Beginner watercolour supply list

1. Buy first

To get started

• Large round brush (No. 10–14): your workhorse for broad washes, backgrounds and big shapes.
• Small round brush (No. 4–6): for structural mid-tones, stems and finer line detail.
• Watercolour paper: one A4 or A5 pad, 200–300 gsm (90–140 lb). Canson Aquarelle, Fabriano or similar.
• A small paint set: I demonstrate with the Mungyo 12-colour Basic Travel Set – affordable, and enough for months.

Brushes: look for synthetic ones that hold plenty of water but still come to a sharp point. Golden Tacklon, Daler-Rowney Aquafine and Dala are all good. Not water brushes – they don’t allow the control of water to pigment that our techniques require.

Already at home

• Two bottles – one for dirty water, one for clean.
• Paper towel or kitchen roll – to control the water in your brush.
• A white plate – your first palette.
• Pencil and a putty eraser – which won’t damage the paper.
• Printer or photocopy paper – for shape and layout studies.

2. Buy next

If you paint regularly

• A palette with 6–12 deep wells – preferably ceramic.
• Masking tape and a backing board – to tape your paper down flat.
• Fine-mist spray bottle or pipette – to activate pans and keep paper damp.

Better paint: a split primary palette

Six to seven tubes mix almost anything without mud. Winsor & Newton (also Cotman), Daniel Smith, Daler-Rowney and Roman Szmal are all good. Once you have them, record what you own on the free swatch sheet.

3. Can wait

For playing around

• White gouache – for opaque detail and highlights.
• Permanent fineliner – waterproof (Micron or UniPin) for lines.
• White gel pen – (Sakura Gelly Roll) for fine, high-contrast detail.

Buy one thing at a time, and paint with it before you buy the next. You learn more from two brushes you know well than from a set of ten.