Recommended Materials for Watercolor
If you are taking my watercolor classes, you may need to stock up on quality supplies.
Here’s a list of all the materials I use in my classes. You do not need to purchase all of these, you can use what you have but think to add these to your wish list for future purchases so you can start collecting professional supplies when Jacksons has sales.
They have sales weekly with big sales during July and August, back to school week, Christmas, and Black friday with nice savings plus you get 10% off your first order if you use my links below.
*Any affiliate credits I get are used for our Facebook Group Giveaways so be sure to join us to win some paint especially if you use my affiliate links.
Happy Painting!
Jacqueline Jax
NEW CLASS : Watercolor Journaling for beginners
Document your life through illustrative journaling made easy. This workshop offers you easy steps to improve your skills in watercolor, granulating watercolor, water soluble pastels, Watercolor pencil, Inktense pencils, gouache, and color theory. You’ll learn how to work with wet on dry and wet on wet watercolor pages in your journal. The workshop also offers you suggestions on materials to make your practices easier and more enjoyable. It’s everything a beginner needs to get started so you can build your skills and achieve successful results.
*Each lesson takes just 10 minutes to complete so you can tackle learning in smaller time signatures.
Sketchbooks:
I love to make my sketchbooks from my favorite papers but these are great options as well. (see below)
Etcher Sketchbook 100% cotton: A4 or A5
or similar. a minimum of 230 gsm - 300 gsm paper
Etchr Portrait Sketchbooks are made with 100% cotton and are available in Hot Pressed and Cold Pressed.
These sketchbooks are vegan friendly and use 230gsm for cold press or 220gsm for hot press, acid-free, artist grade 100% cotton paper. Each book has 52 pages. They open flat in portrait format. The paper is ideal for mixed media. The cover is cotton fabric and can be painted on.
Saunders Watercolor Spiral bound Sketchbook
7.5” x 11” Cold press
Saunders Waterford is one of the world’s finest watercolor papers. A 100% cotton watercolor paper, it has a structure giving it strength and a characteristic feel. The manufacturing process uses a cylinder mould which makes it possible to obtain harmonious and varied grains with rough, cold-pressed, hot-pressed quality - and four deckled edges.
The paper is gelatin-sized, and then air-dried, so that the colors retain a fine rendering even after being scraped and erased. Its natural whiteness (no optical bleaches), mildew protection and neutral PH mean that the paper has a very long shelf-life.
Bockingford Spiral Flat 300 gsm A5
Not 100% cotton but still a good cheaper alternative
Archival standard, no OBAs (Optical brightening agents)
Known for its excellent colour lifting abilities
Made of 100% woodfree bleached chemical pulp
Bockingford is a beautiful English watercolor paper, traditionally made on a cylinder mould machine at St Cuthberts Mill. This is a high quality paper made using pure materials to archival standards.
It's attractive surface is created using natural woollen felts that give it a distinctive random texture. Appreciated for its excellent color lifting abilities. This is an extremely forgiving watercolor paper valued by professional and amateur artists around the world.
Black Permanent Ink Pen Molotow
These don’t bleed and dry faster than the other permanent pens. <here>
Watercolor Paint
Roman Szmal sets:
My favorite paint from Handmade supplier. Lots of granulating colors and high pigment load plus excellent lightfast rating so no fading!! The wooden box set is available in the sale at $200 US but they also have other smaller sets. Their price per pan is very cheap in sets or in the individual sale: Use my affiliate link at get 10% off on your first order.
Colors I use most from Roman Szmal
Yellow Paint Colors
Lemon Yellow
Cad yellow
Nickle Azo
Quin Gold : <here>
Blue Paint Colors
Ultra Marine
Cobalt Deep <here>
Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)
Ocean Blue
Cobalt Turquoise
Cobalt Cerulean Blue: <here>
Cobalt Sea Blue <here>
Aquarius cobalt Blue: <here>
Pinks
Quinacridone Magenta
Quinacridone Fuchsia <here>
Potters Pink : <here>
Reds
Permanent Orange
Scarlet Lake
Scarlet Red
Pyrrole Red
Special Colors
Rzybysz's Gray
Perylene Green
Shadow Violet
Schmincke Wooden Box Set
Schmicke are excellent paints. They have high pigment loads and offer tons of colors. I have this wooden box set and use it daily in my studio for classes and professional paintings for sale. I have two sets on my studio table at all times. This one and the Roma Szmal set (above.)
Sketchbook Paint with Me Watercolor Painting Process New Escoda Brushes.
Schmincke Super Granulating color tube sets:
What can I say, I just love Schmincke paints. They have been making paint for 100 years and it's always like butter. The Super granulating colors are out of this world and so much fun to paint with. Watch as the paint transforms on paper, you can literally film the change as it dances around in the water. Heavy granulation settles into rough cotton paper for amazing effects and lighter particles group together in interesting patterns. This is fun paint to have in your collection for landscapes, botanicals, and even urban painting.
Plus Jacksons has the best deals on the sets. Some starting at just $14 USD lowest price I've seen all year. The wooden boxes are adorable and you can add your own full pans to get on the go when you want to paint outdoors.
Save 10% off with my link on your first order. I use all affiliate commission for your Giveaways and painting challenges.
