TOOLS FOR WATERCOLORISTS: PAPER SAMPLE PACKS
Let’s be honest – we know that cotton papers are the way to go, but to get to the GOOD pricing is a commitment, you have to order volume and gigantic sheets.
I don’t know about you but I have to try all the things – and papers are no different. I also really don’t love tearing down huge sheets, but I can and I do.
So why not let me do it, so you don’t have to? I’m putting together samples of lots of my favorite papers, and even some of my less favorite papers, because horses for courses.
Whether you choose the curated MYSTERY WATERCOLOR PAPER PACK and get paper samples to your door each month, with little notes on each one and reasons I include them, as well as extras….
or whether you pick and choose your own paper experience from scratch, you can try new things and get a feel for what you like without the commitment or the stress of straight cuts.
SWATCHING SHEETS – WATERCOLOR SWATCHING SHEETS ON 140 LB ARCHES COTTON COLD PRESS
One of the projects I’m proudest of are the artist tools that I design and share with the world – particularly my Arches swatching sheets.
I don’t know everything as an artist – but I do know what artists want because I know what I wish existed myself!
For those of us who are…organizationally challenged…how great would it be to have those painstaking mixing charts all ready to go? All those grids nicely aligned and totally ready to be painted in, with NO measuring and no pause in your workflow?
How nice would it be to have ALL your skin tones or greens in front of you without having to put down confusing piles and puddles on scratch paper you can’t find again?
For me, this became more and more urgent, until I finally made it happen. Everything I could need to know in one place, room for salt tests and gradients. A lot of my customers like to cut these sheets into small cards individually and put them in binder sheets – and you CAN! Me, I like to have them all together, but you get to do you.
I love deep diving into the process of color mixing and mastery – and these tools help me do it better. I know they will for you!
The overwhelming response to this single item lets me know that watercolorists have wanted a system for swatching and organizing that fits an elevated and serious practice.
These sheets give you room for every precious detail in one place, and they are printed in archival water-resistant inks onto genuine Arches 140 lb cotton cold press.
BRUSHES – TREKELL ONYX AND PROTEGE FOR WATERCOLOR
(these are affiliate links below and I do benefit if you buy these brushes with them, full disclosure.)
I’ve used a lot of different brushes and I’ve been very reluctant and selective about putting any affiliate links out there. I need to get to know a product, love it, and really find myself reaching for it again and again before I can honestly say to all my friends “this is the right one.”
Well, in the case of Trekell brushes, I’m comfortable doing just that. You can purchase the brushes that I prefer for watercolor above (with the exception of short spotter rounds, ’cause they just don’t make ’em) and I will get a little bonus when you do. Supports me, which is nice, gets you painting with a gorgeous all-synthetic that will please you, I believe.
GET IN TOUCH: Let us know if there’s a paper you’d like to try out, a product you always wanted to be printed and ready to paint, or if you’ve had a great experience with anything watercolor that we ought to know about!