Independent supplier guideUK storefront · prices in £Buying watercolour supplies from Ryman
Ryman’s art department covers the everyday side of watercolour: practice pads, paint sets, single brushes, pencils and palettes, with free click & collect from over 190 UK stores. Check each listing’s specification and you can pick up what you need locally.
Pencils · underdrawing
Kit · palettes and clipsProduct photography: RymanOur verdict
Ryman is worth checking for everyday watercolour materials when a local shop makes the purchase easier: a 300gsm practice pad, drawing pencils, a palette or clips, at any level of painting.
Read the full verdict
The sampled range is narrower than a specialist’s. Check the paper, paint grade and brush description carefully, and confirm local availability before travelling.
Good for
- Replacing a pad or pencils in town
- Working from a class list
- Completing a travel kit
Before you order
- Confirm stock at your chosen branch
- Check medium, paper weight and brush description
As published by Ryman on 30 October 2026. Details below.
Paper
Watercolour paper and pads: check the weight
Ryman files watercolour pads under sketch pads, next to drawing and cartridge paper. The weight printed on each listing matters more than the word “watercolour” on the cover.
Collecting locally?Check availability and the collection date for your chosen pad.Ordering details
Paper in Ryman’s online range
Daler-Rowney Aquafine and Winsor & Newton gummed pads are listed at 300gsm. Other pads use lighter paper. A listing does not confirm availability online or at your local branch.
Weight is a starting point
For wet washes, our guide starts at 300gsm. Also check surface, fibre and format: matching the weight alone does not establish how a paper paints.
In Ryman’s range
A 300gsm paper option
Daler-Rowney Aquafine pad
300gsm · cold pressed · wood pulp · A4 and A3
Ryman’s listed weight and surface match the starting specification in our paper guide. Catalogue specification; we have not tested its handling or repeated washes.
| Pad | Listed weight and paper | Against our 300gsm starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton gummed pad, A4 and A5 | 300gsm · cold press · 12 sheets | Matches the weight; check availability |
| Canson Graduate, A4 and A5 | 250gsm | Lighter |
| Daler-Rowney Simply, A4 | 190g, linen texture | Lighter |
| Faber-Castell Creative Studio, A5 | 190gsm | Lighter |
| Artgecko Splashy sketchbook, A4 | Listing gives both 150gsm and 300gsm | Unclear: confirm before buying |
Paint
Watercolour paint sets
Ryman sells watercolour as sets: student pans and tubes, travel sets and children’s kits, mostly from HIMI, Faber-Castell, Derwent, Daler-Rowney and its own 1893 Art.
Who it suits
A portable kit or a modest first set, chosen by format. We didn’t find an artist-grade range, so for single artist colours a specialist will serve you better.
Before you buy a set
- Confirm the medium and grade: student watercolour, children’s kits and watercolour pencils share the department.
- The descriptions we sampled list no pigments. Check the maker’s colour chart before relying on a set’s colours.
- Count colours, not pieces: one “25-piece” 1893 Art kit is six paints, a 160gsm pad and a brush.
In Ryman’s range
A travel set
Daler-Rowney Aquafine travel set
18 colours · mini brush · two mixing palettes (Ryman’s listing)
A compact travel format with a brush and mixing areas, according to Ryman’s listing. Colour count alone does not establish paint quality. No pigment list on the listing we sampled.
Brushes
Brushes: single shapes and sets
Daler-Rowney Graduate and Simply synthetics and HIMI sets make up most of the range. Graduate brushes are sold singly as well as in sets, which makes Ryman useful for replacing one shape.
Good for
Replacing a single round or flat, or a spare brush for masking fluid and rough work.
What the listing won’t tell you
Sizes vary between makers, and the listings we sampled gave no head measurements. Read the fibre, handle length and intended medium. For a main watercolour round, the brushes in our guides are sold elsewhere.
In Ryman’s range
A single round
Daler-Rowney Graduate Round 10
Synthetic · sold singly and in sets
The kind of listing to use when you need one shape rather than an assortment. The listing mixes long-handle, acrylic and oil descriptions. Confirm the intended medium and handle before choosing it for watercolour.
Pencils
Pencils for underdrawing
Here a stationer is at home: Derwent Graphic pencils singly and in tins, mechanical pencils and sharpeners, alongside water-soluble and coloured pencils.
Choosing a pencil
Graphite, water-soluble graphite and coloured pencil behave differently once a wash goes over them, so choose the medium as deliberately as the grade.
Kit
Palettes, clips and small kit
Small items are the easiest reason to use Ryman: a palette, foldback clips or a spare pad to complete a kit you already have.
Palettes
Plastic mixing palettes, including a seven-well petal palette (146 × 138 mm on the packaging). Confirm the current variant; we haven’t tested staining.
Masking fluid
A Daler-Rowney masking fluid is listed with little detail. Test any masking fluid on a scrap of the same paper first.
Ordering
Ryman click & collect, delivery and returns
Collection is the main reason to choose Ryman over an online specialist, so check what the date offered for your item means before you set out. As published by Ryman on 30 October 2026.
Click & collect
Free
at over 190 UK stores
- In stock at your store
- Collection “in as little as 60 minutes”, subject to stock and opening hours; wait for the ready email
- Sent to your store
- About 7 working days on Ryman’s delivery page (up to 10 for Penzance and Scotland); some items may show sooner. Use the date offered for your item
- Held for
- 30 days, then returned and refunded
- Bring
- Your confirmation email and order number
- Not collectable
- Items delivered direct from suppliers
Delivery
2–4
working days, standard UK mainland (Ryman’s estimate)
- Free delivery
- Advertised above a minimum order; check the condition at checkout
- Ryman Zoom
- Delivery from a nearby store through Deliveroo, “in as little as 25 minutes”, where available. The art department can be filtered to eligible items
- Exceptions
- Highlands and islands, and supplier-direct items, have different charges and timing
- Outside the UK
- No international option listed
Returns
Check the window
Published pages give different return periods; confirm the terms for your order.
- Christmas orders
- Orders from 1 November to 24 December 2026 can be returned until 31 January 2027
- In store
- Many online orders can be returned to a store, with conditions
- Supplier-direct items
- Can’t be returned to stores
Return windows that disagree
Ryman’s product tabs say 14 days, while its returns page also carries 60-day and 90-day passages. Ask Ryman to confirm the window for your order rather than relying on the longest.
Questions about buying from Ryman
Is Ryman only for beginners?
No. Practice pads, drawing materials and small accessories are useful at any level. What matters is whether the exact item fits the job; this guide doesn’t rate products by the level printed on the packaging.
Does Ryman stock Winsor & Newton Cotman?
Its department introduction mentions Cotman, but on 30 October 2026 we found no Cotman set listed, and a search for “cotman” returned unrelated products. Check the listing, not the department text.
Can I return Ryman art supplies to a store?
Many ordinary online purchases can be returned in store, with conditions; supplier-direct items can’t. The published time limits conflict, so confirm yours with Ryman.
How we checked
We compared Ryman’s catalogue and sampled product pages with the choices in our guides, and checked its delivery, collection and returns pages on desktop and phone, on 30 October 2026. We haven’t ordered, tested these products or visited a store, and a listing doesn’t confirm stock at a particular branch. The Winsor & Newton A4 and A5 paper listing specifications were checked separately on 1 November 2026; current availability was not established.
Explore your other options
Check Ryman’s range and collection options
Check the specification on the listing and the collection date offered for your store.
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