To get you started with watercolour painting, you'll need watercolour paints, 100% cotton watercolour paper, brushes, and water. You will also need a palette, you can use a plate, purchase a ceramic palette, old towels, and I recommend 2 water containers. You will learn about securing and stretching your paper, so if you decide to stretch your paper you will also need a rigid board such as gator board, gummed tape, stapler and staples, stapler remover, craft knife, blow dryer. It is obvious that you need to either use your kitchen/dining room table, desk, or a drawing table as your work surface.

There are many wonderful brands and sets of watercolour paint for beginners available. It can and does get confusing at times. Some popular brands include Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith, Paul Rubin, Marmeri Blue, Holbien, just to mention a few. They all have various price points. I use all the above brands for one thing or another depending on what I am getting ready to paint. Look for sets with a range of colours, and consider buying individual tubes or pans of paint as you progress. You will eventually want a good collection of your favorite brand. I encourage you to try different brands. We all differ in what we like. You will need both warm and cool colors. Starting out with your basics of Red, Blue, Yellow. Basically a warm and cool red, a warm and cool yellow and a warm and cool blue will allow you to mix most colours you will need. Or you can purchase a variety of colors if you don't want to learn to mix your own.

The best paper for watercolour painting is 100% cotton paper. I recommend brands such as Arches,Saunders Waterford, and Fabriano Artistico. You can purchase your paper at various places such as Dick Blick Art Supplies, Jacksons Art, Amazon, Hobby Lobby, Michaels.

Watercolour paper comes in different weights and textures. Look for paper specifically designed for watercolour painting and choose a weight that suits your painting style.

The best to start out with is Cold Press 140 lb 300 gsm. As you progress along, you will discover other types such Hot Press which is smooth like a baby's butt and is best for fine details and printing, or rough texture will create a more textured look (good for landscapers and seascapes)

The texture of cold press paper sits in between hot press and rough paper and is the most popular texture among artists.

Watercolor paper comes in pads and loose on the end like a tablet of paper, or pads that are glued on all 4 sides. The glued pads do not need to be stretched. There is also Watercolour board, and it is as it sounds, a thick board, which doesn’t require stretching and can be great for large or small paintings if you don’t want to stretch your paper. I would suggest not using a Watercolor Board when you are first starting. Your watercolor paper is one of the most crucial factors in successful painting and learning. Some of the brands can be a bit expensive, but if you purchase a cheaper paper and use 2 x's the amount, you might as well get the "good stuff" and have a good outcome. Paper that is not 100% cotton will not give you a good result, it will give you issues, and you will have failed paintings. I hesitate to recommend different papers because you will find your favorite. I use the brands I have listed above, and I use some that are not as good, for trial and error, or practicing brush strokes, etc.

This is a huge question. There are so many brushes out there and eventually it will depend on what type of painting you will be doing.

Brushes should be purchased from a good source and not dime -store brushes either. Be ready to spend a few dollars and be sure you do get a couple of really good brushes to learn with. Your brush is even more important than your paper.

Different brushes are different shapes and sizes, which are suited to different techniques. Generally, round brushes are good for washes and details, while flat brushes are good for broad strokes and edges. Experiment with different brushes to see which ones work best for you. Small detail brushes are good for small details and fur. It is going to depend on what you eventually like to paint.

I will not go into the brands of brushes as they are too numerous to mention. Do your research, find out what most artists use and why then make your decision. Try assorted brands and find what works best for you.

Brushes as well as paint are a never-ending purchase.

No, You Don't

All brands have pretty much the same colors available in their collections, or you will learn to mix your own colors.

It is good to know the pigment codes of the paint (they are on most tubes) you use because color names vary between assorted brands. There is a wealth of information on the internet that you can find about brands, colors, names of the colors, pigment codes

When you follow a painting tutorial, knowing the pigment codes will assist you if you need to substitute colors between brands.

While gouache and watercolour paints look similar because of their color, they are two completely different animals, with different qualities that separate them.

I don't care for gouache with the exception of white occasionally, and then I prefer white in the watercolor best due to the differences in opacity, transparency, texture, and permanence.

Watercolour is a transparent medium that tends to be more fluid, while gouache is an opaque medium with a much thicker consistency, I feel it is harder to use, harder to blend etc.

Watercolour paints are known for their soft, application of washes of color while gouache offers bright, heavy pigment coverage. It reminds me of chalk, and at times even looks like chalk when dry and looks more opaque.

Actually, No I don’t. There are a couple of reasons that I do not. The main one is I am learning how to use watercolors, and how to paint. I do that via social media and Patreon and tutorials of various Artist’s that I pay for lessons. Many of the paintings you see here are a product of those tutorials, and some of the artist that I have followed have stipulations that prohibit me from selling my work. They feel that it is a direct product of their tutorial, and reference image which they claim copyright for.

Some of the art that is here, is done from references of copywrite free images and I could sell that, and some of the Artists do not object to you selling your “spoils” from their tutorials as long as written credit is given. Which I would but……

I do not have the equipment it takes to produce a copy of a print, or the ability to create the size a client would want, and as I said I am learning.

Right now, I would rather master my techniques and my craft, and help others learn the beauty of watercolor and the creation of paintings.

When the time comes that I do decide to sell my art, if I do, I will have a designated section devoted to just that. One day it will come, just not right now.

If you decide to frame and hang one of your accomplished watercolor paintings for display, it's important to choose a decent quality frame that complements the painting and protects it from damage. Use only acid-free, archival matting to prevent deterioration over time.

