BASIC EQUIPMENT

There is a confusing array of brushes, paints and papers out there and this FAQ can only provide some basic guidelines to get you started. Initially you will need paper, paints, brushes and mixing palette, plus a few supplementary items described below. Ideally you should use the best equipment you can afford. If you have to prioritize then make sure you purchase the best quality paper you can afford. Better quality brushes and paints can come later. With good quality paper even your earliest efforts will be rewarding.

A backing board on which to attach your paper. If you are using lightweight paper that needs stretching this can be marine plywood, masonite, basswood or other woods treated with water-based varnish, Gatorboard, which is very light in weight, has also proved excellent. 1/2" foamcore coated with acrylic gloss medium is another possibility. A useful size to start with is 20" x 26" (51cm x 66cm) which will comfortably accommodate a half sheet of watercolour paper. Small sheets of hardboard are useful for stretching smaller pieces of paper.

Stretching equipment (A roll of brown gummed paper tape; a stapler; paper towels)

Masking tape. Choose one of good quality such as 3M drafting tape or Artist's tape from art store, which won't tear the paper while it's being removed. Tape needs to be removed as soon as possible after painting.

Masking fluid (Available at art supply stores)

Drawing equipment (2B, 4B, 6B pencils, soft eraser, etc)

Two water containers (These can be plastic and inexpensive so long as they are sturdy)

Easel (French; Italian; Logan; 'Monzano' from Richeson's; table-easel. There are a lot of possibilities. Try before you buy. Many watercolourists paint on a tabletop at home but like to use an easel with a horizontally-adjusting top for location work and traveling.)

A hair dryer (to be used gently to speed up the drying of washes.)

2 L-shaped pieces of matboard (for test-cropping your paintings)

One or two natural sponges (for wetting paper; for applying colour and texturing; for lifting out colour.)

Single edged razor blade or X-Acto knife (for scratching out fine white accents)

In America and Britain (and probably in other countries) there are a number of mail order companies which supply a variety of paper and equipment for the watercolourist. At the end of this FAQ is a list of some of these companies, with their website addresses.

MIXING PALETTE

There are a wide variety available including inexpensive plastic ones, metal, porcelain, and artist-designed ones. Artists have also successfully used white china dinner plates, white enamel butcher's trays and white ceramic tiles. For pan paints you can purchase empty paint and palette boxes which you fill with your own choice of colours. It is usual for artists to have additional palettes for various purposes. If you prefer painting wet-in-wet you will need a fairly large palette with deep mixing wells. Alternatively, a compact field box palette works well for colour sketches on location.

A covered palette, such as a Fletcher-Watson, John Pike, Frank Webb or Palmaerts palette (available in Canada), is particularly useful to keep your paints moist between painting sessions. Spray the colours at intervals with a water-mister and optionally glue a sponge onto the lid. By keeping paints and sponge moist the paints should stay in good condition between sessions. If you live in a very humid area it may be helpful to store your palette, covered, in the fridge. This will help cut back mould growth on the paints

Another popular system is a collection of small white ceramic dishes, obtainable at Asian stores. Various washes can be pre-mixed in these dishes. Daler-Rowney and Winsor & Newton market a good selection of ceramic palettes which are well-liked by artists as they have a more sympathetic surface on which to mix colours.

The arrangement of colours on the palette can be done following the colours on the colour wheel, or in a division of cools in one area and warm colours in another area. Artists who choose to use limited palettes will often put out only what they need for a given painting and may have only 4 or 5 colours on the palette at any one time. Your own preference will come with experience. If you've neglected your palette and find that some of the colours are drying out between sessions try mixing a little pure glycerin with the paint.

Clean the palette with water. If stained, try scrubbing gently with toothpaste, Vim, Comet cleanser, Lava liquid soap, or soak in dilute bleach. Rinse very well after cleaning with proprietary products.

LIGHTING AND WORKPLACE

Every budding artist dreams of having their own studio. In the meantime we have to make do with what we've got. If you can cadge a small corner of a room and set up a table where you can leave your art materials out ready for action at any time, then you've made a good start. Right-handed people usually work well with their palette, water bowls and brushes to their right, with the remaining equipment to their left; left-handed people can reverse this system. Some artists prefer to have all their equipment on a taboret or trolley next to them. This leaves the painting table uncluttered, holding just the painting. Some watercolourists work best standing up, others prefer to sit. There are no hard and fast rules here. Do what feels most comfortable for you.

If possible choose a spot close to a north-facing window if you live in the northern hemisphere, or a south-facing one if living in the southern hemisphere. If you can only paint at night you'll need to carefully consider your lighting situation. Normal domestic electric lighting is called incandescent light. Unfortunately this form of lighting casts a yellowish glow and will distort colours. Another common lighting source is fluorescent light but these bulbs can alter your colours quite dramatically.

There are several work-arounds here. Consider buying halogen desk lamps (90 watts) or fit your existing lamps with 'daylight' bulbs. Halogen is considered very good at simulating natural light. This will prevent a lot of the colour distortion you get when working under a normal electrical bulb. The best artificial lighting for simulating daylight is full spectrum light. This is available in both incandescent and fluorescent bulbs.