GETTING
Started
Materials
Generally, purchase the best materials you can afford. You don’t need to purchase a tube of every color or have an arsenal of 30 or 40 brushes. It’s better to have a limited number of professional-quality paints and a few good brushes than a cache of lesser-quality tools.
PAINT
TRANSPARENT & OPAQUE
Watercolors come in two types: transparent and opaque. Opaque watercolor is also known as gouache, which is similar to the tempera paint you used in school. Gouache contains white pigment mixed in with the color to allow the paint to cover with clean opacity. You can thin gouache and paint with it transparently, if you desire.
Transparent watercolor is what watercolor artists traditionally use. The transparency of these paints allows both the white of the paper and a previously applied color to show through. It is what gives watercolor paintings their luminous glow.
ARTIST VS. STUDENT GRADES
I always buy artist-grade paint over student-grade. Most manufacturers make both. Artist-quality paint flows easier, goes on smoother, and lasts longer than student-grade paint. Student-grade paint contains synthetic substitutes for many of the pigments, and the colors aren’t as lightfast as the higher grade. If you can afford artist-quality paint, you will find much more satisfaction and quicker success.
“LIGHTFAST” REFERS TO THE PERMANENCE OF THE COLORS WHEN EXPOSED TO LIGHT OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
TUBES VS. PANS
Transparent watercolor is available in tubes and pans. Tube paint is similar to travel-size toothpaste tubes and contains paint in soft, squeezable form. Pans are dried cakes of pigment in small plastic cups (or pans). Pans are generally considered best for travel painting, because they are dry and can be transported easily—less mess! Although I have some paint sets that contain pans and occasionally use them, I much prefer tube paint, even for on-location/travel painting. When traveling, I squirt tube paint in my travel palette and let it dry for a day or so, just enough to slightly harden.
It has been my experience that tube paint is fresher and the colors are brighter than pans. It’s also easier (and more fun) to paint with. Much of my painting involves scooping big brush loads of paint onto the paper. This is much easier to do with creamy, right-out-of-the-tube paint.
MANUFACTURERS
There are many excellent brands to choose from. I have used Winsor & Newton™, Daniel Smith™, Holbein®, Grumbacher®, Da Vinci®, and Daler-Rowney® with good results. Most recently, I have been using Holbein and Winsor & Newton exclusively. I find their color ranges, consistent quality, luminosity, and brilliance to be in keeping with my goals and direction as an expressive, color-oriented artist. You should experiment with a few brands to find the one that works best for you.
COLORS
This is my current color palette, and these are the colors I used for all the demonstrations in this book. My palette does change occasionally, and yours should too as you experiment and grow as an artist.
BRUSHES
ROUND & FLAT
Brushes come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Watercolor artists primarily use two types: round and flat. Rounds are best for general painting. Flats are typically used for wide, generous washes across the paper, although some artists use flats exclusively. I prefer large, round brushes for all my painting.
SIZES
Brushes come in many sizes and are identified by a number, 000 being the smallest and 24 being the largest. Brushes from different manufacturers vary in size—a number 10 from one company may be the same size as a number 12 from another. I suggest you use the largest brush you are comfortable with. This will help you stay loose and avoid painting too much detail.
To keep things simple, I refer to brushes as small, medium, or large. Small brushes are between numbers 6 and 8; medium brushes are between numbers 10 and 12; and large brushes are between numbers 14 and 16.
SABLE & SYNTHETIC
Most watercolorists use either natural brushes (made from animal furs, such as sable and squirrel), synthetic-fiber brushes, or a combination natural/synthetic-fiber brush.
Natural brushes are the most expensive, but they hold a lot of paint and are quite enjoyable to paint with. Synthetic brushes are the least expensive, but they are difficult to control and don’t hold much paint. I have found the natural/synthetic combination to be the best blend of affordability and performance. I use Stratford and York Amethyst series brushes and Winsor & Newton Sceptre Gold brushes.
As with everything else, get the best brushes you can afford. You will be rewarded with excellent results.
Natural-Hair Brush
Soft natural-hair brushes are made up of the hair of an animal such as a weasel, badger, or squirrel. High-quality naturals hold a good amount of moisture and are an excellent choice for watercolor.
