Materialswhole pan half panAll artists have their favourite colours, brushesand other materials. There is plenty of choice and,as you gain experience, you will enjoy going on tomake your own decisions about which ones touse, and discovering for yourself what suits yourstyle of painting best. But to start with - while youare learning - make your keyword simplicity. Bystarting simply, you will not only make thingsmuch easier for yourself, you'll also find you getthe best results.When following the television series andworking through this book, I suggest you use thematerials I use. And do remember, in order to getthe best results from your painting, you shoulduse the best quality materials you can afford.ColoursThere are two types of watercolour paint and theydiffer in both quality and cost. The best quality arecalled <strong>Art</strong>ists' quality Watercolours, and those agrade lower are called students' watercolours,some of which are manufactured under brandnames such as Daler-Rowney's GeorgianWatercolours. I always use <strong>Art</strong>ists' quality - theyreally do make all the difference because you getstronger colours and they are much easier to mixthan students' watercolours.Watercolour paints can be bought in a readyfittedbox, or you can buy a box separately and fillit wdth the colours of your choice. Thewatercolour pans which hold the paint come intwo sizes: a whole pan and a half pan. Throughoutthis series, you'll see I've kept to a paintboxcontaining just six half pans of colour, except forthe studio painting on pages 58-59 and BrixhamHarbour on pages 78-79.Watercolour paints can also be bought intubes; you squeeze the paint on to yourwatercolour palette or the open lid of yourpaintbox and then use it in the same way as pans.However, 1 don't advise beginners to use tubes -in fact, I rarely use them myself. It's far easier tocontrol the amount of paint on your brush whenyou are using pans.My large paintbox (which I use for studio workand large paintings outside) holds 12 whole pansbut I normally only use six colours. I use this sizebox because of the large mixing areasBasic kitApart from your paintbox, what other materials doyou need before you can start watercolourpainting? If you go into any art shop, you'll seethat the list of tools you could acquire is almostendless! Don't worry - it's easy to cut through theconfusion and get down to basics. Please note,though, that by 'basics' I'm referring to theminimum quantity of materials you need to getyou started - and never to the quality of the onesthat you should choose.<strong>Brush</strong>es are very important but you don't needmany. Just three will be quite sufficient: a No. 10and a No. 6 round sable, and a Dalon Rigger SeriesD.99 No. 2 (a very thin one). These are all I'veused in the series.You will also need an HB pencil and a 2Bpencil for sketching, a putty eraser, a watercarrier,and something to hold your water in whilepainting. Last but not least, you'll need paper on adrawing board or pad. Depending on your sketchpad size, you might be able to put the whole lot inyour pocket or handbag, particularly if you take10
my advice and keep your materials simple to beginwith. I don't use an easel, as it is usually easy towork with the board, or pad, on my knees.The top picture shows me in my paintingwaistcoat, which I often wear for outside work.This is shower-proof and has pockets largeenough to carry all the materials I need as aprofessional, plus extras like a knife forsharpening pencils, a small sponge, blotting paper,spare rubber bands to hold the sketchbook pagesdown, a box of sticking plasters and aspirin -when out painting I always carry these things,just in case!For most of my small outdoor work, up to 28 x41 cm (11 X 16 in), I use the Travelling Studio,which 1designed myself and which is now on themarket. 1 use this in nearly all the programmes.This solves the age-old problems of findingsomewhere to put my water jar and keeping all myequipment neatly at hand. The shoulder strap canalso be worn round my neck to support the kit,the water cup is held firmly on the tray, next tothe paintbox, and my left hand supports the pad.You can even stand up and paint with this kit - 1never go anywhere without it.The contents of the Travelling Studio are: sixDaler-Rowney <strong>Art</strong>ists' quality Watercolours (mycolours) in a removable aluminium paintbox, asable brush, a spiral-bound BockingfordWatercolour Paper pad, 13 x 18 cm (5x7 in), anda pencil. It also contains a rustproof water bottleand water-cup holder. All this is neatly heldtogether in a tough PVC waterproof case withcarrying strap and weighs only about 500 g (1 lb).This, with a few additions, could be your basic kit.Incidentally, a folding stool - if you can manage it- is useful, too, and ensures that you always havesomething comfortable and dry to sit on.Top: The large pockets of my painting waistcoathold everything I need for painting outdoors,except large paperCentre: The Travelling Studio is indispensable foroutdoor work - you can even use it standing upBottom: When it's not in use, everything packsneatly away11
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