Birdsong | Fox Sparrow Artist’s Book | Watercolor, ink, and gouache on paper, 11 x 38 inches, open © 2019 Andie Thrams

Birdsong | Fox Sparrow
Artist’s Book | Watercolor, ink, and gouache on paper, 11 x 38 inches, open
© 2019 Andie Thrams

 

MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES

Thank you for being here! To help you make informed choices, here are my two art supply lists. The Basic Art Kit will get you going, and the more comprehensive Favorite Art Supplies is for those ready to expand beyond the basics. I recommend these materials based on years of research and on my own happy experiences. 

If you’re just starting to build your own art kit, the choices are deliciously overwhelming. Happily, you don’t need to spend lots of money to get started. It’s good to begin simply, with the basics, and upgrade as awareness evolves. While higher quality materials may be pricer, they often last longer, can be easier to work with, and usually pay off over time. If you find yourself frustrated with things, you might try upgrading and see if that helps. As soon as you can tell the difference between the better quality materials, it is time to up your game.

NOTE: If you are attending one of my workshops, I often create kits for you to order ahead. If you can’t get everything now, many materials will be available to try out and for purchase during workshops.

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BASIC ART KIT 


Paper
Watercolor field journal/sketchbooks are a nice way to get started. Choose a size you like (journals at least 8 inches on one side are easier to handle), and find a journal that will lay flat when open. There are many wonderful options. Here are some good choices: 

Paint Sets
Watercolor travel kits are user friendly for getting started. Here are a few of my favorites, in order of increasing quality (and cost):

Brushes
To get started, I recommend the following useful long lasting and economical brushes. More info on brushes is below in Favorite Art Supplies.

Also Helpful


More Useful Items for Working Outdoors

  • Case(s) to organize your supplies

  • Water bottle for drinking and painting (at least one quart)

  • Sit-upon, fold-up stool, Crazy Creek chair, or some setup that you can carry with ease and allows you to sit comfortably outdoors.

  • A small tarp helps keep your materials from wandering off into the grass, and keeps bugs at bay.

  • Warm hat, sun hat and/or visor

  • Layered clothing, including rain gear

  • Sunglasses

  • Bug juice

  • Sunscreen

  • Headlamp or flashlight

  • First aid items

  • Binoculars

  • Phone with camera

  • GPS device

  • Thermos

  • Natural history field guides

  • Daypack for everything! I prefer rectangular packs over teardrop shaped, to better accommodate larger sheets or tablets of paper.


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FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES

In addition to the basics listed above, here are additional materials that I use all the time. 

Paper
The watercolor papers I use most are 140 lb. 100% cotton hot press or cold press made by Fabriano or Arches. I buy full size (22 x 30 inches) sheets and tear them down into any size I wish using a big heavy tear bar. “Student grade” papers will not perform as nicely as better papers will. Buy the best you can afford. Here are my recommended watercolor papers in order of increasing price and quality:

  • See Basics above for watercolor sketchbooks and journals

  • Tablets of smaller sheets of good 25% cotton watercolor paper: Blick Studio Watercolor Paper by Fabriano

  • Fabriano Artistico 100% cotton full sheets natural white watercolor paper

  • Arches 100% cotton full sheets and blocks

  • Arches Text Wove 100% cotton light weight paper, especially nice for book arts & lettering

Tube Watercolors
The watercolor brands I use most:

The colors I recommend for a basic palette are: 

  • Quinacridone rose, quinacridone pink, or permanent rose (purple-biased red)

  • Cadmium red or pyrrol scarlet (orange-biased red)

  • Ultramarine blue (purple-biased blue)

  • Phthalo blue, or manganese blue, or cerulean blue (green-biased blue)

  • Lemon yellow, or cadmium yellow pale, or hansa yellow light (green-biased yellow)

  • Hansa yellow deep or cadmium yellow deep (orange-biased yellow)

  • Sap green (useful green)

  • Chromium oxide of (another helpful green)

  • Ultramarine violet or other purple

  • Permanent orange

  • Burnt sienna

  • Burnt Umber

  • Quinacridone gold

Gouache
Gouache paints are watercolors with additives that make them opaque, matte, and apply smoothly. This allows painting light over dark, which can be quite useful. My favorite gouache brands are:

You can find gouache paints in many colors. The ones I use most are:

  • Permanent or titanium white

  • Lemon yellow

  • Cadmium yellow

Palettes
Many palettes are suitable for field work. Here are a few empty palettes you can purchase and customize by filling with your own artist-quality tube watercolors:

Brushes
A high quality round sable watercolor brush is the traditional brush of choice for watercolorists. And, for good reason! Nothing else holds as much paint, is as fun to manipulate, has such a nice “snap,” or will maintain as crisp a point as sable. Synthetic brushes are also very useful. I use both. It will pay off over time to buy the best brushes you can afford and take care of them. Winsor & Newton, Princeton, and Da Vinci all make fine brushes. Here is a list of brushes I recommend, starting with the least costly:

Inks

Additional Useful Items 

More Resources

Enjoy your creative explorations! 
Stay in touch!

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