This applies to framing any paintings you purchase from any artist. You want to be sure that they last a long time. It is best to keep them out of direct sun.

To care for and keep and store your watercolour paintings, don't expose them to direct sunlight or moisture, and store them in a dry, cool place. Use acid-free materials when framing and matting your paintings.

There are portfolios you can purchase for keeping your art with the proper material between your paintings which is always acid free.

Cleaning the glass in your painting, be very careful not to use too much liquid and let it run up under the frame, where it might get on your painting. If you need to dust off your painting, and it is not in a frame under glass, use a soft cloth or brush to gently "dust" the painting. Never scrub or use water, chemicals, pledge, or anything directly on the surface of your watercolor painting.

Carefully place the painting between two acid free pieces of cardboard with tissue paper between the painting and the cardboard. Gently tape it together.

There are transparent plastic bags you can purchase in the size you need to store your painting, and this makes it easy to give it to someone.

If you have it framed and under glass, it is easy to present to someone.

You might want to share with the person you are giving this painting to how to take care of it.

If you need to send it by mail or some other form of transportation, of course you will use the method that is most feasible, and again make sure it is acid free.

yep, sure do. Size your watercolor paper to the size that you want your "finished" card to be, unframed of course.

Do your painting and then seal it.

After it has dried, I use a spray that I seal my graphite drawings with, and I use it on my watercolor cards. It only takes a little bit to seal them, but it sure protects them against dust and droplets of water. It doesn't smell the best so be sure to use it in a well-ventilated area.

The internet is a vast world to say the least. You can find oodles of artists who do tutorials on YouTube, and various other places, some private, some on Patreon. I have used both private instruction, private schools, local art, Patreon, monthly memberships, books and various others. It is vast.

What I did when I decided I wanted to learn watercolor was watch several YouTube videos until I found one that I liked, and then located them either privately or on Patreon. Signed up, with a monthly subscription and started doing Tutorials.

I learned watercolor paint from several different artists, and I encourage you to do the same! There are no two artists that paint the same, teach the same, or have and use the same techniques. Find one that matches what you want to learn.

Some that I recommend are listed in our Links Section

Well, this depends. When you join a subscription to an artist and begin doing their tutorials, they will provide you with the subject matter and the line art of the tutorial which you can use, or you can sketch it yourself. They also provide you with a list of the used color palettes and always suggest you follow their color scheme but use what you have. The same for brushes. However, on the brushes end, they tell you which brushes are best for their techniques, and my experience has taught me that they are 99.9% accurate.

You will want a mechanical pencil and a good erasure as you want the lightest marks possible so you can see where you are, and what you are doing, but they are not visible in your finished painting. Once you get a pencil mark wet, it is un-erasable.

One of the most important benefits of using watercolour is once you learn, and have a good understanding of styles and techniques, it can be easy to learn.

This makes it ideal for beginners and the more experienced artists who are looking to explore further.

No, you don't. But ... It's a clever idea to stretch your watercolor paper before painting on it, especially if you're using lightweight paper. This will prevent the paper from buckling or warping as it absorbs water.

Sometimes I just tape my paper to a heavy piece of cardboard (like the back of a pad of paper)

This varies too in separate ways. Where you live, how much water you use, how much paint you use, does your paper absorb the water? or sit on top?

If you are ready to take a break, you can just clean your brush and walk away and let it dry on its own. If you need it to hurry up and dry, use a hair dryer

There are oodles of ways to create those types of looks which we call textures and effects.

These include but are not limited to dry brushing, wet on wet, lifting the paint with a damp brush, splattering, using masking fluid, or a piece of wax to mark out an area. You can purchase a Granulating medium which comes in liquid form, mix it with your paint and this will create texture. You can use a sponge, a stiff plastic card, specialty brushes, Q-Tip's, and other items. Play with different things and techniques to find which ones work best for the effect you want.

Yep, I sure do. Love wet-on-wet. That is where you take your brush and wet the area first, wait a couple minutes then put your watercolor pigment on the wet spot, and it bursts out on the paper. It only goes where it is wet so watch your boundaries. Glazing is another technique I use often, as well as charging (which is putting additional color into the same area). There is nothing like watercolor, to watch it spread and travel in its own path. It is fascinating!

Your brushes are the life blood of your watercolor painting, and it is especially important to clean them properly.

You can clean them with plain water between colors, and at the end of the day, but you would be surprised at the amount of paint that lingers up close to the Ferrel.

It is important to clean them at least once a week with warm water and soap.

You can use dish soap, any gentle soap, shampoo, baby shampoo, specific brush cleaning soap, or Murphys Oil Soap. That is what I use plus I use specific brush soap as well. The Murphys Oil Soap really gets them clean of all paint residue, and conditions the bristles.

Wet & Dip your brush in the soap, and then swish and swirl it around in the palm of your hand gently under running water. DO NOT let the brushes sit in water because it bends the bristles and ruins them!

Clean and rinse them well in warm water, lay them flat to dry on a towel, or you can hang them with the point of the brush down. You do not want water getting up in the Ferrel of the brush because it will loosen the glue and start to decay the wood. Always either hang it upside down or lay it flat to dry.

After you remove all the soap, turn the brush in your hand and bring the brush end to a point for it to dry. It is important to reshape your brush, so it is ready for the next use.

f your bristles get a little wonky and it does not form a good point, you can dip the brush in boiling water for a few seconds. I don't know what it is but that will straighten out and reshape the brush for you.

Yep, I sure do. You can find that list here. It is always growing because I find different things, but my main items are listed here.