I’ve taught several beginning watercolor classes. I’ve found that students who come to class with decent supplies get the best results and often stick with and continue to enjoy painting with watercolor for years.
1. PAPER
Watercolor can be painted on paper or specially primed canvas. Most watercolor artists use paper. The paper that you paint on can make the difference between an okay painting and an awesome one. A beginning watercolorist will find it very frustrating painting on a paper that buckles or curls, or doesn’t allow the paint to bleed or blend, so I insist this is one item to pay a bit extra for.
Good papers stay flat, and allows the paint to do all the magical watercolor-y things it’s capable of. Also good paper can be scrubbed out and is more forgiving of mistakes. For this reason I recommend 140 b or heavier weight paper. It can be cold pressed, hot pressed or rough, each one giving a different result. I usually recommend cold pressed as it has a bit of texture. Arches has some great pads that are sealed at the sides to maintain paper flatness. I also like Lanaquarelle brand.
2. BRUSHES
Watercolor brushess come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and bristle types. Prices can vary greatly depending on what they’re made of. There are nylon, plastic, squirrel hair and sable hair brushes. Beginning watercolorists don’t really need high-end brushes. However, brushes should be capable of holding a decent amount of water and paint. They ought to be sturdy an not stay bent over when wet. And you should have a bit of variety in sizes available to use. There are several good brands of inexpensive nylon brushes. Get a medium round brush, a 3/4″ or 1″ flat brush and a larger 2-3″ flat brush to start.
3. PAINTS
Watercolors are available in several forms, cakes, tubes, and liquid. I recommend students use student grade tube watercolor paints to begin. They handle much the same as professional quality, but are much less expensive, The difference is that the student quality colors are less permanent. I usually recommend students get only 4 colors to start: Alizarin Red, Aureolin Yellow, ULtramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna. Or you could just buy a starter set of tube colors, sometimes less expensive than separate colors.
4. PENCILS AND ERASERS
Simple #2 pencils or inexpensive mechanical pencils may be used for underdrawings in watercolor, so no need to spend money there. You should, however, have a soft, preferably kneaded eraser so it doesn’t lift the grain of your watercolor paper.
You’ll also need a small container for water, some paper towels and something to use for a palette, like a butcher’s styrofoam plate, items which costnext to nothing.
The above are the few simple supplies you’ll need to begin a joyful lifetime journey into watercolor painting! You may eventually want to explore various masking fluids, paint additives and varied painting surfaces also. Take classes, watch videos, visit websites and read books to learn all the different techniques in watercolor to find your own path!