I recommend :
Schmincke : Horadam Watercolour Paint : Super Granulation Set : 15ml : 5 Glacier
Schmincke : Horadam Watercolour Paint : Super Granulation Set : 15ml: 5 Shire
Schmincke : Horadam Watercolour Paint : Super Granulation Set: 15ml : 5 Deep Sea
Best prices on Open Stock Schmincke: <here>
Colors I Used: Perylene Violet , Cobalt Turquoise, Manganese Violet
Best price on Open Stock Granulating colors: <here>
Colors I used: Tundra Pink: Tundra Violet: Deep Sea Blue : Deep Sea Green: Deep Sea Violet : Volcano Yellow :
Gold Watercolor: <here>
Escoda Red Brush :
This set has long red handles and the bristles hold a great amount of water making them perfect for details on granulating paints. You’ll get heavy pigment loads without using too much paint. (shop on amazon)
I use the size 10 most often. But 8 is also great to have for details.
Found a set on amazon : (shop amazon here)
These have extra long length handles. If you don’t need that you can get the travel set or a standard Prado brush size 8 or 10. Listed below..
Escoda Travel brush sets:
Escoda Styles Versatile and Prado are my most used sets : Shop Jacksons
Set Includes 3 sizes of Prado Round Synthetic Sable Pocket Travel Brushes - #2-#6-#10 - this is a detailed set but doesn’t have the 8 just 10 which is fine. The other two brushes are detail brushes. (set of 3)
As an option…
I also recommend the Red travel brush set.
This set has 3 really lovely brushes. Two are versatile in size 6 and 12. Then the Perla size 8 for details. This is all you ever need in pointed rounds. (shop Red Travel Set on Jacksons) or (Shop on amazon)
Regular Prado brush is here in all sizes: I use size 8 and 10 in the pointed round. (shop jacksons)
Escoda Grey Brush :
This set was perfect for tree branches and small details. The brushes hold paint for mass tone pigment load and just enough water to get the job done without leaving you with messy puddles. Great for relief paintings, details and to get very thin brush strokes. I was useing the size 12 <best price here>
*Schmincke Special edition sets:
My favorite Special Edition tin so far! The color is unique in silver and the design is square with a textured lid.
Botanical Set or Seascape set are both amazing: I love the special edition square tins as they are made well and easier to hold. The silver tin color is unique to Schmincke and the paint in these has a nice heavy pigment load and excellent lighfast on the majority of the colors like Ultramarine which is my favorite paint color: You can also add 6 additional colors and a travel brush to this tin in the empty areas provided in the design. The paint wells do also come out if you want to fill the entire tin with full or half pans making this a very convenient studio palette. The design allows you to hold tons of paint while the ring in the bottom of the tin lets you hold it in your hand easily.
Qor:
Great flow and interesting vibrancy. Full pigment load so a little goes a long way. The starter set mixes a full range of colors. I also ordered the High Chroma to finish out my palette with a full range of colors : Cobalt Teal, Transparent orange, Quin Gold, Diox Purple, Green Gold and Quin Magenta.
A. Gallo
Luminous paint that activates beautifully when wet. Handcrafted in Assisi, Italy. Colours inspired by historical pigments with lots of granulation.
Made by hand in Assisi, A. Gallo watercolours are crafted according to a traditional recipe of raw pigment, gum arabic, local honey, rosemary essential oil, and a wetting agent. This artisanal process creates a very pigmented and luminous paint that activates beautifully when wet.
Shop A. Gallo sets and open stock
My Favorite starter set of 12:
This set has everything you need to experience A. Gallo at a lower cost. The paints are highly pigmented and such a decadent splurge. (shop best deals)
The Grand A Gallo: 48 Half Pan Set
Get a full set of their most amazing watercolors in this 48 half pan set of hand made watercolor from Italy. (shop best deals)
The Collection 48 Watercolour Set from A. Gallo is a unique and versatile palette featuring 48 handmade half pans in a metal watercolour tin. The set includes two mixing surfaces and a colour chart printed on Arches watercolour paper. Each half pan is wrapped in watercolour paper with a hand-painted sample brushed over it. The Collection 48 Set includes a Tintoretto size 0 traditional mop brush and a handmade Italian linen bag, and is beautifully packaged with original marbled paper by the Florentine artisan workshop Giulio Giannini e Figlio.
Kuretake:
A non toxic option for beginners who want a larger color range to start learning about watercolor. This is a great place to start. Some kits have amazing metallic that offer excellent coverage and shine.
*Note: Some Kuretake colors are fugitive so be sure to check your colors before selling your work as they may fade in heat or sunlight.
Brushes:
Escoda brush Collection : Shop on Jacksons
Versatil : Kolinsky Synthetic : Series 1549 : # 10 - Shop Jacksons
Long pointed round, my favorite brush..
Versatil : Kolinsky Synthetic : Series 1549 : # 2 - Shop Jacksons
Último 1533 #6 & #8 round rigger, Tendo synthetic squirrel
TINTORETTO retractable Travel brushes
TINTORETTO retractable Travel brushes made in Italy. Adorable, light weight and smaller profile to fit in most travel palettes or your pocket. The synthetic style has a nice point where the Squirrel belly holds tons of water for quick even sketchbook washes.
Retractable Synthetic Size 4, 6 or 8 ; Shop Jacksons
Retractable Squirrel Size 6 (good for washes) : Shop Jacksons
Small Wooden Pochade Box : Shop on Amazon
