Favorite Watercolor Supplies

PAN WATERCOLORS:

Sennelier - This is the set I use in classes. Very high quality honey-based pigments. It's a bit pricey, but will last many years. When a color runs out, I just replace them with tube watercolors (see suggestions below). 

Windsor Newton Cotman - My favorite little affordable travel set, available in 12 or 15 color options. 

TUBE WATERCOLORS:

Daniel Smith - My preferred brand for professional-quality tube watercolors. Over 200 different colors, and very creamy and high quality. Especially great for muted earth tones, jewel tones, and metallic watercolors. If you're also obsessed with getting the exact shade for a project, and would prefer to not mix your own, I've had fun with these Dot cards with samples of various colors you can try out. 

Windsor Newton Cotman - My preferred affordable watercolors! Very high quality, though not as many color options as Daniel Smith.

Poems About You - This DC-based artist makes her own watercolors using natural ingredients. They are sold in pans and a little pricey, but the pigments are amazing. 

PAPER

Fabriano Studio Cold Press - A good budget option for watercolor beginners. Better for wet-on-dry techniques than wet-on-wet.

Bockingford Cold Press - A good step up from Fabriano. The paper is not 100% cotton but still high quality.

Arches Cold Press Pad - The gold standard for watercolor paper, especially for landscape painting and any wet-on-wet techniques. It’s 100% cotton and the pads comes in different. It’s pricey, but sometimes I get the larger size 11x16 size and use a paper cutter to cut it in half or quarter sheets.

Fluid Cold Pressed Pochette - Another great 100% cotton option, for when you want something a little smoother than Arches. I like to get the super thick 300 lb (640 gsm) option for watercolor practice since it’s so thick I can paint on the reverse side without any sort of buckling.

SKETCHBOOKS

Windsor Newton Professional Watercolor Paper - This 100% cotton paper is top-notch, my favorite aside from Arches Cold Press. The size is tiny though, but perfect for mini watercolor landscapes and painting outdoors.

Bockingford Watercolor Spiral Pad - I love the larger size of this affordable sketchbook. The paper is not 100% cotton, but still high quality. Also available in a smaller size.

Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook - This one is a nostalgic favorite since my first watercolor sketchbooks were Moleskine and I painted some of my favorite paintings in them. That said, the paper is rather thin and it’s not the best for wet-on-wet painting. I love the black hardcover though, and this is ideal for more detailed paintings without too much water.

BRUSHES

Princeton Real Value Brush Set - A nice budget friendly set with an assortment of round brushes.

Princeton Snap Brush Set - The Princeton Snap series has slightly firmer brushes that are great all-around brushes, whether you’re working with pan watercolors, tube watercolors, or gouache.

WASHI TAPE

Scotch Washi Tape or Muji masking tape - I prefer these two brands over other brands for creating crisp borders since they tend to tear less than the cheaper brands.

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