Welcome to a fun watercolor class. Here is the list of suggested materials.
Brushes
This a recommended brand of brushes, but not required. There are other nice brands in the market.
- Silver Brush set SLM- Basic Susan Louis Moyer Silk painting watercolor set of round brushes. Size 4, size 8 and size 12. I found it in this LINK. A rigger brush for details will be good to have too. Here is the LINK
If you don’t have any brushes you can start with Windsor and Newton watercolor brushes the Cotman brand in the same sizes above ( 4, 6, 8, 12 and a rigger for detail work). You can find these at Michael’s.
Paint
- Set of Windsor and Newton Cotman watercolor Field Box set of 12 colors. It works well for beginners. Here is the link to buy this palette.
- This is a new finding for beginners. I recently bought this set and works very well. It is also Windsor and Newton Cotman set of 20 colors tubes. Here is the link to buy this set.
- If you buy watercolor tubes I suggest to buy a mixing palette with a lid. Here is a suggestion on this link
If you want better quality watercolor paints I will recommend Daniel Smith.
These colors are good to have, but there are OPTIONAL. They are expensive so you can start with the small 5ml tubes.
Cadmium yellow
Yellow Ochre
Opera pink
Quinacridone Rose
Quinacridone Magenta
Cobalt Blue
French Ultramarine Blue
Sap Green
Burnt Sienna
Burnt umber
White Gouache (optional)
Lavender
Neutral Tint
These two palettes that I am mentioning below are OPTIONAL if you want to buy good quality professional watercolors
If you want to buy a set I recommend these two from Daniel Smith that I found on Amazon.
-The first one only have six small tubes that are the primary colors that you can mix and make other colors with them. (I recommend this one for this class)
Here is the link if you want to buy it.
Or if you want a more complete palette, I found this one that have 12 of the most used colors and for the price I think it is a good choice if you want to continue painting with good quality watercolors.
Here is the link for the Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Half Pan Set 12 colors with bonus 12 empty half pans in metal box
Paper
It is really important to invest in good paper if you want good results. For practice you can start with Strathmore Watercolor Cold Press 140 lb for beginners and practice. You can buy it on this LINK
But I recommend to use:
Arches- Cold Press 140 lb for all styles of painting. (This paper is the most common and perfect for this class) You can buy it on this LINK (Notice it only has 12 sheets and size is 9 x 12 inches)
Arches also offer Hot press 140 for more detailed work, Rough press 140 for landscapes and textural painting. Available in pads or blocks. Size of paper depends on what you want to paint.. For this class a good size is 9 x 12 inches.
Additional materials
Drawing board or Clip board (This is a good size one for the class if you want to buy it.) Here is the LINK
Mixing palette – Simple porcelain palette HERE (This other one is good when you use painting tubes and want to travel )LINK
–New finding for making highlights. A white gel pen. Here is the LINK to purchase it. Or you can use white gouache.
Paper towels
# 2 pencil
Soft eraser
Tracing paper
Blue painting tape, Pro Artist tape if you do not like blue,
Masking fluid that helps preserve the white of the paper. I use Miskit Liquid Frisket from Grumbacher, Here is the LINK. There are other brands like Pebeo or Windsor and Newton. (Do not need to buy this right away, I will explain in the first class when we will need it)
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. (optional)
And do not forget to bring a plastic container for water.
Additional suggested Materials
Spray bottle, saran wrap, salt and a hair dryer. (I will bring one to class)
AVOID BUYING THESE BRANDS THAT ARE NOT GOOD QUALITY
-ARTIST’S LOFT
-Incraftables
-Yasutomo Niji Aquarelle Matte Watercolors
Artist Materials Suppliers
Locals where most materials can be found- Michaels Stores in San Jose, Lenz– Santa Cruz, Palace Art and Office Supply – Capitola, Blick– San Francisco
University Art – Redwood City
Unique art materials can be found at Maido Santana Row San Jose, and Affordable Treasures Los Gatos.
Online suppliers
Amazon, Jerrys Artarama, Cheap Joes, Jackson’s Art
Some of these online stores will give you a free shipping discount when you buy $45 or more.