Synthetic-Hair Brush
Soft synthetic-hair brushes are made of man-made fibers such as nylon and polyester filaments. They are an excellent alternative for watercolorists when natural-hair brushes are cost prohibitive. Synthetics are durable and can withstand more use and abuse. Although steadily improving in performance, synthetics do not hold as much moisture and do not have the same “snap” or resilience as high-quality naturals. But remember: A high-quality synthetic is always better than a low-quality natural.
TRAVEL BRUSHES
Many manufacturers offer both natural and synthetic travel brushes. These are ideal, as they have a cap that protects them during travel.
CARE
Take good care of your brushes, and they will be with you for a long time.
1. Always immerse your brush in water before dipping it into paint.
2. Never leave a brush resting on the hairs or soaking in water.
3. Clean brushes thoroughly after each painting session.
4. Reshape your brushes after cleaning, and rest them head up in a jar to dry.
PALETTE
A palette is a flat, shallow container for laying out and mixing paint. It can be as simple as a dinner plate or a metal butcher’s pan to a metal or plastic version made specifically for watercolorists.
My studio palette is a Holbein heavy metal palette that is sturdy and very well made. As I like variety, I also occasionally use a John Pike palette, which is a heavy plastic palette that comes with a lid that serves as a place to set your water container and brushes. It also helps keep paint fresh between painting sessions. I keep a moist paper towel in the closed palette.
Be sure to put in fresh color every time you paint; don’t squirt in the whole tube and let it dry. I leave paint in the wells and add a little more each time I paint. That way I always have fresh, moist paint to work with. When some of the paint dries, clean it out and put in new paint. You don’t want to ruin an expensive brush by scraping out a few cents’ worth of pigment from a dried lump of paint.
Organize colors on the palette in spectrum order (like a piano keyboard), so you can learn and remember where each color is. I start at one end with my reds and work around the palette in color-wheel fashion: orange, yellow, greens, and blues. I place my earth tones at the opposite end. When I use white, I place it between purple and the earth tones. Whenever you add a new color, reorganize to make room for the new addition. Don’t just plug it in at the end—it’s confusing to see a bright red mixed in among greens.
MASKING FLUID
Masking fluid, or liquid frisket, goes on like thick paint and dries to form a transparent resist on the paper. You can paint right over the masked areas. When the paint is dry, gently remove the mask with an eraser or your finger to expose the clean, white paper underneath.
PAPER
TYPES
Most watercolorists use paper made from 100-percent cotton. This paper is referred to as rag paper and is archival, meaning it’s acid-free and won’t discolor with age. Some manufacturers make paper with wood pulp instead of cotton. The surface is a little different but very enjoyable to paint on.
There are three basic finishes: hot-pressed, which has a smooth finish; cold-pressed, which has a slight texture and is the most common among painters; and rough, which is heavily textured. You should experiment with all three to see what surface fits your style best.
Watercolor paper comes in three basic weights, or thicknesses: 90-lb., which is the lightest and thinnest; 140-lb., which is medium-weight and is the most common; and 300-lb., which is the heaviest.
I use two types of paper for my work: Fabriano® Artistico 140-lb. bright white cold-pressed paper and Arches® 140-lb. hot-pressed paper.
PREPARATION
I don’t soak my paper before painting, because I found that I spent a large amount of time soaking, stretching, and stapling paper, only to ruin the painting within a few minutes, forcing me to start over. I always check the sizing by spraying a little water in one corner of the sheet. If sized properly, the water should remain on the surface for a few seconds before soaking in.
I attach my dry paper to a rigid board, such as Gator board, tempered hardboard, or Masonite, using bulldog clips. The paper will get wet and buckle during painting, but will flatten out as it dries.
Your board should be on a slight incline when you paint to take advantage of gravity, which will help your paints mix nicely on the paper.
SIZE
I work in two primary sizes: 15″ × 20″ (half sheet) and 10″ × 15″ (quarter sheet). Occasionally, I work on a full sheet (20″ × 30″), but that is rare, due to the size of my studio and workspace. I have three to four boards of each size so I can work on several paintings simultaneously.
You should paint on the size of paper that you are most comfortable with. You may need to experiment to discover your preferred paper size.
