Starting With Watercolour Supplies

If you are at the stage when you want to enter the world of watercolours what is it that you actually need? The answer is simple: like the five fingers of the palm, the bare minimum boils down to five main elements: colour, paper, brushes, palette and water container (with water of course!) We will briefly go over these but if you are really interested in details get my watercolour supplies guide below!

PAINT

First a painter needs paint. Watercolour paints come in two varieties – artist and student grade. Artist grade paints have less binder and use proper pigments which result in more intense colour. There are some good student grade paints out there as well but I would recommend the former. Certain artist grade brands don’t break the bank and you really need anywhere from 6-12 colours only. You can get pans or tubes depending on preference but pans are cheaper.

PAPER

Paper is probably the most important material and you should wholly invest in it. The best paper for watercolours is 100% cotton and it is expensive (believe me I have tried to find cheap but good cotton paper but its like the mythical unicorn!). Cellulose or mixed paper (mixture of wood/cellulose and cotton) will just not give you the results so don’t skimp on this! You can buy blocks which required no base. Plain papers need to be taped to a base like an easel or a board or even your table.

BRUSHES

Brushes come in huge variety – sizes, materials, types, brands. It can be confusing but in general there are synthetic, natural and mixed (mixture of natural and synthetic hairs) brushes. Natural brushes are considered superior but are expensive. Advances in technology mean that synthetic brushes are catching up in quality and yet remain affordable. I suggest 2 or 3 brushes when starting out: a small round (sizes 0-2), a large round (6 or 8) and a  flat brush or a mop which are typically bigger in size and hold more water and paint.

PALETTE

To mix paint and water you need a palette. Plastic palettes are cheaper than ceramic ones. Alternatively buy a paint box whose lid doubles as a palette. I prefer a plain white ceramic plate that is cheaper and works as well as a ceramic palette.

WATER

Finally we need to hold our water in a container (or two!). Two containers are ideal, one to wash off the excess paint and second one to clean brush completely before loading fresh paint. A rag or a kitchen towel is optional but really helpful to clean brushes or wipe of excess water and paint.

Now that you have the basics right, you can start on your painting journey. If you need more details you can download the detailed list of supplies from here.