The Watercolor Supplies I Reach for Most Often

I’m often asked what materials I use for my botanical and nature artwork, so I wanted to put them all in one place. These are the supplies I reach for most often in my studio and use regularly in my watercolor work.

Watercolor Supplies

Paper

Arches Hot Press Paper — a good option for beginners or for anyone who tends to use a lot of water.

Saunders Waterford Hot Press Paper — a favorite for painters who have more control over water and want a beautiful smooth surface.

Palette and Basic Tools

Ceramic plates, pencil, eraser, tape, good lighting, a table easel, transfer paper, two water jars, and tracing paper.

Paints

I only use lightfast, transparent watercolors and have refined my palette over time to a smaller group of colors I trust. After years of testing, I’ve found that a more edited palette works better for me than keeping every color. These are a few of the paints I return to again and again in my work.

Sennelier Lemon Yellow

Winsor & Newton Indian Yellow

M. Graham Quinacridone Rose

Daniel Smith Permanent Rose

M. Graham Quinacridone Violet

M. Graham Sap Green

M. Graham Hooker’s Green

M. Graham Prussian Blue

Winsor & Newton Indanthrene Blue

Winsor Blue Green Shade

Winsor Blue Red Shade

Winsor & Newton Phthalo Turquoise

Schmincke Transparent Brown

Schmincke Raw Sienna

I may write a separate post in the future sharing more about watercolor paints alone.

Brushes

I tend to use a small selection of brushes rather than a large collection. My most-used brushes are from Da Vinci, Interlon, and Winsor & Newton.

Over time, I’ve found that a smaller group of trusted materials works best for me. These are the watercolor supplies I come back to most often in my studio and the ones that suit the way I like to work. For anyone who would like to browse the full list, I’ve linked my watercolor supplies to my Amazon storefront, here.