The Watercolourist - The Watercolourist

Watercolour supplies for beginners: what each one is for

You can begin with a few colours, suitable paper, one brush and a plate. Here is what each supply does, and when the rest is worth adding.

There is no reliable number of minutes between watercolour layers. The look and feel of the paper give a better answer than the clock.

There is no fixed ratio of water to paint. Judge the mixture, the brush and the paper by sight, then record your own paints with a strength strip.

Plastic, enamelled metal and porcelain palettes behave differently. Choose by mixing visibility, weight, cleaning and where you paint.

Mop, quill and round brushes overlap, but their construction changes capacity, control and the marks they favour.

Brush size numbers are relative, not universal. Learn how to compare dimensions, capacity and marks instead.

What changes between artist and student watercolour paints, what does not, and when an upgrade is worth making.

Drybrush uses a lightly loaded brush across dry paper so the surface catches broken colour. The result depends on moisture, pressure and paper tooth.

Lifting can lighten a passage or recover a highlight, but the safe limit depends on the paint, paper, timing and amount of friction.

Watercolour edges are controlled by the moisture relationship between the paint, brush and paper at the moment a stroke is made.