3 Most Important Watercolor Supplies (Not paint, brushes or paper)

Hey, welcome back, everybody!

Today we are going to talk about watercolor supplies. I'm going to talk about three important things that I use every time that I paint  - and it's not paint or brushes. Let's take a look.

The first item is my palette knife.

If you're using thick paint in a scene - say you're painting some trees, some bushes, things like that - and you want to add a little bit more detail, a palette knife is the perfect tool. With it, you can scrape some highlights into whatever it is you are painting. 

With this utensil, you can add some more texture to an area. It's a nice tool to break up the monotony in some of the boring parts of your painting. A couples ways I like to use it is to paint power lines and directional lines on roads.

Some tips on how to use a palette knife:

• Use it in areas where you have thick paint.
• Don’t be too aggressive with your motions or you might damage your paper.
• Don’t scratch too early. You could create a divot in your paper for your wash to settle.
• Wait until your paint is in a damp stage - not super wet, but not completely dry.

The second item is my natural sponge.

You may have seen my video where I talk about how I don't like to tape my paper down. The reason is that I like to wet down both sides of my paper. It gives me more time to paint wet into wet and to lay a good foundation for the rest of my painting.

To accomplish this, I like to use a natural sponge rather than an artificial sponge, because I don't know what kind of additives or fillers might do to my paper. So to be safe, I like to use a natural sponge. 

Some tips on how to use a natural sponge:

• Get your sponge wet, squeeze out most of the water, and dampen the back and front side of your paper.
• If you get too much water on your paper, squeeze the sponge out and use it to take off the excess water. 
• Use its absorbency to get your paper evenly wet. 

The third item is my spray bottle. 

In a sense, the spray bottle is one of the most important tools I can have because it's allowing me to mix easier to get to the correct values that I need for my painting. As you know - if you've seen many of my videos - values are the thing I talk about all the time.

Some tips on how to use a spray bottle:

• Before you begin, spray down your painting surface and clear it with a towel so that no leftover paint residue is transferred to your paper.
• Before you get started painting, spray all your paint down to bring it back to life. 
• Let it set for about 10 minutes so the paint is activated and ready to use. This will help make sure that you have enough paint in your well to achieve the values you want.

So those are three essential items in my paint box! I have my palette knife, a sponge, and a water bottle. 

If you have more questions about watercolor supplies, take a look at my Watercolor Essentials Supplies Guide. When you first get started, figuring out supplies is overwhelming. There's so many options out there. In this guide, I go through what brushes I use, what pigments I use and talk about my paper and other supplies too. And it is free!

Thank you for spending some time with me this week once again! Keep working, keep moving forward and your watercolor learning, and I'll see you next time!