeen Ceramic Artist Paint Palette. Etsy is another great place to find ceramic palettes made by local and small businesses. I would 100% recommend getting a brush rest too, this has prevented many accidents!
Medeen Ceramic Artist Paint Palette
Speckled paint rest and palette from local artist via Etsy
TAPE
If you have just started out, you may not have come across the term "cockling" yet. This is when the paper wrinkles and forms ridges from too much water. Once it has happened, it's hard to get rid of. It's important to stretch the paper out beforehand. I use standard masking paper to tape a border around my paintings and won't remove it until the painting is fully complete and dry.
WATERWELL
Anything that holds water can be used for a waterwell! Although if you want something portable, I recommend the Faber-Castell Clic&Go collapsable water cup. I take this everywhere with me and it also has ridges that can be used as a brush rest.