Equipment for the Studio
MAKE A COMFORTABLE WORKPLACE
Some painters have the luxury of a dedicated art area where they can leave their equipment set up. Others must make do with the kitchen table and share their studio with the rest of the household activities. For years, I used my dining table before taking over my garage. Whatever your situation, you want to set up an area for yourself that is comfortable and well-lit and equipped with a basic complement of good art materials.
WORKING SURFACE
I usually work sitting at a table. I have two work lights to evenly illuminate my work area. My palette is on the right—I am right-handed. My water container and paper towel for dabbing are in the lid of my palette. My board is set on a slight incline.
There should be enough room in your workspace to stand back to view your work during the painting process to check for composition, value, and balance.
OTHER NECESSITIES
To complete your studio setup, you will need:
• Water container: one that is deep with a large opening
• Spray bottle for keeping your paints nice and wet
• Paper towels
• Pen (I like to use a uni-ball® micro black pen.)
• Pencil: mechanical pencil with 0.9 HB lead
• Eraser (I like to use a Mars® Staedtler® plastic eraser.)
• Scraper tool: the chisel end of a flat brush or a palette knife
• Test mat: for checking composition
Equipment for Plein Air Painting
PACK LIGHT
To me, the most exciting way to paint is on location. Whether sitting outside in your backyard on a cool fall afternoon or waiting at an airport gate, working directly from your subject is the best way to paint. There is an immediacy and directness to your work that is sometimes hard to capture when working from photographs. Your eye-hand coordination is more quickly developed and your sense of “seeing” is further refined.
I bring a complete studio wherever I go, so I’m always ready to paint when the mood strikes or an interesting subject presents itself. The most important thing in equipping yourself for a painting adventure is to keep it simple, and pack light. The last thing you need is a lot of complicated and heavy stuff to lug around. You should be ready to paint within a few minutes.
TRAVELING PALETTE
I have a collection of travel boxes in all sizes, and my preference is the Winsor & Newton Field Sketch Box. This box contains paint, three mixing areas, a built-in water bottle, a water holder, and a small brush. It folds up into a compact travel unit. I replaced the student paints with my own color choices. If you decide to put tube paint in, squirt it in a few days before you travel so it has a chance to harden slightly.
The box has space for 12 colors, so you’ll have to edit your master palette. Here is my reduced palette of colors:
• Permanent alizarin crimson
• Cadmium red light
• Cadmium orange
• New gamboge
• Greenish yellow
• Cerulean blue
• Cobalt blue
• Winsor blue
• French ultramarine
• Raw sienna
• Burnt sienna
• Burnt umber
BRUSHES
It’s easy to damage your nice brushes in transit, so I use a brush holder. I also always carry some brushes made specifically for travel. They have a built-in protective cap and are available with either sable or synthetic bristles. I have a number 10 and a number 6.
PAPER & SKETCHBOOKS
When on location, I usually work in sketchbooks. I have a variety of sizes and types. For most painting trips, I use either an 11″ × 14″ Canson® Montval® 140-lb. spiral-bound watercolor book or a 9″ × 12″ Canson All-Media 90-lb. sketchbook.
In my bag, I carry a 6″ × 9″ Aquabee® 808 Super Deluxe sketchbook or a Stillman & Birn™ watercolor book, which is perfect for casual sketching and small studies. The paper has a nice tooth and accepts pencil, pen, and watercolor equally well.
Of course, you can always take real watercolor paper with you, but keep it small and simple—a quarter sheet (10″ × 14″) clipped to a board will do.
EASEL
You can use an official artist’s easel, hold a sketchbook in your hand, or do something in between. I use them all. A backpacker’s easel (also known as a half French easel) provides a solid support for your work; the only drawback is its weight and the occasional challenge in setting up the wooden legs without pinching your fingers.
I had a friend attach a block of wood with a threaded Nutsert® to the back of a piece of tempered hardboard (Masonite), which allows me to attach the board to my camera tripod. The paper or sketchbook clips to the board. The swivel head on the tripod allows me to angle the board in any position, from vertical to flat.
Of course, to go super light, just sit on the ground with your sketchbook in your lap!
OTHER NECESSITIES
• Water container
• Spray bottle
• Paper towels
• Pencil
• Pen
• Eraser
• Lightweight camp stool
• Small digital camera