Materials List

Materials Needed: Up to the audience’s choice of medium. If someone wishes to follow

along in watercolor, here is what I have recommended in classes and workshops I have

taught:

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Note: These are guidelines and preference not absolute requirements. If you have

some supplies, bring whatever you have. I will have some extra materials available for

use, but I won’t have a complete outfit for everyone.

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1. Paper: Real watercolor paper is a high-grade 100% cotton sheet that will give you

the best results. But let’s work with whatever you have. I rarely work larger than

quarter sheet outdoors: 11” x 15” because that’s what fits in my pack. And we’ll

do some exercises on small scraps first to get acquainted with watercolor’s salient

properties.

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2. Brushes: Bring whatever you have. What I take in my backcountry kit is a 2-inch

    dagger, 1-inch flat, one or two medium size rounds and a ½-inch dagger and one

    very fine brush (“rigger”). Watercolor brushes are traditionally much softer than

    acrylic or oil brushes, but again, bring whatever you have.

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3. Paints: Just a basic set of colors for experimenting with will be fine. Bring some if

    you have them. “Professional” or “artists” watercolors in tubes are usually

    stronger and perform best but bring what you have; it’s not a requirement to go

    out and get all new paints. But if you do get some, you can get away with a very

    abbreviated set like this one: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Essentials Set,

    5 ml Tube | BLICK Art Materials (dickblick.com). Two people could even split

    some of those 5 ml tubes. But again, bring whatever you have, and we’ll work

    with it.

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4. Depending on what kind of paints you have, a palette for squeezing out and reusing

    gobs of paint from their tubes (that way you don’t have to carry them around for

    every trip). The lightweight plastic ones with divided buckets around the sides are

    good. I use this one: Mijello Fusion Airtight/Leakproof Palettes | BLICK Art

    Materials (dickblick.com). Some people use a metal butcher tray or a plastic

    plate.

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5. 1-2 water containers. Solo beer cups or Talenti ice cream containers work nicely.

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6. A small spray bottle is nice for juicing up dried paint and other effects.

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7. A notebook for notes and sketches

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8. Pencils for making quick preliminary drawings. I use a good old 2B most of the time.

9. Pencil sharpener, can be just a little one

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10. An eraser - kneaded or white vinyl eraser best but whatever you have is fine.

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11. A board to paint on that’s just a bit larger than your paper and some clips to hold it

      on to the board, like a piece of Masonite, Sintra, foam core or even heavy matboard. My        board is about a quarter- to a half-inch larger than my paper.

12. Clips to hold the paper to the board, office binder clips will work.

13. Clean up and wiping/painting rags. I cut up old T shirts.

14. Portable easel if you have one but don’t worry if you don’t. I will have one because

      it will be easier to see my demonstrations.

15. If I am outdoors, a camera or phone is handy but not a requirement. Boy, one time was I        glad I’d taken a photo of my scene before I started painting at Gasworks Park one day—        they turned the sprinklers on about half-way through : - )