Recently Mat and I have enrolled ourselves to a weekend watercolour class in Newtown. The course goes for 7 weeks and so far we have learnt the colour wheel, different ways of applying paint and the different techniques in holding a brush. I have used watercolour many times before, but it is so nice to be taught the fundamentals. I cannot wait to apply what I've learnt to my illustrations in the near future.
The paint I am using is only of the cheapest variety, I would really like to invest in something better. However from what I've seen, you can either buy really cheap paint or top of the range which cost upwards of $200 for a set. If you are a watercolour aficionado, I would really like to hear your recommendation. Which brand of watercolour do you use, and more importantly can you recommend a brand that is of good quality but won't break the budget?
Windsor and Newton make a less expensive range called Cotman which has fantastic pigmentation. The worst thing about most student watercolours is the lack of saturation and a milky sort of quality that degrades the whole point of watercolour: its translucency. I LOVE Cotman and have been using them for years. Only problem is I don't know where they sell them locally-- I have friends mail mine from the U.S. where a tube costs $3 to 6 at Michaels. Grumbacher is another good one, again $3 to $6 in the U.S. If you can find either brand here for a decent price, go for it! (And let me know too!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Erin. I just bought a set of twelve from ebay for around $24! I can't wait till they arrive and try it out for myself.
DeleteThanks for letting me know-- I might try ebay too! Enjoy your watercolours :)
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