Watercolor 101 | Brushes

Brushes are your tools for painting.

 Using the best quality brushes will yield better results. 

So, how do you choose? Your selection will be made by these four factors:

medium, material used to make the brush, shape and size.

First, you need watercolor brushes. 

Oil, acrylic and craft brushes are made for a 
different purpose and are not suitable for watercolor. 
I prefer to use kolinsky red sable brushes made from 
the soft tail hairs of the siberian weasel. 
They are expensive brushes but well worth it because 
the natural coat and taper of the hairs holds the paint 
really well and they maintain their shape 
and point much longer with proper care.

If you prefer not to use animal hair 
or would like more economical brushes,there are 
wonderful synthetic watercolor brushes 
that you can use as well.

Brushes come in all different shapes and sizes. 

You will want to be able to make a variety of marks 
from very large washes to fine little details. 
Brushes are numbered to correspond with size 
from small to large. Every brand is slightly different.

Honestly, you really only need five brushes to get started.

It's nice to have more, but they are not necessary 
and you can always add to your collection. 
I would recommend starting with one large round or 
oval brush for big washes, one large or medium flat brush 
for washes and painting a straight edge,
one medium pointed round and one small pointed round 
for finer brush strokes,and a rigger or liner brush, 
which makes a beautiful fine line.
The rigger is my favorite brush. 
I have them in several sizes. 

Every brush has this basic anatomy: 
a handle, a ferrule, and a brush head.

When looking for a brush, these three parts should fit 
tightly and seamlessly together. A new sable brush head 
will be stiffened with gum arabic to hold its shape

and it will need to be rinsed in cool water before using it 
for the first time.The hairs should not appear 
misshapen, frayed, split or crooked.

With proper care your brushes will last a long time.
I have ruined quite a few brushes over the years 
and my dog has chewed a few handles much to my dismay 
(see the picture above).
Here are a few tips for keeping your brushes in good condition:

Don't use your brushes for anything but watercolor paint.

When you are working, gently mix your paint by swirling 
and rolling the brush through it, don't smash the tip 
into the paint or it will quickly fray and lose its shape. 

Don't leave your brushes soaking in water as this will 
loosen the handle and ferrule, not to mention 
that the brush head will become misshapen.

I rest my brushes on a little rolled up rag next 
to my palette while I am working.

Rinse your brushes in cool water when you are finished 
painting for the day. Remove paint residue from the brush 
and ferrule and tease out any loose hairs. Pat dry and 
reshape the tips of your brushes with your fingers.

Store your brushes in a container or rest them on a 
ledge or in a brush holder so that the brush heads 
are not resting against or touching any surface.

You can also use a brush soap or a very mild soap 
to thoroughly clean your brushes, but you don't want 
to strip the oils from the natural brushes 
by doing this too often.Synthetic brushes are less 
fragile and a little easier to clean.

Places to shop for watercolor brushes:

Dick Blick, Pearl Paint, Utrecht, Daniel Smith

Do you have any questions about watercolor brushes?

Experiment and see what works for you! 

Next time 101 is all about paper.

Watercolor 101 | Paint

Welcome to watercolor 101! Today is all about watercolor paint. 

Watercolor is an aqueous medium which means the paint is 
water based and activated by water.

Contrary to what you may think, 
it is fairly easy to work with and very easy to clean up. 
I recommend that you buy the best that you can when 
selecting any of your materials. Having great materials 
to start with makes all the difference in the world.

I like to use tube watercolor paint. 
I buy the smallest tubes because the binder, gum arabic, 

will separate with age. The paint will cake up 
and be impossible to extrude if it's really old,

so I prefer to squeeze as much as I can into the wells 
of my palette where it will be used up. 

A bit of rudimentary advice: squeeze and roll the paint 
from the bottom of the tube. 

If you've gone to the trouble of buying really good paint, 
you won't want to waste a drop. 

There are so many great brands of paint to choose from. 

I use good old fashioned Winsor & Newton artist grade 
watercolor paint. My metallic colors are Winsor & Newton 
artist grade gouache, an opaque watercolor. 

Artist grade paints contain a full pigment load and 
therefore produce a rich, brilliant color. 

There is usually a greater palette of colors 
to choose from as well.

Which colors to buy? 
My palette is an evolution of color and changes all the time. 

Choose colors that you like to work with and 
remember you can mix and blend many more colors 

and soften or intensify them with more or less water. 
Listed below are some colors I often work with: 

deep yellow, yellow ochre, brown ochre, burnt sienna, 
sepia, burnt umber, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, 
neutral tint, payne's gray, mars black, chinese white, 
olive green, hooker's green, sap green, cerulean blue, 
phthalo turquoise, prussian blue, silver and gold gouache.

My palette is a John Pike palette. 
I've had it for over twenty years and it has served me well. 

It has large paint wells with a slightly beveled edge 
which helps to keep the paint contained. It also features a large mixing area which is perfect for blending colors and creating washes. It comes with a storage lid that also serves a secondary palette. Every once in a while I soak my palette in water and 

thoroughly clean out the wells of old paint.

 For day to day care, I simply wipe the mixing area clean 
with a damp rag,add a big drop of water to each paint well 
to soften the paint and I'm ready to work.

Here are a few places to shop for watercolor supplies:

Dick Blick, Pearl Paint, Utrecht, Daniel Smith

Do you have any questions about watercolor paints and palettes? 

I really encourage you to experiment and see what works for you! 

Next week 101 is all about brushes.

Bird Watching

A little bird watching for your viewing pleasure.

Three new paintings in my shop tonight.

***

Thank you all for your questions about watercolor painting.

I will try my best to answer your questions,

Starting on Monday!

Cowboy

It was inevitable. Visit a litter of puppies too many times and you wind up wanting one. 

Besides, Birdie would love a friend to romp with!

We're calling this little fellow Cowboy since he looks like a little cow and his mama's from the wild west. 

He's still very young and won't be able to come home for another four or five weeks. 

Isn't he darling? I tried hard to resist. I really did.

Ask Me

I'm often asked about my watercolors, the materials I use and how to use them.
I'm thinking of starting a little Watercolor 101 series here in my drawing room.
Here are some ideas: paint, paper, palette, brushes, how-to techniques,
where to buy art supplies, care - best practices, framing and display.
Whether you are an artist, collector, just having fun or simply curious,
is there something that you would like to know? Ask me.

Spring Forward

Nest No. 50

Spring forward my friends! Don't forget to reset your clocks.

Daylight savings begins tomorrow!

Tardy

It has been entirely too long since my last post. Will you forgive my tardiness?

Between travel and moving my studio things have been a tad chaotic for the last few weeks.

I'm finally settled and all put back together again. Everything is organized and put away. 

I will have pictures of my new studio space soon.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of my Great Horned Owl specimen. 

He's finally finished and quite pleased with himself.