If you are just starting out with watercolor painting or you are buying a gift for someone else, it is often difficult to determine which watercolor art supplies you need to purchase.  After all, a beginner doesn't need the absolute best watercolor paints, canvas, or brushes.

So without spending an arm or a leg, how do you determine which watercolor art supplies you need?

What I am going to do in this article is outline the basics of watercolor art supplies for you, then give you some guidelines as to how much to spend on them.  Painting with watercolors does not have to be expensive, and it is a great hobby or avocation for adults or teens.

This is a list of basic watercolor art supplies that every watercolor painter needs to have.  This is not a list for young children, but for teenagers or adults.  For young children, you can just go to your local school supply store and buy a watercolor set for about $3.00.  Those are not real adult watercolor paints, and should not be used for even hobbyists when gathering your watercolor art supplies together.

1. Watercolor paper
2. Watercolor paints
3. Watercolor brushes
4. Paper towels
5. Container for water
6. Masking tape
7. Surface to paint on
8. Palette to mix paints
   

There are a few factors to consider when you are choosing watercolor paper. Watercolor paper can be purchase cold pressed or hot pressed. I prefer cold pressed especially for beginners, so I recommend that you choose cold pressed.

Once you make that decision, you need to decide how many pounds pressed. Basically the higher the poundage, the heavier the paper. My recommendation here is to start with 140 pound watercolor paper. It will absorb your paint without being too heavy.

The third decision is whether to buy the watercolor paper in sheets or a block. Sheets are very large and need to be cut down to use. A block is similar to a pad of paper but gummed on all four sides. This is artist's preference, but if you will be going back and forth to class, you may want a block. Blocks come in different sizes, and a good size to use is 17 x 20." You can always trim the picture after you paint.

Watercolor paints come in tubes, and to start you only need a medium azo yellow, red, cobalt blue, and a lighter blue.  You can mix a lot of colors from those.  Buy small tubes of each color to start. There are several mid-priced brands that you can use.

To start out, you really only need four watercolor brushes.  You should buy a 2 inch flat brush, a 1/2 inch flat brush, 1 inch round brush, and 1/2 round brush.  When I paint I almost always do all of my painting with just three brushes, and the rest just sit there waiting to be used.  Good watercolor brushes last a long time, so spend $2 to $5 on each brush, and you will not have to buy another for at least one year.

Even if you are taking up watercolor painting as a hobby, I recommend that you buy a palette.  You can use a plastic plate the first few times instead of a palette, but if you have a palette, you can keep the colors you mix indefinitely, and you will waste less paint.  Palettes can be purchase in plastic that have a cover, so you can take it anywhere you go to paint.  I have had the same palette for 5 years now, and I love it.

The rest of your necessary watercolor art supplies, you probably already have in your home.

Paper towels, masking tape, and a container for water are common household items.

Choose a surface to paint on that can be moved like a board, unless you buy a watercolor block.  Then, the block is the paper and the surface.

Do not buy an easel.  Watercolor painters paint on a flat surface, not an easel.  The paint will run on an easel.

If you like to buy your watercolor art supplies online, my favorite places to go are Dick Blick and Amazon.  I have included links to both places below.

Once you get your watercolor art supplies, don't let them sit around.  Use them.  I know that some people are intimidated once they have their supplies in hand, but don't be.  They are there to be used.  If you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below, and I will try to answer them for you.

Have fun!