Courses

Please use this list very much as a guide. By no means is everything necessary on the list or are you limited to this. If you already have your own equipment, materials and favourite colours please do bring those. I only ask that everyone brings their own watercolour paper and brushes.
I will go into more detail below, but for guidance:

• Paints

• Brushes

• Paper (around A3 size)

• Water pot

• Sketchbook for taking notes

• If working with single sheets of watercolour

  paper bring a board to tape them to.

  Brushes:

* Palette
* Kitchen roll or rag
* Masking tape and/or clips
* Pencils, rubber etc
* Sketchbook or craps of watercolour paper

I only use about 5 different brushes, but usually only 2 in any one painting.

• A larger sized squirrel mop or sable – size 16

• A smaller sized squirrel mop or sable – size 8

• A rigger

• A 2” hake

  My sable brushes come from www.luxartis.biz very reasonably priced for sables, but worth it!
  Not only do these brushes have a great uptake of pigment and ability to hold and release the paint evenly, they also have a beautiful point for fine detail and a perfect springy-ness.

  My mops are Escoda Ultimo Tendo Nos. #16 & #6. These are synthetic squirrel mops that have extraordinary softness and capacity to hold paint. https://www.jacksonsart.com/escoda-ultimo-tendo-synthetic-brushes-1530-1533/

  I also use Jacksons Art Supplies own make called Raven Nos. #2 and #3/0

  https://www.jacksonsart.com/jackson-s-raven-synthetic-mop-brushes-series-528 

Paper:

I have found that having discovered a watercolour paper that you like and works for you, it’s best to stick to it.

There is a vast range of watercolour paper, some made from wood pulp and others from cotton rag. It can come as individual sheets, Gummed blocks or in spiral bound & glued sketchbook style pads and in three styles: Rough, Not (or Cold Pressed, CP) and Hot pressed (HP).

The Hot pressed (HP) papers are very smooth and really reserved for illustrators and detailed botanical images. The tooth of the Not papers is not as pronounced as the Rough papers, so it is down to personal preference.

I use Arches Not (or Cold Pressed)140lb paper which I buy on a large roll and cut to stretch on a board. However, for taking a pad out and about on painting trips etc I tend to use a Saunders Waterford Not (Cold Pressed)140lb gummed block, as it is as similar as possible to Arches.
Both of these are 100% cotton papers.

• Winsor & Newton

• Canson Moulin Du Roy

• Langton

• Saunders Waterford

• Arches

  I stretch my paper onto a board, if you’d like to do the same, please do. In which case please bring two stretched pieces ready for each day. If you would like to stretch your paper, but are uncertain of the process, we can do this at the beginning of each day.

  Paints:

  I work with Winsor & Newton professional tube paints, for no other reason that I like them, I’ve used them for years and know how each pigment works!

  It is a total personal preference, but I stick to tubes rather than pans as I can achieve stronger more intense areas of colour more easily, and where dry brushwork in needed the consistency of paint that comes straight from the tube lends itself perfectly. I do have a travelling folding palette where I can squeeze the necessary tube colours into the empty pans.

  Colours:

• Prussian Blue & Pthalo Turquoise (Cool) – Pthalo creates brighter, punchier zingy greens

• French Ultramarine, Winsor Purple & Cobalt Blue (Warm)

• Alizarin, Permanent Rose or Quinachridone Red (Cool)

• Cadmium Red (Warm)

• Burnt Sienna, Vandyke Brown (Warm)

• Raw Sienna, Indian Yellow, (Warm)

• Aureolin or Winsor Lemon (Cool)

  Extras: These are optional but personal favourites and useful to have to hand: Sap Green & Transparent Orange (Warm), Cobalt Turquoise light (Cool) Small tube of white Gouache for that missed highlight.