Ok, so if you read my previous post you know that I am embarking on D. Michele Perry’s 100 Days of Wonder project and today I’d like to share with you my favorite watercolor supplies.
Paper
First let’s talk about my paper choice. For weeks I’ve been looking at my sketch books and getting anxiety because the true this, I love Saunders Waterford 140lb Rough paper, I use it everyday, and I wish they would make a beautiful spiral bound sketch book—they do have one, it’s just not as pretty as what I chose.
I’ll get right to it. Indigo Artpapers 6" x 9" 100% Cotton Handmade Paper in WiroPad, Landscape Orientation, 300 GSM, 24 Sheets/Pad is what I chose. I love that it is 100% cotton, which works well for wet-on-wet technique and it looks pretty cool with it’s deckled edges. Did I mention I love deckled edges too? I kept the size to something portable and manageable. If I choose to do two paintings a page, they turn out to be 3.5 x 5 in each, and that may be perfect for this project.
Brushes
There are many different brands and types of watercolor color brushes to choose from and here are my favorites. First, let’s talk about the 5 Line Goat hair brush from Michael Solovyev. This is my go-to brush for sky washes on paper up to 12 x 16 in in size. You can quickly and efficiently cover your paper with this brush. It’s also a great brush to use when suggesting long streaky clouds or lifting off cloud lines. The best part is the goat hair is strong enough to command the paint, keep it’s form and it doesn’t shed. That’s major in my book with watercolor skies. I hate tweezing off brush hairs while painting. Michael Solovyev has a few different sizes to choose from on his website, but if you want, you can also grab the 5 Line Goat Hair Brush or the kit which comes with a liner and a calligraphy brush, (I love and use those as well) from Amazon.
Escoda brushes are my other favorites! i like the travel brushes for studio work and plein air painting. Currently, i’m using the Escoda Black Travel Set. It comes with 3 brushes and a travel case. I added in one extra, the Escoda Perla round size 10. So versatile and holds a really nice fine point.
Versatil Round size 16, Perla Dagger Striper size 1/4" and Perla Bright size 12, Perla Round size 10
Escoda Black Travel Kit
Watercolor Medium
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors in the tube are my favorite paints. The Primtek line has a beautiful graininess to it which works really well with the wet-on-wet technique.