Don't waste a lot of money arming yourself with a lot of equipment you will hardly ever use. The basics listed here I have found is all you will mostly use, and a few you'll find around the house.
From the start you will need to purchase the following:
Paper, Paint and Brushes.
Masking tape.
Gummed sealing tape (called gumstrip in the UK).
A plastic Palette.
A Cartridge sketch pad (A4 size).
A roll of tissue - damping off brushes and mopping up excess moisture.
Putty rubber and small sponge (for lifting color out).
HB, 2b and 4b Pencils and sharpener.
Masking fluid (although I rarely use it).
Something to hold water in (I use an assortment of plastic drinks bottles cut to size).
Painting Board. A Universal Art box (well I'm bound to say that) but something to hold everything in is useful. You don't really need an easel, but a flat piece of plywood approx 24"x 18". A couple of old books to create an angle of about 30-35 degrees is a must at some stage.
Most of the above items are available to buy at the art shop, some you may have already however, if you have any problems getting any of the above let me know contact and I'll try to help out.
Points to note: You might have paid quite a bit for it don't just use the "pointed" bit at the end.
Experiment using the brush from the sides, hold it it different ways, a good analogy might be use it like you would
a knife or fork while eating a meal...
Squirrel and Sable or natural brushes wear out, i.e. my current sable number 12 many years on is now a rather dumpy
No 8/9.
Get expert using the rigger, its most likely the last brush you'll use on a painting.. adding darks and detail.
Experiment with the art brush.. have fun with it.
Points to note: You might have paid quite a bit for it don't just use the "pointed" bit at the end.
Experiment using the brush from the sides, hold it it different ways, a good analogy might be use it like you would
a knife or fork while eating a meal...
Squirrel and Sable or natural brushes wear out, i.e. my current sable number 12 many years on is now a rather dumpy
No 8/9.
Get expert using the rigger, its most likely the last brush you'll use on a painting.. adding darks and detail.
Experiment with the art brush.. have fun with it.
Points to note: You might have paid quite a bit for it don't just use the "pointed" bit at the end.
Experiment using the brush from the sides, hold it it different ways, a good analogy might be use it like you would
a knife or fork while eating a meal...
Squirrel and Sable or natural brushes wear out, i.e. my current sable number 12 many years on is now a rather dumpy
No 8/9.
Get expert using the rigger, its most likely the last brush you'll use on a painting.. adding darks and detail.
Experiment with the art brush.. have fun with it.
I have tended to find that although I have spent money on lots of different brushes I always end up using the same
set as follows. Its not the brush thats important its what you do with it.
I recommend (and mainly use) 4 art brushes, a ¾” or 1” flat one stroke wash, a pointed (round) No6, a No12, a fan stippler and No2 rigger.
As time goes on you can add other sizes shapes for specific tasks. my choice is just based on experience. If you can
afford sable or a nice squirrel then by all means use them I always feel a little sorry for the animal though.
Personally I can’t afford Kolinsky Sable and tend to use a synthetic/sable blend made for me by a UK brush
manufacturer. That said some of my favourite brushes come from budget £1 pound stores.
A Sable brush No 12 is now a ? and doesn't come to a point anymore .. still a favourite though..
Well the second most important material after the paper has to be the paint to use. There are basically two types of watercolor paint Student quality and Artists quality. Buy what you can best afford, it always seems to me that the difference in price isn’t that great. I would rather buy one decent tube of artist quality paint and then save up for the next color on my list rather than buy two student quality paints. You will soon pick up watercolor skills and will wish you hadn’t bothered with student quality paints. In any case the whole thing about watercolor paints is that you can mix your own colors from just a couple of base ones, so don't need a vast range.
My current preference is the Rosa range from Bromleys supporting the Ukraine is a good thing in my book.