Essential Watercolor Supplies

Elliott and I were in Sweden when we started watching Marie Kondo on Netflix. We were vacationing and visiting family. Something I really love about Sweden and Scandinavia in general is how clean everything feels. The style is clean and minimal. So a combination of being in Scandinavia and watching Marie Kondo really gave me an itch to clean when I got home. And boy, I didn’t realize how much STUFF I have. I like to keep my studio pretty organized, but my art studio closet has a ton of supplies in it.

When I was organizing, I realized I have way too many art supplies that I don’t use and probably never will use. I have a collection of different types of paints and brushes. All kinds of paper. At one point I made my own paper, so I have a whole shelf filled with those supplies.

But over the years, I’ve realized what items I really love and grab every time I start creating something new.

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated my favorite art supplies list. Although my primary medium is watercolor, I’ve been playing around with other types of media. Oil, acrylic, and digital art.

I’ll create a post later with the other types of supplies I like to use for other projects, but today I wanted to show you, specifically, watercolor supplies.

So, let’s dive in. I get most of my supplies online. So much easier to get items shipped to me rather than trying to drive to the art supply store all the way across town. (I don't love driving on the freeways in San Antonio). So these are all items you can get online and I'll include links.

BRUSHES

I love Princeton brushes. I specifically use the Neptune and Velvetouch series currently. I only use 4 different sizes for most of my watercolor pieces.

I always use Princeton round brushes. 

PAPER

My favorite paper is Arches cold press. It really doesn’t get much better than this. Cold press is a more textured paper. Think hot press = ironed, cold press = unironed. Hot press is a smoother paper, which I don’t have as much experience with.

But I do paint most of my portraits on Strathmore ready cut sheets. It makes things a whole lot easier and I really do like this paper for portraits. It’s not too bumpy, which I think looks better with portraits. It’s also not too yellow.

ERASER 

I love to use gum erasers. I’ve found that if I’m sketching the piece with pencil first, the gum eraser doesn’t damage the paper when I’m ready to paint the piece. Regular erasers aren’t so great on watercolor paper, but with gum erasers you can lift the pencil off the paper without rubbing the eraser on the paper.

Here is a link to my favorite gum eraser. And it's a 3-pack for a really good deal.

PAINTS 

I started out using dry pan watercolor paints, but now I always use tube paints. They're more pricey than purchasing a pan, but I like the quality. You can use artist grade or student grade paints. I use both. Artist grade is supposed to be a lot better quality than student grade. But the price of student grade is a lot better when you're starting out. And most of the time I don't notice a huge difference between the two. Winsor and Newton Cotman Watercolors are great student grade paints. 

I’ve been a fan of Daniel Smith for years. They are my favorite artist grade watercolors. I bought a few sample paints when I was first starting my business and fell in love with the quality of the paint.

Daniel Smith also sells sheets of watercolor samples, so you can test out the colors before you commit and purchase. I've loved this and found it super handy when trying to find the exact color I was looking for. 

I also love Winsor & Newton Professional colors. But Daniel Smith takes the cake for me every time. The colors are luxurious.

WACOM

Okay, this isn’t a watercolor supply. But I do love sketching out a piece on my computer with my Wacom first as a rough draft. I can test colors and composition before I start painting and I’m not wasting any physical materials. So this is one of my very favorites for playing with composition.

If you don't know what a Wacom is, it's a tablet you can use with a pen to draw and create in Photoshop or other applications. It's a lot cheaper than buying an iPad and using the procreate app. So I can create digital designs in Photoshop using this little thing.

And those are my essentials! Tell me what your essentials are, if you’ve tried any of these, or if you’re going to now.