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Shown above:
- brushes
- paper
- watercolor paint tubes
- ruler
- graphite paper
- masking fluid (frisket, liquid mask)
- masking tape (I prefer painter's tape as
the adhesive won't damage the paper)
- pencil, eraser
- black pigment pen (for signing your
masterpiece)
- paper towel
- you'll also need one or two containers
for water
Items listed in red
are Angela's essentials |
My palette loaded with paint
Paint Colors I prefer:
- indigo
- cobalt blue
- hooker's green deep
- payne's gray
- burnt umber
- raw sienna
- new gamboge
- pthalo green
- cadmium red
- rose madder or alizarin crimson
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Brushes:
You can get by very well with
3 or 4 brushes, and you should try to get fairly good ones - it is
frustrating to make a cheap brush perform like you want it to. I
usually buy sable, and I have had good results using synthetic/sable
blends. Kolinsky Sable is the best, but they are very
expensive and if you are demanding of your brushes, you might prefer
buying brushes you won't go broke replacing if you wear them out quickly.
Brush Sizes:
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Paint:
Grumbacher is a readily
available student grade and is satisfactory. I was very content with
my Grumbacher paints until I tried Da Vinci and Winsor & Newton which are wonderful, and, of
course, cost more. Different colors cost different amounts,
depending on their ingredients. You don't need a ton of colors to start -
you will learn to mix colors to get what you want. I never use a
paint color straight off the palette without mixing it with at least a
smidge of another color.
Preparing your Paint:
Squeeze out a quarter-sized
amount of each color into the wells on your palette. Allow to dry
before using. I like to label each color on the palette so I don't forget
when it comes time to refill.
To prepare my palette for painting, I use a large flat brush to drip a
pool of water into the center mixing wells on my palette, and a smaller
amount dripped into each color well to moisten the paint.
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Painting Board:
No matter how heavyweight your
paper is, it will buckle as it gets wet. You combat this by taping
down your paper to a board. Taping it to a table or other solid
surface is not recommended, because you will want to work at an angle and
may need to tilt the board different directions to encourage the flow of
paint. My board is approx. 22" x 30" and fits well on my lap for
painting without a table. My board is covered with a laminate and
repels water on its surface - the laminate also prevents the acidity of
the wood from leaching into the paper.
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Paper:
When I first started painting,
I chose the cheapest watercolor paper I could find, and doubted those who
insisted quality mattered. That lasted until I tried painting on a
good paper - the difference was remarkable. I've used Arches cold
pressed 300# for the last 7 years, though I don't care for the smell of
the sizing when the paper is wet. Recently I tried a Fabriano paper
which also seems nice.
Opus Framing and Art
Supplies carries a sampler pack of
watercolor paper which can help you narrow down what works for you and
your particular style.
Weight in paper is measured by
pounds and refers to the thickness of the paper. Watercolor paper usually
ranges from 90 - 300 lbs., with 300 being the heaviest. If you paint
small scale paintings you can get by with 140 lbs. but 300 is going to
buckle the least when wet.
Another term in watercolor
paper refers to the paper's texture - hot pressed, cold pressed and rough.
Hot pressed being the smoothest and rough obviously bearing the most
texture. Trial and error will teach you which you prefer. If
you work with a lot of water, you will probably like the cold or rough
pressed paper, and for the detail oriented, a hot pressed will respond
best.
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