Watercolour Galaxy Painting Supplies
Thank you for coming to my workshop! It really is an honour to have people spend their precious time with me, listening and learning about something I love so much. I definitely want everyone to enjoy the workshop while they're taking it...but if you want to continue painting and experimenting at home, all the better! Below are some of my recommendations for supplies that I love for the galaxy paintings—and for watercolour painting in general.
I'd like to preface my list with some advice: in the world of art supplies, you get what you pay for. The most expensive supplies will be great. The not-quite-as-expensive supplies will be good—they might only be noticeably less good to an expert, so they're still a safe choice for beginners. The absolute cheapest will almost always be complete garbage. If you get the cheapest paint, paper, and brushes you can find, you will struggle, think you're a bad painter, and not even know why. Please don't do that to yourself.
Paints
The technique used in the workshop works with any kind of watercolour paint. We used liquids because they have brilliant colours, mix especially easily, and are the most convenient for large groups, but you can also use watercolours from a tube or the dry ones in a tray.
My general rule of thumb for art supplies is to buy the highest quality you can afford, in the smallest quantities necessary. For example, I would much rather have three primary colours from a really nice brand than a dozen colours in something cheap. You can always mix more colours! Please never buy the cheapest watercolours in the store. They are just pretty-coloured garbage.
The Ecoline liquid watercolours are my [current] favourite liquid watercolours. They have tons of gorgeous colours, but a good starting point from which you can mix almost anything is: yellow, magenta/red, and cyan/blue.
For the galaxy paintings, you also need a black. In class, we used the Ecoline black, but there is an abundance of good black inks out there. They are so ubiquitous that you can get away with buying a cheaper black ink/liquid watercolour if you want.
I have tried to use other (less expensive) whites, but I've been disappointed with everything else. Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White is just pretty perfect. Everything else I've tried has been slightly translucent, which is not a quality I want in my stars. I want completely opaque, crisp white stars. This ink/paint is water-soluble, which is also handy. (If you drip a big glob on your painting, you can remove it by dabbing at it with a paper towel and wet paintbrush.) It's very thick straight out of the bottle. To make it flickable for the stars, mix a little water with it. It’s ready when the consistency is similar to the thickness of cream.
Paper
We used Legion Stonehenge watercolour paper in class. It is a very nice paper and one I often use professionally, though you could also get away with a paper that is a step or two down from this brand. However, please do not get the cheapest paper. That thin stuff on the bottom shelf will not absorb the water or paint—it just sits on the top and makes a muddy puddle. Ideally, get a paper that is 100% cotton. It absorbs and holds the paint beautifully. It is also helpful to know that watercolour paper comes in 2 varieties: cold-press (textured) and hot-press (smooth). We used cold-pressed in the workshop, but it's mostly a matter of personal taste. Textured paper just delights me more than smooth paper.
Brushes
As long as you don't get those really terrible brushes that people give to kids (you know the ones with the coloured plastic handles and black bristles), you'll be okay. Get a "round" brush. That’s what they call the kind that come to a nice point at the tip. There are super expensive brushes out there, but you'll get good results from anything at around the $3.00+ mark.
Where to Buy
In Toronto, my favourite art supply shop is Above Ground. I go to the downtown location, next to OCAD. Curry's and DeSerres are also good. (Michael's is okay for some things, but their selection is not great when it comes to fine art supplies.) All three stores generally have enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff who can help you with your selections and are often eager to hear about your projects and give advice and ideas.