Start scrolling the art section of Pinterest or Instagram and you’ll quickly find yourself bombarded with alllllll the brands of paint, all the paintbrushes, all the kinds and sizes and textures and weights of paper. So many things. So many options. *twitch*
Where does one start?
I’m glad you asked! I have a few of the basics that I started with that are inexpensive and straightforward and still some of my favorites to this day–even though I’ve branched out and experimented with a lot of options. These are some of my stand-by favorites that still go with me when I travel away from my home studio and they’re just….solid.
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- This sketchbook/journal is fantastic. I cannot recommend it highly enough, and it has long been one of my favorite papers to paint on–especially for quick travel journaling/sketching type situations.
- Some of the paintings you see come out of my studio are STILL produced with this tiny little Sketcher’s Pocket Box by Winsor & Newton, and it’s still for sure my go-to travel palette.
- Brushes. Haha. Let me tell you a little secret. The brushes I used for the first….probably…3 years of my watercolor “career” (journey? adventure? foray?) were from either Ross or Marshall’s craft section. Or the Dollar Store. Because they were ones I had laying around from other craft projects or various things from before I was ever doing watercoloring. And I knew nothing about brushes, so I just grabbed the brushes I had and dove in. And it worked! Now, I’ve used great brushes since then and there IS a difference–but I don’t think you need to purchase a $200 brush from Day 1 (I still have never purchased a $200 brush…). Here’s a great option from the Princeton Series 4050.
- I still have some of these hanging around my brush caddy and still grab one occasionally–so if you want several for less $$, go for something like this if you’re just starting out! Royal & Langenickel Taklon 6-piece Brush Set
- Here’s a “water brush” that I used a lot (and still do!) while traveling or in the car: Pentel Aquash Waterbrush
And there you’re set.
What I listed here is all I had for quite awhile while I was learning how to paint. It went everywhere with me and I painted all the time–on the side of the trail while hiking, in the car, on the airplane, in bed in the middle of the night while I couldn’t sleep, on the couch during family story-time, at the restaurant while waiting for the food, at the beach. As I mentioned, these things are tried-and-true in my studio and still rank among my favorites.
Happy painting 💜
Grace
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