Beginner Watercolour Notes

Thank you so much for being open to your innate creative self. For taking the time to express yourself and to connect with your creativity. I talk a lot at my workshops about how we can be really unkind to ourselves when we’re learning new things, especially as adults. You are learning something new, you are being brave, I will encourage you and sing it from the rooftops for as long as you need me to! Keep going! 

Below is a list of art supply stores and a list of products I like to use.

Where do I buy my art supplies?

I buy my products in store in The Blue Mountains and Sydney from some beautiful art supply stores that I’d really recommend. It’s such a wonderful experience to be able to have a tactile experience with the materials you’re buying, seeing the colours in real life, feeling the texture of the paper, the width of the bristles on your brushes. 

Katoomba The Artist’s Store
Springwood ColourArt  
Newtown Art on King 

There are so many more, but these are ones that I have personally bought from. I’d love to hear about your local art store in the comments below and I can add it to the list!

If you can’t get to a local store online is another great option:
Eckersleys
Art Supplies Australia
Sydney Art Store

In no way is this post sponsored, I’m just sharing the places I have personally shopped and the materials I pay for in full and use in my own practice. 

 

What supplies do I recommend?

There are so many to choose from! Here is my list of products that I recommend for beginners:

Paints
– Winsor and Newton Cotmans Watercolour Paints – Cerulean Blue
– Winsor and Newton Cotmans Watercolour Paints – Cadmium Red
– Winsor and Newton Cotmans Watercolour Paints – Cadmium Yellow

Other colours that I LOVE and use all the time
– Winsor and Newton Cotmans Watercolour Paints – Prussian Blue
– Winsor and Newton Cotmans Watercolour Paints – Magenta
– Winsor and Newton Cotmans Watercolour Paints – Sap Green

Brushes
Any soft bristled brush is fine I think, I’ve used a mix of expensive to cheaper brands and I find as long as you look after them (mainly don’t leave them in your water!) any kind will be fine. With watercolour you must use soft bristles. Synthetic brushes are equally good to sable in my opinion. 

Paper
– Fabriano Cold Pressed 300gsm 
Watercolour paper can come in three variations of texture depending on the brand, there can be smooth (hot pressed), medium (cold pressed), or rough. I always come back to medium as I like the texture and drying time. 
– I’ve used Arches watercolour paper in my work as well, it is known as one of the best watercolour papers and while it is beautiful I really like the Fabriano paper these days and use that in my work pretty much exclusively.

Palettes
You can use a ceramic plate for your watercolour palette or you can purchase welled palettes from art stores. I prefer the circular palettes with smaller wells as you usually don’t need to work in large quantities of paint with watercolour.

Other things you might need:
– Masking fluid is a wonderful medium to add to your kit! I love using it! I use a skewer for application as it wrecks paintbrushes
– Alcohol
– Rice
– Salt
– Tissues/paper towel/toilet paper
– Rag

 

I hope this has been helpful! Looking forward to seeing your progress. Ask me any questions in the comments on this post. Talk soon! Lauren