Shopping for art supplies and books is one of the best things about being an artist but it can also be overwhelming if you haven't figured out your favorites yet. Below is a list of the supplies that I love and recommend for painting watercolor botanicals. You do not need all these supplies. This is just a list of my favorites. You can click on any item listed to go to a link on Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases but the price from Amazon remains the same for you.
You can bring the colors you already have on hand if you prefer but definitely get the sketchbook I recommend and some small brushes.
I spend a lot of time answering questions about art supplies in general so I put together this video to cover basic information about: watercolor paper, watercolor brushes, palettes, watercolor paints and some miscellaneous studio supplies I use all the time. This is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/70BL589bniU
I hope this helps you decide what you want to buy and what you can wait to buy.
Sketchbooks
For botanical art we need to use hot press watercolor paper. The best sketchbook I know of with hot press watercolor paper is the Stillman & Birn brand. They come in various categories and sizes but for botanical studies I recommend the Zeta sketchbook (contains hot press watercolor paper). It needs to be 8.25 x 11.75 or bigger.
Paper
I recommend Arches paper. It is more expensive than a lot of other options out there but the results are sooo much more satisfying. Inexpensive papers are made from pulp, while good papers are made from cotton or linen. Stay away from any paper lighter than 140 lbs. My ideal paper is Arches, 140 lbs, or 300 lbs. Cold press is the most commonly used paper and watercolor paint loves it. Rough paper has more texture to it and hot press is completely smooth. Hot press gives a completely different result and is a bit more challenging to paint on, however, for precise work (such as botanical illustrations) it is perfect since there are no bumps to make your pencil or brush skip. All papers listed here are 140 lbs. If you feel more luxurious, you could order the 300 lbs. paper. It is a dream to paint on, doesn't need stretching, and costs about twice as much...
Arches Blocks Hot Press 9 x 12
Arches Blocks Hot Press 12 x 16
Arches Blocks Hot Press 14 x 20
Watercolor palette
I like palettes with plenty of deep wells for my paints. I have a ceramic palette at home. It's nice and heavy and a joy to paint with. But I also have several plastic palettes. They are lighter and less expensive. There are many choices out there and these are just my suggestions.
Watercolor Paints
Here I list my essential nine colors which are in my standard palette. For botanicals I offer a few extras that will be very helpful.
You certainly do not need to get all of these. Get some if you’d like or just bring the paints you already have. I will show you how to lay them out in your palette in class so wait to put them into your palette if you haven’t set it up yet. As the class progresses, you might decide you would like to add new colors to your palette.
By clicking on each name of the color, you will find that it links to Amazon for your convenience.
The essential nine colors:
Daniel Smith Quinacridone Rose *
Daniel Smith Transparent Pyrrol Orange *
Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow Light *
Daniel Smith Phthalo Blue Green Shade *
Daniel Smith French Ultramarine *
Indigo *
Some other favorites of mine...
Brushes
There are brushes for watercolors, for oils, for acrylics, for pastels, etc.... Be sure you buy brushes that are for watercolors.
There are natural fiber brushes, synthetic brushes, and brushes that are a mix of natural and synthetic fibers. And the price can vary between $2 and $200 plus!
Then there are shapes of watercolor brushes, each best suited for a particular technique.
Then there are sizes of brushes and to complicate it more, sizes aren't standard. A size 2 brush in one brand might be 3 times bigger than a size 2 brush in another brand. So there's that.
I strongly recommend a set of very small brushes for details. This set is wonderful, with 30 brushes and a vegan leather case. This set here is another good choice with a selection of 11 brushes that are all liners and riggers. Small brushes wear out more quickly than regular brushes so if you plan on painting a lot of small details, feathers, fur and long lines, know you will need to replace brushes often.
I like these Princeton brushes. They are really affordable, have a nice tip and come in many sizes. These are the three I recommend for small to medium paintings:
My favorite brushes are the Black Gold Quill Brush 311 series. These brushes have blended synthetic hair (medium tensile strength), with two toned lacquered wood handle. There are other brushes you may add to your collection as your skills and interests grow but these brushes will be a solid set. I do about 80% of all my painting with my Black Gold 311 Brushes. And they are FINALLY available online. Please note that Black Gold makes a lot of brushes and they are all listed on this link. I only use their Quill Brush 311 series brushes.
If you choose to explore other options, just stay away from brushes that cost less than $10/each. They will frustrate you with their shedding hairs and poor quality.
I haven’t found any scrubber brushes that I love so instead I use the TULIP-Fabric Paint brushes, Sometimes they are available here fabric brushes but more and more they are hard to find. They have a perfect bristle, not too soft and not too hard. I like the angled ones but they also come in flat and round. If you luck out and find them, stock up!
Other optional tools for a good watercolor set up are:
An easel so you can draw and paint at an angle. This allows you to control washes beautifully. Although quite large, I love the SoHo Urban Artist Adjustable Drawing Board Adjustable Drawing Board (measures 19.75 x 29.5 inches). This Jullian Art Drawing Board is slightly smaller at 20 x 25 and also lovely. And an even smaller great choice, perfect for smaller paintings and sketchbook exercises is the Daler Rowney Artsphere Easel at 16.5 x 11.8 inches.
A lightbox for tracing images. Some people feel that using a light box is "cheating" but botanical art demands precise, clean drawings with little erasing and minimal smudges. For that, I do recommend a light box and specifically I recommend the AGPtek LED Light Box. It is thin enough to be able to use between pages of a sketchbook. It comes in several sizes.
A water container (like an empty yogurt container or something more artsy like this Art Advantage Double Water Cup With Lid.
Paper towels
Mechanical pencil (so you don't have to worry about a sharpener)
A ruler (preferably clear)
A little bag to keep all your pens, pencil, erasers and ruler in. I love these little beauties because you can open them and stand up the bag like a cup to hold everything upright while you sketch.
And that's a list of my favorites. Enjoy!
When you click the link for a product, you get the same low price you normally would pay on Amazon and Amazon pays me a small percentage for recommending the product.