Watercolor Painting Accessories Part I – The Must Have’s and Why

by | May 13, 2022 | Tips and Tricks

When it comes to supplies, as a watercolor artist, you know you will need at least paints, paper, and brushes to create a painting, but what else? As an artist, as in any other profession, various tools will make your job easier and often more enjoyable. So, let’s talk about some of the essentials when painting at home.

Palette – If you purchase watercolor in tubes, you’ll need to put it somewhere, and a palette is that thing. Palettes come in plastic and sometimes metal, as well as porcelain. I use plastic and metal, preferring large palettes for my most frequently used paints. I use a Possum Palette with large wells and storage cups with lids for the paints. Unfortunately, the Possum Palette is no longer available, but here is a great alternative, the Art Alternative Plastic Palette. I also have a large plastic John Pike palette with 20 small wells for paint and a huge well, plus lid, for mixing. I use smaller airtight locking palettes for other paints I would use occasionally. I label each to quickly identify their paint brands and colors.

You’ll need a container for your water. Recycled yogurt, cottage cheese, and plastic milk jugs are great affordable options. Collapsible water cups are easy to pack and transport. They come in different colors so you can distinguish your clean and dirty water.

A rag or blotting towel should be at hand to quickly blot excess pigment from the brush or remove excess water before blending edges on the paper. I use old dish towels that don’t shed lint, and at a recent workshop, I saw one person using a rolled-up wad of paper towels that worked well.

Having a brush holder is essential to keep your brushes protected and ready for use. Whether it’s a folding one (that makes it into a stand) or a compact rolled one for travel, it is essential in taking care of your brushes.

If you prefer to paint flat, an easel is not needed. Still, many artists prefer some style of tabletop easel or simply use a rolled-up towel to raise their painting at an angle. I have this adjustable tabletop easel and really like it. It has a nice wide surface to support a variety of sizes of paintings.

There’s much more to have on hand when painting, but this should get you started. Stay tuned for Part II.

Navigating the Many Types of Watercolor Paper

by | Apr 5, 2022 | Tips and Tricks

Paper. The most common medium to use for watercolor painting, yet there are others such as canvas, Yupo, watercolor board, and claybord, to name a few, but I’ll talk about paper for now.

Watercolor paper comes in various weights, finishes, forms, and brands. There are sheets, blocks, rolls, and weights of #90, #140, #200, #300, #400, and textures of cold press, hot press, or rough. The options are endless and can be mind-boggling. Over time you will learn the best weight, brand, style, and finish you prefer to work on, but first, let’s talk about the options.

Weights

Weight denotes the thickness of the paper, with the weight number determined by the total weight of a ream of 500 sheets. For example, a ream of 500 sheets of medium-weight paper is #140. A ream of 500 sheets of heavyweight paper is #400, and so on. The best and most commonly used weight is #140. It holds up to multiple applications of paint and handles well when stretched. Some favor heavier-weight paper to avoid stretching the paper since heavier-weight paper does not buckle nearly as much as #140.

Sheets, blocks, or rolls

You can purchase watercolor paper in sheets of 22 x 30, which is most common, in blocks or rolls, and various weights and finished. Blocks are sheets of watercolor paper bound flat to secure each sheet, allowing you to paint quickly without stretching your paper. Once your painting is dry, you remove it from the block, revealing a new sheet of clean paper ready for painting. Rolls allow you to paint in larger formats and wrap around a frame similar to canvas.

Brands

There are numerous brands on the market, from student grades to professional grades. The most common and oldest is Arches, but Fabriano, Windsor & Newton, and Canson are available. I paint mainly with Arches in both sheets and blocks, my preferred brand. I also paint on Fabriano Artistico, Fluid, and Kilimanjaro. The last two are of more consistent quality.

In conclusion

Each weight and finish of paper and form, whether sheet or block, is slightly different. So, for example, a sheet of Arches #140 will be somewhat different in texture than a #140 sheet from a block, with the block having more texture. Remember to take this into consideration when selecting a subject to paint.

Summary of links mentioned in this post:

4 Things to Consider When Buying Watercolor Brushes

by | Mar 19, 2022 | Tips and Tricks

Watercolor brushes are different from all other painting tools. There are specific features that make watercolor brushes different from acrylic or oil painting brushes, yet watercolor brushes can be used on any type of painting surface, such as watercolor paper, Yupo, rice paper, or even canvas. Prices range from affordable to expensive, but the best way to start your painting journey is by purchasing the best watercolor brushes you can afford.

Although available online or at local craft stores, I’ve found the best quality brushes online and for great prices. If you are interested in purchasing the best watercolor brush, various factors need to be considered. Here are some of the essential aspects.

Price
There are various types of brushes available in the market, but each has its own set of features. Some are made for professional artists, while others are made for beginners. Therefore, it is essential to understand this difference to make the right decision.

You can choose between different types of brushes, such as natural hair or synthetic brushes, or a blend with each one having a different price range. The type of brush you want to buy will depend on what kind of painting you want to do.

The first thing you should consider when purchasing a brush is its size. It is essential to buy a good-sized brush that fits well in your hand because you will use it a lot. With proper care and use, a good, quality brush can last a lifetime.

The next thing you should look for is whether it is made from natural bristles or synthetic bristles. Natural bristles are durable and soft, and they tend to last longer than synthetic bristles. It is best to buy a good-quality brush with a wooden handle or a plastic handle. However, some brushes have metal handles.

Additionally, the size of the brush head and type of tip is essential. The size of the brush head and the material will determine the amount of paint the brush can store as well as holding a good tip for fine painting.

