What watercolor supplies should I get?
Howdy! Getting started with watercolor can feel a little daunting. Here’s everything you need to know to get the right supplies for class!
These recommendations are based on my personal experience and preference. I have no affiliation with any of these brands.
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Let's Talk Paper
If you've spent any time in Michael's looking at watercolor paper, you might have been surprised by the variety. Watercolor paper comes in all types of pads, sketchbooks, weights, sizes, and brands. Hot pressed, cold pressed, wire bound, glued, block, rough, smooth… but what’s the best for your learner?
I use Canson watercolor paper for all my classes. What I like: it holds water well, meaning your paper won’t disintegrate or turn grainy/mushy, it’s affordable ($10 for 30 sheets), and it’s a great size (anything bigger than 9x12 is too big for class)
Of all our materials, paper makes the biggest difference. No matter how good your paints are, if you use cheap paper, your painting will either be mushy, not hold paint well or do a poor job blending colors.
👉Pro Tip: For classes, I split each paper in half, using one half for the warm up and the other for the main lesson. I also paint on both sides of my paper. That $10 Canson pad will get you 120 paintings!
All About Paint
Watercolor paint loveeees water. Wherever there’s water, the paint will follow. Water allows the paint to spread, blossom, and bloom across the paper and it’s one of the things I love most about this medium.
Water activates the paint. It makes it come alive! That’s why you’ll often see watercolor paint pans, with the paint dried into cakes like this:
For beginners, start with a paint pan. Tubes are higher quality, but they are also harder to work with and can be more expensive. I recommend brands like Prang, Sakura Koi, and Blick student grade paints.
👉Pro Tip: We do a lot of color mixing in class. If your paint palette doesn’t come with a mixing area you can use the lid or an old Tupperware lid.
Paintbrushes
A.k.a our magic wands! Chances are your paint palette comes with a paint brush or two, perhaps something like this:
These are called round tip brushes. You’ll notice that it has a pointy tip and is wider on the sides. If I could only use one paintbrush, it would be a round tip brush.
They are incredibly versatile - you can use the “tippy toes of your brush”, or the pointy end, to make thin lines, or use the broad side of the brush to create wide streaks. You can even alternate between the two to create fun leaves!
Round tip brushes also come in different sizes, ranging from itty bitty size 0 to large and in charge size 12. I recommend starting off with somewhere in the middle, like a size 6 or 8. Check out Blick Scholastic Golden Taklon brushes for some affordable options. I use these for in-person workshops and they hold up great.
👉Pro Tip: You can make your brushes last much longer by cleaning them off after use. Rinse them off with water and lay them flat on your towel to dry before storing away. This helps the bristles not loosen from the glue of the brush and fall out.
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Happy painting friends!
Ms. Lauren 🌈