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Watercolor Wizardry - Supplies List

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Watercolor Paper: 

    1. GOOD Paper: BEE Watercolor Journal 100% cotton watercolor paper at 140lbs. I use this one for studies, essentially for things I’m experimenting with.  I will let you know now that it is much easier to control watercolor on quality supplies. I mention that to say that it is easier to control watercolor on good, quality watercolor paper like Arches.
    2. ABSOLUTE BEST Paper: Of course this is just my opinion and to be fair, this paper is the one I’m most familiar with. My favorite paper is Arches Watercolor Paper, 140lbs.
      1. Arches Cold Press, 140lb Watercolor Paper. This will hold up to rough handling and has some texture.  Best for the most versatility and rougher handling vs hot-press.
      2. Arches Hot press, 140lb Watercolor Paper. This is a bit more delicate and has a beautiful smooth surface, best for hyper-realistic style and any painting that requires a high level of details.
      3. Arches Rough, 140lbs Watercolor paper.  Much more textured than cold  but I haven’t used it as much.

Watercolor Paints: 

  1. Student Grade Paints, I recommend Winsor & Newton's Cotman Series but again, there are many student grade paints that are good.  I recommend seeing if a professional grade brand makes a student grade because I feel this is the best way to get the best quality of paints, even when it's student grade. 
    • Field Pocket Set - This is a true pocket size (well, if it's a jacket) so it's a great palette for travel and plein air.
    • Field Travel Set - This is the other travel palette I like using.  It's like a trasformer with all the mixing space that comes out of it.
  2. Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor - I enjoy hyper-realistic style and these are the paints that are currently on my studio palette. There are many professional level paints that are great, I just love Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor Paints.  

    I've included pigment info so that you can see if you already have this in another professional brand (although some brands, even with the same pigments used for the paints might be a slightly different color)
     

 

 

Other Recommended Supplies:

  1. Light Pad: This is my favorite way to transfer drawings or photo references to the watercolor paper. These can be found for under $20 on Amazon.
  2. Mechanical Pencils - HB or 2H lead.  Any pencil will work.
  3. Kneaded Eraser: I like keeping these in their own containers to keep them from drying out.
  4. Rubber eraser: Use these gently on watercolor paper. Do not damage the fibers on watercolor paper.
  5. Masking tape or Micro Pore tape.
  6. MDF boards when doing hyper-realistic style, but when I’m doing watercolor pouring or anything where a lot of water is being used, I’ll use Gatorboard.
  7. Daler-Rowney Artsphere: My favoriet easel and this brings up the painting about 8 inches from the desk and I can adjust it 360 degrees because of the ball and socket joint.
  8. Lighting 
    1. Ring Lights: I have very inexpensive ring lights placed all around me, mounted on swing arms so I can adjust them to what I need.  
    2. Studio Lights: MountDog has a pair of studio lights that I LOVE and they work great!
  9. Watercolor Jugs: I use 4 - 8 oz Ball Mason Jars for smaller paintings or when doing details on large paintings.
  10. White Ceramic Palette - My favorite is actually one of our dinner plates. Funny story, I bought our plates set just to use one of the large dinner plates for watercolor.  It's an 11x11 square, white ceramic or porcelain plate and I use it as my studio palette. I do have many larger and smaller ceramic or porcelain palettes that I use all the time also but the dinner plate is actually my favorite.  It is the surface that is important as ceramic or porcelain cleans off beautifully and easily with just some water and a paper towel. 
    1. Meeden 14 Well Ceramic: This palette works great also, for smaller or detailed painting.
  11. Cotton Kitchen Towels: I have these on the desk for easy cleaning or controlling the water level on my brushes as I paint.
  12. Paper Towels: I recommend VIVA Signature Cloth since I can let them dry and use them for oils later, but any paper towel will work with watercolor for water control on your brushes.

 

Recommended Paint Brushes

Paint brushes are such a personal preference.  I recommend trying different brands, and using what you love to work with.  Soft haired natural brushes are generally used for layering while stiffer haired natural or synthetic brushes are good for details.  The stiffer the bristles, the more control you have but then they could also disturb the previous layers, so keep this in mind.

 

Synthetic Brushes:

  1. Artegria Watercolor Brush Set is decent for about $25. I used them for the Cute Critter Cat
  2. Princeton Neptune: These brushes are sold separately or in sets and great quality.
  3. Creative Mark, MIMIK brushes come in sets and are also great brushes.
  4. DaVinci NOVA 5230 Set, Series 1570 is a set of rounds I recommend for beginner hyper-realistic style.

 

Natural Hair Brushes: more expensive but my absolute favorites.

  1. DaVinci Maestro Series 35 and Series 11 are two of my favorites for Sable brushes.
  2. DaVinci Petit Gris Pur, Series 418 are my favorite squirrel hair mop or quill brushes. 

 

Synthetic and Natural Mix: 

  1. Silver Black Velvet brushes are some of the best, soft haired brushes that I also love.

 

P.S.

Here's my Youtube Playlist on Supplies: Watercolor for Beginners: Top 10 Questions Answered on Watercolor Supplies

If you don’t have it yet, check out the Watercolor Wizardry Quick Start Guide - Small Birds Bundle!  I’ve put it together for beginners just starting out with watercolor.  It includes the Quick Start Guide course that explains watercolor's behaviour, an invite to Creator Community on Kajabi and a set of beautiful small bird templates to get started with.

Also, check out my Everything page to see all the ways we can work together. 

 

 Affiliate Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means that if you click on one and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I genuinely believe will add value to your journey. Thank you for supporting my work!

 

Hi, I'm Zarah!

With a passion for taming watercolor's wild beauty and a love for hyper-realistic style, I'm here to guide you.

Discover the secrets in my Watercolor Wizardry Quick Start Guide, your key to mastering the basics while sidestepping common beginner mistakes. Let's dive in and unleash your artistic potential!