Newton Water Colour Cotman

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As with starting any form of art for the first time, at first watercolour painting can be somewhat difficult so the following painting tips for should be useful for beginners. The relevant skills can only be achieved by practice but with this versatile medium, many beginners can make steady progress over a relatively short period of time.

To begin watercolour painting you are going to obviously have to buy some watercolour supplies. It is advisable to invest in the best products which you can easily afford. It is always worthwhile buying good quality art supplies rather then the cheapest materials as this will improve the quality of the finished painting and allow the beginner to learn new techniques more effectively.

There is no need for a beginner to spend a vast amount on the highest quality paints, brushes and paper from the outset. It is best to begin by buying relatively small amount of good quality art supplies and move to the higher standard of watercolour supplies when more experienced has been gained.

Watercolour Paints
Watercolour paints come in two very different forms: tubes or pans. Most watercolours sold today come in metal collapsible tubes (usually in 7ml, 15ml or 37ml sizes). The paint can be squeezed from the tube and it has a soft creamy texture. This type of paint is easy to work with as it can be used straight from the tube or thinned with water.

Pan Watercolours consist of a small cake or bar of dried paint. They are often sold in 2 sizes - Full Pans (3 cubic centimetres) and half pans (1.5 cubic centimetres). Water needs to be added to the cake for it to be workable. Although pans are less convenient than tubes they are still preferred by most naturalist, realism and landscape watercolour painters.

Watercolours are available in two different grades: Student quality and Artist quality. Student quality paints are the cheaper of the two and they contain a higher proportion of filler and less pigment than Artists' quality. Many experienced artists suggest only using artists' quality and mixing it with more water for washes etc. But it is advisable for beginners at watercolour painting to try both varieties.

Some brands of student watercolour paints are noticeably better than others. Cotman Watercolours are an example of a good quality paint which is primarily aimed at students. Beginners often start with a small selection of good quality primary colours in order to learn the skill of mixing colours.

Watercolour Paper
The texture and quality of watercolour paper has a significant impact on the finished painting. There are a number of distinct categories of paper including; hot pressed, cold pressed and rough paper. Rough paper has got the greatest level of tooth out of all of the paper varieties providing you with the greatest amount of surface texture.

Cold pressed paper is very versatile and has a small amount of texture. It is also the most favoured type of paper for the majority of watercolour artists. Hot pressed paper has the smoothest surface available of the three types of paper.

One very important characteristic of watercolour paper to be aware of is the weight. The weight of watercolour paper typically ranges between 190gsm (grams per square metre) for light weight paper and 425gsm for heavy weight paper. Heavier paper is less prone to warping when the wet paint is applied and lighter papers often need to be pre-stretched to avoid warping.

It is important to buy good quality watercolour brushes, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes and the tips are made with animal hairs or synthetic fibres. Synthetic fibre tipped brushes are less expensive and they can vary in quality greatly. If this cheaper alternative is to be used it is always worth the little bit extra to buy ones which are made by a well recognised manufacturer such as Winsor & Newton or Pro Arte Paint Brushes. To begin with a small selection such as a round brush, a flat brush, a mop brush and a liner can be bought at little expense.

When you have chosen your watercolour paints, paper and brushes you are ready to start your first watercolour painting with the confidence that you are well equipped. The next step is to learn the basic watercolour painting techniques such as washes and glazes, wet in wet and dry brush.

About the Author

The Art Centre has a huge selection of watercolour art supplies available for all types of artists from beginner to professional. The range of Cotman Watercolours are perfect for beginners and Pro-arte Paint Brushes are widely used by expert artists.
W&N Cotman Travel Bag

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