what I used when I use watercolor and my thoughts on them.
I wanted to share some of the materials that I use when I use watercolor.
Watercolor Palettes:
These are the watercolor palettes I have tried:
Winsor Newton & Coltman Pocket Watercolors 12 half pan
This is my tried and true, it is the perfect beginners palette. This is usually my go-to palette.
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors
I have two sets and travel palette: Kuretake Gansai Tambi Portable 14 Colors, the 12 Nuance Colors and an 8-color set I picked up while I was in Japan. Both are worth talking about.
Kuretake Gansai Tambi are a traditional Japanese watercolor, more opaque and velvety than Western-style watercolors, with really rich, saturated color. The Nuance set leans into soft, muted tones like dusty pinks, sage, warm grays. The 8-color set I got in Japan is basically the classic color plus silver and gold.
The honest reason I don't reach for them as much? Well, out of sight = out of mind since it is stored away in my drawer.
Paper
Paper matters more than most people think. The way I think about it: paint is the ingredient, but paper is the pan. Wrong pan and nothing works right.
I always go for 300gsm, cold pressed, 100% cotton. That combo means the paper can hold a lot of water without warping, and the texture helps the paint layer nicely instead of sitting flat or bleeding everywhere.
For practice I use whatever cheaper paper. If I'm trying something new or just messing around, I want to be able to mess up without caring. No pressure.
Winsor & Newton and Hahnemuhle cold press is my middle tier. When I'm more intentional about a piece, something I might actually display, this is what I reach for.
Arches 300gsm cold pressed is the good stuff. Reserved for pieces I'm giving to people. It's noticeably different to paint on. The cotton fiber just absorbs the paint in a way that makes layering feel effortless. Worth it, but I'm not burning through it on studies.
Sketchbooks
For small studies or traveling:
The Rhodia Pocket Sketchbook is one I love but can't find anywhere since I picked it up in Japan. Still have a few pages left and I'm being a little precious about them.
The Canson Mixed Media is my current go-to for on-the-go work. It handles multiple mediums without falling apart and it's reasonably priced, so I actually use it instead of saving it. That's the whole game with sketchbooks, honestly.
Traveler's Notebook Watercolor Inserts is another travel friendly sketchbook I've tried. It's good for a light layer of watercolor (maybe like a quick study), just because it doesn't really absorb water as nicely, it just sits there.
What's in my travel watercolor pouch?
I don't have a specific reason for bringing this. No planned painting sessions, no occasion. It just lives in my bag as a just in case. Sometimes the urge to paint shows up randomly and I like knowing I'm ready for it.
Everything fits in a little Baggu pouch, which honestly is part of why it works. It's not precious, it's just there.
Here's what's in it:
The Winsor & Newton palette again, because of course. It's small, it doesn't dry out, and I already trust it.
A Sakura waterbrush. No water cup needed, the water is built into the handle. It's not the same as painting with a real brush but for on-the-go it's a solid tradeoff.
Two actual brushes for when I want more control.
A small water tin for rinsing.
A Schmincke masking fluid pen. This is for preserving the white of the paper, like if you want to paint around something without taping it off. I actually never reach for this, I tend to use white-out or a white poscea acrylic paint marker
A Sakura Micron for linework. Archival ink so it doesn't bleed when watercolor goes over it. I've also tried the uni-ball one as well, and it works just as well.
A Pentel GraphGear mechanical pencil and a Faber-Castell kneaded eraser for sketching before I paint.
There's also a little floral tin with a Sakura Koi watercolor. I've only ever used watercolor pans so this would actually be my first time using watercolors from a tube. The idea is that you squeeze a little out, let it dry in the tin, and treat it like a pan anyway. I haven't tried it yet but I'm thinking about swapping it in for the Winsor & Newton when I travel. If I like it, I'll make the switch. Will report back.
More to come:
Swatches of the palette
Paper Testing