Materials

A good watercolour brush looked after correctly will outlast a cheap one by years. The habits that protect it take less than two minutes per session.

The gap between kolinsky sable and the best synthetic brushes has narrowed considerably. Whether it has narrowed enough depends on how and what you paint.

Two tubes labelled Yellow Ochre can behave very differently in a wash. The pigment code tells you which one you have.

The right supplier depends on whether you want individual sheets, blocks, or pads, and how far you are willing to travel or wait for delivery.

The right supplier depends on whether you want individual sheets, blocks, or pads, and how much you want to spend on postage.

Materials Paper Guide Hot press paper rewards precision and punishes impatience. For botanical work, fine detail, and pen and wash,

Materials Brushes Guide Watercolour brush sets tend to contain more shapes than most painters end up using. Understanding what each

Materials Palettes Guide A palette of six to ten well-chosen single-pigment colours covers most mixing needs. The difficulty is knowing

Materials Pigments Guide Lightfastness in watercolour is not a technical nicety. It is the difference between a painting that holds

Materials Pigments Guide Single-pigment watercolours contain exactly one colourant, identified by a Colour Index code printed on the label. When