A Gift Guide for Artists Big and Small, Serious and Dabblers — Part 3
Getting started with watercolor!
Ready for more great art supplies? Here is post one of a few that contain some of my favorite products. This post isn’t sponsored and has no affiliate links; it’s just a list of items I’ve used and liked! If you can, please support your local art supply store. I’ve included links to some of my favorite shops that offer a great selection of quality items!
For the friend who wants to play with watercolors but doesn’t know where to start
Watercolor can be an intimidating medium for many, but the barrier for entry is much lower than people think. I often recommend adopting an attitude of play and begin with just exploring color.
Dot Cards
I’ve found simply enjoying the process of swatching colors can be so rewarding in itself and a pleasant way to introduce yourself to watercolor. It’s also a great way to build your color knowledge base and discover which brands you like without having to invest too much into whole tubes.
Daniel Smith 266 colors + gouache — this is the set that made me fall in love both with watercolor and Daniel Smith!
Windsor & Newton — If you like mixing colors, this is an excellent one to start with
Tonic — Full disclosure: I haven’t tried this one yet, but I’ve really been curious about St. Louis Art Supply’s Federal Color line. It looks so rich!
Schminke — Very fancy German line with an extensive color range. Their colors are really nice and are beloved across the watercolor community.
Schminke Super Granulation — This is a specialty line and they are so much fun to play with as the pigments separate as they dry, creating variegated colors. These are best used in big puddles and washes of color.
Daniel Smith Watercolor Confetti Packs — Smaller sets with larger dots. Either set will provide you with some of their best specialty paints that granulate, shimmer, or pack a color punch. These are also great for travel.
Brushes
Princeton Snap Series As I’ve said before, you don’t need to break the bank, especially if you’re just playing. This is a great paintbrush that performs great. Get a round 10 and a round 4 and you’ll have a perfect large and small brush to mess around with.
Paper
Travelogue Watercolor Sketchbook/ For learning, a great sketchbook will take you nice and far. I’ve loved this one for just collecting swatches.
But if you’d like to give the gift of variety, these sample packs are excellent and a good way to get familiar with different types of paper types:
Hahnemühle Watercolor Selection, 6.7" x 9.4"
Cheap Joe's Watercolor Sample Packs
Books & Classes
Color Harmony for Artists: How to Transform Inspiration Into Beautiful Watercolor Palettes and Paintings a book by Ana Victoria Calderón There are several great books out there on color harmony and mixing, but a class with Ana taught me that just playing and mixing colors could be a satisfying watercolor journey in itself. Which class was that, you say?
Modern Watercolor Techniques on Domestika — I’ve linked to all her classes, as she has one just on color palettes too, but the modern class was the one that showed me that watercolor is the medium of my soul and more easily accessible than I ever could have thought.
Have more questions about how to get started in watercolor? Leave it in the comments!