From left to right, No. 10, No. 1, No. 00, ½-inch oval wash brush, No. 4, No. 5
From left to right, No. 10, No. 1, No. 00, ½-inch oval wash brush, No. 4, No. 5
The pad of watercolor paper attached to this book means that to get started the only extra equipment you need are brushes, palettes, and jars for water. You can expand on your painting kit as you widen your painting practice.
Typically, I use round sable watercolor brushes with soft, natural bristles that can hold a large amount of water without flopping. In this book, I’ve kept brush choices limited to show how much you can do with just a few brushes, which you can build on once you’re more confident in watercolor work.
When buying brushes, you will notice that the lower the number, the smaller the brush tip. Shown above from left to right are a No. 10—the largest size I use—No. 1, No. 00—the smallest I use—½-inch (12 mm) oval wash brush, No. 4, and No. 5.
When you are ready to start on a project, use my color mixes and instructions to guide you.
When you want to move on to making your own compositions, experiment with both hot- and cold-pressed watercolor papers to see which you prefer. I like to use hot-pressed paper since it has a smooth finish that makes it good for painting fine details, and it doesn’t absorb water too quickly, meaning you can layer up and move your pigment more than with cold-pressed paper. Cold-pressed paper has an obvious tooth and texture to it, which means it absorbs water quickly and gives a more textural and undefined finish overall.
The projects in this book highlight the paints to mix to make the colors I have used. I mix in ceramic palettes, because they are sturdy, easy to clean, and allow paints to stay wet for longer than plastic palettes.
A palette row allows you to easily mix a large amount of color so you don’t have to keep making more, while a singular palette is great for washes and when you’re using only one or two colors to cover a large surface area. I recommend a palette of twelve sections for when you are color testing or using small amounts of lots of different colors.
When I am sketching my own compositions, I like to use a mechanical pencil. If I need to remove pencil marks I use a kneaded eraser that won’t scuff the paper and spoil the surface for painting.
By using masking fluid you can retain an area of white on the paper, since white is difficult to replicate in watercolor. Keep an old brush for use with masking fluid. I recommend collecting glass jars at every opportunity—you will need them for rinsing brushes so you don’t contaminate colors on the page.
