Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am another quarantine-born artist, although my interest started a little bit prior to lockdown. In the 9 months I’ve been painting, I have learned the following: 1. The quality of your materials matters ALOT. 2. If you continue to use inferior products you will get frustrated. 3. There are an amazing number of very talented people on YouTube willing to teach you how to paint. 4. There is no such thing as being born as an artist. It is 100% a LEARNABLE SKILL! 5. Watercolor painting is SO much Fun! As to product quality, here is what you need: 1. Decent paints. This Windsor and Newton Cotman paint is great to get started with. Buy whichever set fits your budget best. I got the 24 and it’s more than enough. Play with them to learn how to combine colors. 2. Decent paper. Canson XL is great as an every day practice paper, and it is easily available here and on sale at craft stores. Once you’ve practiced for a while, find a 100% cotton 140 lb watercolor paper to try out and use on special projects. 3. Good brushes are also essential, and you don’t need that many. The Cotman brush that comes with the set isn’t very good. I only use it as a way to pry up the plastic tray. So invest in a couple of $5-$10 brushes. Educate yourself on the different types of brush hair. Quality Synthetic brushes are great and affordable. My favorite are Princeton Aqua Elite (synthetic kolinsky sable) for detail work, and Princeton Neptune (synthetic squirrel) for looser paintings. A Round 6, a Round 2, and possibly a wash brush is all you need. Never store your brushes in water, and be sure to always rinse them well. Now, for a review of these paints. As I said, they are a great beginner paint. Do yourself a favor and make a color chart. See what it’s like to mix Intense Phthalo Blue and Alizarin Crimson Hue (a gorgeous deep purple). Viridian Hue a little too bright green? Add a little Burnt Umber to tone it down. Honestly, buying more than the 24 colors might be a little overwhelming. Half the fun is learning color mixing and how to get that exact shade of aqua you want. When you first use the plastic palettes you may get frustrated with how the paint beads up. Just try scuffing them up with a bit of magic eraser or a scouring brush. Pre-wet the paints to activate them, and use the side of your brush to pick up the paint and bring it to your mixing area. And just have fun with it!