Material
The best watercolor brush is made from the highest quality materials. Your painting will greatly influence the material and style of the brush you use. For example, if you’re going to a large background, a natural hair flat wash style brush works best such as a 1 ½” or 2” Isabey, Princeton, or Silver Brush. The natural hair moves the paint evenly across the surface rather than lifting it as a pure synthetic would do. Synthetic brushes work in all applications, but do not hold as much paint as a natural brush or even a synthetic blend. When blending edges, a synthetic brush works best. For lifting, a blend or synthetic works best because it not only moves the paint away from the paper, but it absorbs the paint you are lifting. I have one oil paintbrush I use frequently because it is a stiff synthetic and does a wonderful job in lifting paint in a narrow line.

When painting detail or for portraits, both synthetics and natural hair brushes are used. A natural hair brush works best for larger areas such as skin or in creating the hair base color. Synthetic or synthetic blend brushes would be used to create shadow and depth, lifting paint for folds, or detail hair strands or other details such as eyelashes. When choosing your brush, you must consider the kind of painting and application within the painting where it will be used. A good watercolor brush for detailed work will snap back to its original shape.

Length
Most watercolor brush lengths are around 8 inches except for flat wash brushes which are shorter and are made that way to control the paint application across a larger surface. So, make sure that the length of your brush is right. Traditionally, long-handled brushes are used in oil painting to balance the brush and allow you distance from the work. Most watercolorists work close to the painting, so watercolor brush handles are traditionally shorter. The oil paintbrush I use for lifting was long, almost 18 inches, but I cut it down to 8 for better control.

Holding the brush correctly is essential for control as well as avoiding fatigue and the shorter length of watercolor brushes makes this easier. Hold the brush by the handle using your index finger and thumb, like holding a pencil. When using a flat wash brush, you’ll hold it differently, almost grasping it by the end of the handle.

Shape
The shape of the brush depends upon the type of painting you want to do and how accurate the final picture is when finished.

A round brush is usually used for painting flowers or other objects with a rounded shape. Rounded brushes also form nice tips if they are natural hair or a blend. A Cat’s Tongue or Oval brush is also good for various uses and will hold a nice tip if they are natural hair or a blend. Flat brushes are good for angular subjects such as rocks, buildings, and similar. On the other hand, if you want to paint something that has a flat shape, then you should use a rectangular or flat brush. Riggers are longhaired brushes used to create long lines.

Conclusion: You should buy the brush which suits your needs the most. I’ve got several brushes in my collection and although I’ve used them all, I have a few that are my go-to favorites. I have Isabey and Kolinsky pure hair brushes that I use for landscapes or large applications. I have Richeson Gray Matters pure synthetic brushes that are great for most applications such as hair in portraits, landscapes, and florals, and Connoisseur Cat Tongues (ovals) which are synthetic blends, and Joe Miller’s synthetic sables and squirrels that work pretty good without paying the price of real hair. How about you? What are your favorite brushes and how do you use them?

Watercolor is challenging, (not really, but don’t tell anyone!)

by | Aug 8, 2019 | Tips and Tricks

I remember in high school painting with watercolor. That’s all I remember . . . other than it was hard and difficult to control. I instead switched to oil painting and really felt like I was a master. Heck, I could paint something, leave it for the day, then come back and with a new vision, see my mistakes and still make a change! Genius! No wonder so many people painted in oil paints, it sure wasn’t because they smelled good!

Fast forward a couple of decades. I decided to try watercolors again. There were a lot of artists so there must be a method to master the many changes that occur to a subject when painting it. After attending a couple of workshops by two different instructors, I still didn’t learn the secrets of watercolor painting that seem to elude me. Drat.

I didn’t give up, I was determined to learn what the secret was about watercolor painting. It just couldn’t be that watercolor artists were much more skilled than artists that worked with other mediums. No one could be so good with painting something the first time that mistakes aren’t made and corrections aren’t needed. Finally, I found someone to share the various tips and tricks of watercolor painting. Now many years later, and many commissions and paintings later, I am in awe of how many times that I’ve made corrections to eyes or teeth, yet the final result is void of any telltale evidence.

Here are my bits of wisdom in making corrections to watercolor paintings.

1.       Always start with the lightest layer and build your color up. It’s easier to add than it is to take away, especially if you are working with Phthalocyanine Blue Red Shade (or any other staining color)!

2.       Layer your paintings. Paint the entire subject in layers building up as you go. This is important because it allows you to see the “big picture” and balance your colors thus avoiding corrections.

3.       When lifting, lay down your water and let it sit a few seconds before you blot it with a paper towel.

4.       Again with lifting, if you need to scrub the paper, don’t litterly scrub the paper, instead gently rub the paper using a scrubber, then blot with a paper towel.  If you get too ambitious and rough up the paper, take the back of a spoon and rub it over the paper. This smooths the fibers resulting in a smoother surface receptive of paint.

5.       After lifting and before reapplying paint, let the paper completely dry. If you don’t, the new paint will bleed into the newly rubbed paper. The lifting process disturbs the fibers in the paper causing them to stand up and absorb more paint than before. Letting the paper dry allows the fibers to relax.

6.       Lifting and corrections can be made with a stiff synthetic brush or a specialty brush called a scrubber. Various sizes can be used for different applications. If you need to even out the edge of your subject, a thin flat brush would work best.

 Also take into consideration the weight of your paper when lifting. 300# will hold up better to repeated lifting than 140# will.

So, my life has come full circle with the belief that watercolor is hard. Now that I know the tips and tricks of making changes, I can now wait till tomorrow to make a change. In fact, waiting a day is even better (so that the paint thoroughly dries)!