Watercolor Supply Recommendations

My preferred brand of watercolor paint is Winsor & Newton closely followed by M. Graham Watercolors. Both brands are professional quality paints. I prefer to work with pan sets, but do purchase tubes to refill them.

Winsor & Newton’s student grade Cotman Watercolors are quite nice and suitable for most studies and plein air creations.

There are lots of paint companies to choose from. Just be aware that if you buy student grade brands, paint consistency and color vibrancy can sometimes be an issue.

Suggested Color Palette:

Basic Palette: Lemon Yellow/Primary Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Light/ Napthol Red, Quinacridone Magenta, Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue/ Primary Blue, Sap Green, Lamp Black

Optional Earth Tones: Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber

Optional White (highly recommended): Gouache tube paint - Titanium or Zinc White

Brushes:

My favorite brand - Princeton Heritage Series 4050 synthetic sable brushes

Rounds size 2, 6, 8, 12, 16, and ¾” Bright
Basic brush set: Round 2, 8, ¾” Bright
Also love Pentel Aquash water brushes for plein air - assorted sizes

Substrate:

140lb cold press watercolor blocks or sketchbooks

My go-to budget paper for experiments, studies and small projects is Canson XL watercolor paper pads. Also really like Canson’s Montval watercolor blocks for plein air painting.

I’m crazy into Pentalic Aqua Journals - very nice quality paper, 100% cotton rag.