paper
should be Arches 140# CP. You can either use pads or a full sheet cut
into quarters OR you may use Strathmore 400 Watercolor pads, 10 x 14.
For paints,
try to use the best quality you can afford. Good brands include Winsor &
Newton, American Journey (Cheap Joe’s), DaVinci, Holbein, and M. Graham.
DaVinci is locally available, and less expensive than Winsor & Newton,
and have direct equivalents of Cheap Joe’s American Journey colors.
We will be using FRESH PIGMENT,
meaning we WILL NOT use existing little dried lumps of watercolor on our
palettes. So clean off your palettes and be ready to spend a couple of
bucks for fresh paint. My personal selections, for your information
(these will make it easier for you to achieve good work), are the
following– all are from Cheap Joe’s American Journey Watercolors. The
asterisk denotes a “must-have” color. Do not use “student grade”
watercolors.
Cadmium red light *
Cadmium yellow light*
Alizarin Crimson*
Quinacridone Rose
Cadmium yellow medium
Cadmium yellow dark
Cobalt blue*
Sky blue*
Manganese Blue
Cerulean Blue
Joe’s (Thalo) Blue*
Cadmium Orange*
Copper Kettle*
Magenta*
Quinacridone Violet*
Cobalt Violet
Skip’s Green*
Andrew’s Turquoise*
Brushes
are expensive and choices are very personal. At a minimum you should have a
large (#14 to #16) and small (#10 to #12) round and a large (3/4” to 1”) and
small (1/2” to ¾”) flat. Always test a brush before you buy if possible.
Cheap Joe’s has a generous policy on brush returns.
Other than the above you should have a
watercolor palette with a cover, a good size container for water (at least a
quart size), some paper towels (Vista is best) some Kleenex tissues, a
clean-up sponge and what ever photos or sketches you want to use for subject
matter for painting assignments. You may also want a board to tape your
paper to and something to tilt it with (a block of wood or whatever).
Also, be sure to BRING A POSITIVE
ATTITUDE! You’ll be happy you did, and so will everyone else!
If you have questions, please feel free
to call Ken at 407.423.5741.