Recommended art supplies
Paper
Any paper that is made of 100% cotton will be fine. I can recommend Arches, cold pressed, 140 lbs (300 gsm). On other papers you may get slightly or very different results. The size of the paintings ranges between A5 (5.8″ x 8.3″, 14,8 x 21 cm) and half imperial (15″ x 22″, 38 x 56 cm).
Brushes
I recommend Silver Black Velvet brushes in various sizes, mostly: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16. For tiny details spotter brushes are perfect. We will also need a scrubber brush, for example Winsor&Newton Galeria (long handle). An old brushes for applying masking fluid will come in handy as well as any bigger wash brush for the backgrounds, but a round 16 will be fine too.
Paints
I recommend using artist-quality paints because they are more intense and efficient. The particular brand does not matter as long as you use artist-quality paints. Pigments are more important. I use primarily single-pigment colors (but you don’t have to!). For each project, I use on average 3-10 colors. I recommend Winsor&Newton Professional, Daniel Smith, or any other professional brand paints. Below you can see a conversion chart I have prepared for you.
My 17 colors arranged in Sojourner palette
Other equipment
- a palette (since March 2022 I use American Journey Sojourner porcelain palette; I used to use Mijello Fusion 33)
- masking fluid (I use Winsor&Newton with a yellow tinge)
- a light pad for transferring an image to your watercolor paper
- an HB pencil
- an eraser
- a kneaded eraser
- a gatorboard or a drawing board
- a masking tape
- a paper towel
- porcelain/ceramic plates for mixing colors
- a hairdryer
- water containers
- a spray bottle
- a pinch of joy
- a handful of patience
- a jar of excitement
- a cup of coffee/tea
Let’s get started! :)