I get asked a lot about what materials I use for my paintings and how much the quality matters. Honestly, different artists all have a opinions on this, but here is my take:

“Go for the Middle Road”

Many people are intimated by the vast array of materials available to them when they are just starting to paint. I know when I am trying a new hobby, cost matters. I don’t want to spend a boat-load of money just to find out later that I don’t even like it! I’m sure I am not the only one out there that feels this way. Watercolor paints can cost anywhere from $100-$7! Watercolor paper and brushes have the same huge ranges. I have good news for you though, you don’t have to buy the top-of-the-line materials for your paintings to turn out! I have tried several types of papers, paints, and brushes and I’ll tell you the key things that are affected by the quality.

Paper

Of all the materials needed for painting, the quality of the paper matters the most. I recommend using what is called a “block” of paper. All the pages are lightly glued together along the edges so that your paper will not buckle when it is wet and it will dry flat. Canson & Strathmore are great affordable options at less than $10 for a pad, but if you go any lower in quality you might have issues with your painting. The color will bleed too far and the paper will buckle. If you want to take it up a notch, Arches or Fabriano are amazing.

Paints

There are tons of paints out there ranging hugely in price. The cost of the paints is really dictated by the materials the colors are derived from. Cheap paints won’t have the the same brilliance or purity of color as the expensive ones, but if you are just starting out, Arteza or Reeves work fine. To keep costs down I highly recommend getting a simple set. They will try to sell you a thousand colors but you really only need the primaries, black & white. This is especially true with watercolor because it is SO easy to mix colors!

Brushes

Paint brushes come in a crazy variety of synthetic, handle length, stiffness etc. I have found that the cheapest brushes don’t keep their shape long and the hairs come out in your paint. These are really annoying but not detrimental. You really don’t need the best brushes around, but the cheapest will probably be a waste of money. Again, like the paints, I recommend only getting about three brushes, maybe a size 10, 6 & 1. You don’t need all the sizes in-between because you can do so much by just varying the pressure you put on the brush. I find that round brushes work so much better than anything else for watercolor so I would start with that shape.

Let me know if you have questions about materials or brands!