Watercolor Art Supplies For Beginners

If you’ve decided to explore your passion for art but are unsure of where to begin, why not invest in some watercolor art supplies? Watercolor is one of the easiest forms for painting for a beginner to pick up. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it takes any less skill that other painting mediums, such as oil, though. The ease in watercolor lies in the fact that you need nothing more than some paint, brushes, paper and water in order to get started. None of these items are particularly expensive so that makes it an economical choice as well. Cleaning up can be achieved with a little soap and water so there’s no need for harsh, toxic solvents. Let’s take a closer look at some of the watercolor art supplies that you’ll need.

Paint:

You can’t paint without, of course, paint. If you’re just starting out you can stick to the cheaper paints. This won’t give you as rich a look but it will be easier on your wallet while you learn the ropes. Later on you can switch to artist quality paints which are made with a higher class of pigments. Watercolor paints come in both tube and pan forms. You can start off with either one but you should know that tube paints tend to be more water-soluble because of a larger amount of glycerine.

Brushes:

When it comes to brushes, you’ve got your soft-hair brushes and your hard-hair brushes. The latter isn’t really suitable for watercolor and is mainly used for a few specialised techniques. That leaves the soft hair brushes. These are generally made from natural materials such as sable and squirrel hair (don’t worry, it grows back). Sable is thought to be the highest quality and these soft hair brushes are known for their ability to hold a fair amount of paint. However, they can be quite pricey. Cheaper alternatives do exist. These use synthetic materials as opposed to natural bristles. They’re not as good as sable, but they’re still quite effective.

Paper:

The beauty of watercolor is that you can do it on just about any type of paper. However, as you progress, you’ll want to keep your paintings and to do that you’ll need paper that will last. Paper that is acid free and has a neutral pH is best as this will reduce colour changes upon aging. Watercolor paper also has different levels of absorbency. This is something that you’ll have to experiment with in order to get the look that works for you. Texture is also a concern and, depending on your preferences, you can choose to use rough paper or hot pressed paper, which has the smoothest grain available.

Water:

Well technically it is a supply needed for watercolor. It doesn’t get much simpler than this. What is there really to say about water other than you can use just about any type and it’s free?

The quality of your watercolor paintings themselves will be reflective of the quality of your watercolor art supplies, but don’t give yourself a headache over them in the beginning. Try to find the items that work best for you while you’re still honing your skills. Later on you can experiment with various paints, brushes and paper until you find that perfect combination.

If you enjoy a realistic style of painting you will love this DVD tutorial by Susan Harrison-Tustain. With the information contained within this 2-disc DVD set you will learn how to paint any subject you can imagine in the 'naturalistic realism' style of watercolor painting.

Watercolor DVD by Susan Harrison-Tustain:

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Watch as Susan Harrison-Tustain's watercolor portrait painting of her daughter, Shelley, comes to life in just 35 seconds: