Watercolor Workshops
with

Painting Materials List

This watercolor material list contains everything I paint with. There is no need to buy everything on this list; I will mark in bold the materials you need to have for this workshop.
If you already have your own supplies, please call me about substitutions. I do not recommend throwing out all your old materials. I do recommend buying good materials in the future. You might not need to buy anything!

The most important material in watercolor painting is the paper. The next most important is a good brush. You can’t paint good paintings with bad paper or flimsy brushes unless you really really know what you're doing. If you're an excellent artist, then you can paint with anything - there is no magic tool! My workshops are all about making learning to paint easier and fun! Good materials are part of that.

Student grade paints are cheaper for a reason - they contain less pigment and a lot of filler (kaolin, glycerine, etc). So you actually end up paying more for student grade pigment than just getting artist grade paints in the first place. You might as well buy paints in the children's department as well as some student grades - it's the same thing & you'll pay a lot less.
Also, to get rich bright colors, you need to go over the same area many more times with student grade paints. So it's almost impossible to prevent mud when you're using paints with a lot of filler. Please keep in mind that some so called artist grade paints are called that by their manufacturers, so stick with reputable brands. Standards are improving, but aren't quite there yet.

For information about specific paints, try using the "Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints." That will give factual information on each paint from transparency to lightfastness. Do take the subjective information with a grain of salt - that's different for each artist. For example, I use W&N's quinacridone gold because makes interesting, non uniform washes.

Paints
These are transparent watercolors, not gouache.
Brands I recommend:
(different brand, same paint name is usually - a different pigment!)
M. Graham & Co. beautiful pigments mixed with honey. My favorite.
Also good pigments:
Sennelier
Daniel Smith

• Azo Yellow (Aureolin is a substitute but this mix doesn't fade.) (M. Graham)
• Quinacridone Gold (Winsor & Newton)
• Cadmium Red (M. Graham)
• Quinacridone Red (M. Graham)
• Cobalt Blue (M. Graham)
• Ultramarine Blue (M. Graham)
• Cerulean Blue (M. Graham)
• Pthalo Blue (M. Graham)
• Pthalo Green (M. Graham)
• Burnt Sienna (M. Graham)

Brushes

The best brushes I have found are Cheap Joe’s Golden Fleece: synthetic, not sable. Not only are they much less expensive, but they last longer & are simply better. I have not found another brush of comparable quality at any price - and no, I'm not advertising for Cheap Joe's. I've actually had some ordering and customer service problems with Cheap Joe's. However, this is a really fantastic brush and well worth it!
I've found it’s easier to keep brushes down to a minimum once you’ve found out what works best for you. Do buy the tremendous #38 brush! It will improve your painting!

• #38 Round (Cheap Joe’s Golden Fleece)
• #14 Round (CJGF)
• #6 Round (CJGF)
• #2 Rigger (CJGF)
• #00 Round (W&N Sable)(only size where it's worth buying a sable because of the exact point & water absorbency. I haven't found a nylon brush that can be easily used in this size.)

I use a custom made travel palette. It's built with Nalgene containers and never leaks. It will be available from my website as soon as I finish testing the prototypes to come up with the ultimate (non-leaking) travel palette!
I highly recommend the Robert Wood palette as the best alternative you can get at an art store because of the deep mixing wells. Use duct tape to limit leakage and carry in a plastic bag (kitchen trash bag, etc) to keep from spilling everywhere.

Rags. Buy a bundle of white cotton washcloths or hand towels at Sam’s Club, Costco, etc. Paper towels shed & have a harsh texture and smooth rages don't have enough texture.

Masking fluid & eraser end of pencil. Make sure it’s a type that comes off paper. Test it first! I had a painting ruined once when the masking refused to come off near the end of the painting - an unforgettable experience. One thing you might remember is most masking fluids are designed to be on the paper for about a day, no longer. I've had no problems with a week or two. Brushes will be ruined after using with masking. I use Winsor & Newton's masking.

Small water mister. This is the only way your paints will stay wet.

Paper. Bring at least 2 stretched 1/4 sheets (11" x 15") / day.
You can use a block (around 10" x 14" or whatever size you prefer) - they're very handy for travel and what I use backpacking, traveling, etc. I would definitely recommend block paper for workshops.

Arches 140# bright white hot press. (bright white not available in blocks)
Hot press paper is useful for a looser style; however, it is harder to control the paint flow. I use hot press paper for most of my paintings.
Use at least 140# paper. A lighter weight will be very difficult to work with.

Recently I'm using Twinrocker paper, in hot press. It's a gorgeous handmade paper that has just enough texture but shows pigments beautifully. I'm very impressed with it! Don't bother to buy Twinrocker for a workshop since you'll be practicing skills at the workshop which results in many unfinished pieces. Buy it to paint final paintings with later!
Note: Twinrocker paper sometimes behaves badly with masking fluid, pulling up in pieces. If this starts to happen, go very slowly with masking removal. Everything can usually be salvaged. It is easier to work with than Arches in everything but masking removal. Make certain the paper is absolutely dry before trying to remove masking.

Sketchbook. You will be doing a value sketch of your painting. Bring anything from white printer paper to a cheap sketchbook. Also, you might want to take notes!

Pencils & Eraser. Ordinary # 2 pencils are perfect. Please use a white artist's eraser - it won't smear graphite or damage your paper like the pink one on the pencil end will. That's useful for masking application.

2 Water containers. A wide mouth jar won't damage your brushes. There are collapsible wide mouth jars available. Also, bring at least a 32 oz jar of water - a rinsed milk gallon jug works well. At the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, you don't need to bring extra water since it's available.

Lunch.

Easels, Chairs, etc. I paint the demonstration painting on a vertical easel so you can see it. I usually paint watercolors on a 3-7 degrees from horizontal surface. Please bring whatever you need to paint outdoors. A light luggage cart is very useful for carrying French easels & supplies. My equipment includes a small folding table for my palette (Mine is available in the Walmart camping section for $5.) Also, an armless chair is the easiest to paint from.

Recommended Extras:
Sun Protection - Umbrella, Large brimmed sun hat, Sunscreen, etc.
Windbreaker if needed.
Mosquito repellent.
Comfortable walking shoes.
Painting Clothes - these are not your best clothes - some pigments will stain. An apron works if you prefer that. Never make the mistake of dressing up to paint - these paints will stain!

For workshops, we'll paint landscapes or florals, depending on location.
If you would like to bring 1-3 photos to discuss with me how you might approach painting them, I would be happy to help.
If you have 1-2 of your paintings you feel are unsuccessful, please bring them. I'd be happy to critique them and help you with your specific painting problems.

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