Watercolor Painting Store

Watercolor Paint Colors

Essential Colors

Lemon Yellow

Cadmium Yellow Deep

Cadmium Orange

Alizarin Crimson

Yellow Ochre

Burnt Sienna

Raw Umber

Cerulean Blue

Ultramarine Blue

Viridian (Green)

Sap Green

Payne’s Gray

A few additional cool colors

Naples Yellow

Colbalt Blue

Cadmium Red

White (optional, Gouache, if needed)

Start with a basic set of 12 colors (or fewer), ensuring you have the primary colors to mix a wide range of hues.

Brand Suggestions: Winsor & Newton, Holbein, Daniel Smith, or student-grade options like Cotman or Koi.

Watercolor Paints and Sets

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Set, 12 colors, great little set. Great for travel.

Winsor & Newton individual tubes of watercolor

Danial Smith individual tubes of watercolor

Watercolor Brushes

A variety of brush shapes and sizes is essential for different techniques.

Recommended Sizes:

Round Brushes: #2, #6, #10 (for details, medium work, and washes)

Flat Brushes: 1/2 inch and 1 inch (for washes and straight edges)

Detail Brush: #0 or #1 (for fine details)

Mop Brush: Small (for large, loose washes)

Rigger Brush: (for creating fine lines)

Type: Synthetic or natural hair (synthetic is more affordable and durable for beginners).

Princeton Aqua Elite Brush Set, 4 brushes. Some of my favorite brushes. Also available at Michaels Art Supplies.

Sable Watercolor Brushes, 9pcs, Kolinsky Watercolor Brushes, Oval

Pens for Sketching or Line Work

Waterproof Fineliners: Micron Pens, they come in a wide range of sizes, from .20mm to .50mm. I use the .45mm and the .50mm pens the most, or Uni-Ball Eye pens.

Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Pen. Great for adding white highlights and accents.

Watercolor Palettes

Plastic or Ceramic Palette: A mixing tray with wells for keeping your colors separate while mixing. There are as many palettes as there are colors. Try different ones. I like a large mixing area.
Aluminum Art Palette, 13 wells, 9.8 x 4.3, I use this one.

20 Well Watercolor Paint Tray Palette Pallet.

Alternative: Use a porcelain plate if you don’t have a palette. There are many palettes available. They all work

Watercolor Paper

Weights: 140lb (300 gsm) or 300lb to prevent warping.

Texture: Cold-pressed (for moderate texture) or hot-pressed (for smooth surfaces) and rough for the most texture

Sizes: Start with 9×12 inches or smaller. Paper comes in all kinds of sizes. In block, pads, notebooks, and sheets. Paper is a personal decision and I recommend try different styles and brands.

Brands: Arches, Canson, Strathmore, or Fabriano.

Arches 7 x 10 watercolor Paper Block, cold press, top of the line paper

Canson 7 x 10 Watercolor, 140lb, spiral pad, a nice affordable watercolor paper

Drawing Pencils

Sketching Pencils: Winsor & Newton Studio Collection Artist Pencil Set.e

Pental Mechanical pencils for fine lines. Love this pencil

Pental HB Mechanical Pencil Lead, other hardnesses available

Erasers

Drawing Art Kneaded Eraser: Perfect for lifting graphite without damaging the paper.

Mars Plastic White Vinyl Eraser: For clean, crisp erasing. A standard for every artist.

Mono Zero Eraser Pen, good for detail erasering.

Water Containers

Any Two Jars:

One for cleaning brushes.

One for fresh, clean water to mix paints.

Material: Glass or plastic jars work fine.

Optional Extras

General Purpose Masking Tape: To secure your paper to a surface and create clean edges. The Blue painters tape also works well

Artist Sketch Board: A flat surface (wood or plastic) to tape your paper to for stability.

Fine Mist Spray Bottle: To rehydrate paints or add texture effects. I use this everytime I paint

Paper Towels or Cloth: For blotting brushes or lifting excess paint.

Pocket Color Wheel

1001 Creative Ideas for Painting Watercolors PDF Book

Adobe Creative Suite Products

All of these Adobe products are part of the Adobe Creative Suite. If you are serious about creating books or graphic design projects then you will be using the Adobe products. You rent these products on a monthly or yearly basis.