My Favorite Watercolor Art Supplies
I've worked as a professional artist since 2007 and here are some of my most favorite supplies to use. Linked below are items that are tried and true. I use them on a weekly basis and they are beautiful to work with. Trust me, you wont be disappointed.
Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Set
Arches Watercolor Papers
I adore the Arches watercolor line of papers. I typically use their cold press papers for nearly all of my watercolor and gouache paintings, and then the hot press papers for paintings that need crisp detailing (like recipe art and logos).
The paper blocks are fabulous if you love to use a ton of water (or plan to do so) on your paintings. Since the edges of the paper are pasted together it helps keep your paper flat (and not rippled) once you introduce a ton of water to it. Once you are finished the painting you can take something long and flat to slide between the paper's edge (I typically use a bone folder tool) to release it from the block.
Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Set
I have used this watercolor set for at least 7 years and it is fabulous for beginners to professionals. It has a wide range of colors, plenty of palette space for blending custom colors, and a great set to travel with. Since these are "half pans" (little white plastic rectangles filled with hard watercolor pigments) you can substitute colors or add in Winsor & Newtons professional half pan colors.
Winsor & Newton Half Pan Watercolor - Payne's Grey
Linked above is my favorite go-to color "Payne's Grey". I love using this color as a cool toned shadows and dramatic moments in my paintings. This is the professional color, so it spreads quickly once it hits water, and is dense in color.
Faber-Castell Art & Graphic Albrecht Dürer Watercolour Pencil Set
I swear I hear angels singing every time I open up this gorgeous set of watercolor pencils. There are SO MANY COLORS! I use these pencils to create small details in my paintings and once you add water to them they flow beautifully.
Faber-Castell kneaded Erasers
Kneaded erasers work beautifully on removing unwanted pencil lines from watercolor papers, plus there is no booger-ry mess from eraser shavings!
Grafix White Mask Liquid Frisket
This liquid masking fluid is perfect for blocking out sections of your art, that you do not want painted with watercolors. You paint it on the areas you want to keep paper white, wait till it dries then paint over it. Once you are ready to remove it simply just rub it off and you have clean white paper underneath. Magic!
Watercolor Brushes
There are a few brands that I have a tendency to stick with because of the longevity of the life of the brush, the quality (no random hairs sticking out) and how much water it holds. If you are starting out try out one of these brands in a size 6 round. Such a versatile size.
(from left to right the brands I LOVE)
Robert Simmons White Sable (I've had these for over 14 years!)
Saral Transfer Paper
This transfer makes life sooo much easier transferring your sketched art to your watercolor papers.
*Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.