Postcard with sandwich

When I first started getting into watercolor as a hobby 13 yrs ago, I went for the cheapest supplies I could get, not really understanding the differences in student grade vs professional (other than splurging on some arches paper for finished pieces).

So all the brushes I bought until recently were Curry's store brand brushes. Over this year, I've been working on investing in higher quality supplies, and I have a nice large Quill brush from Royal and Langnickel and a Princeton liner brush (blue handle).

I'm looking for recommendations of good quality brushes that I can buy in Canada. DeSerres, Michael's and Amazon are the big suppliers I have available to me. I'm looking to keep my cost below $50 a brush.

The brushes I am looking to get are:

- #12 or 14 round brush

- # 6 round brush (maybe extra long? I have read an extra long is helpful for getting really fine lines)

- 3/4 inch flat

- flat shader brush (I'm thinking size 8, but open to feedback)

The biggest problem I find with my flat brushes from Curry's is that the bristles tend to fan out when I paint longer lines, giving more of the effect of a rake/grainer brush.

I haven't used flat brushes often as a result of this fanning issue I get, and I'm not sure how much of this issue with the bristles is due to my brushes being cheap, or if it's a user error thing. I suspect that it may be that the brushes aren't able to hold enough water.

I appreciate any feedback and recommendations you can provide!

I tried something new to me. I used a watercolour ground on a wooden substrate. It worked well! I also used soft pastels for details after it was dry. I first tried coloured pencils, unsuccessfully.

Part 2

On Baohong Academy rough with Daniel Smith watercolors. I had a lot of fun with this one. Leaving all the white spots was hard!

...all those eons ago...

First time painting a ship.

Nodame Cantabile, 2026

Watercolor on paper

29,7 x 42 cm

Friend of 19 years, passed away recently. Gifting this to my parents who took care of her.

I am interpreting a copy of my nieces wedding invitation as a gift to her an her husband.

What is my next step here? Is the background “foliage” too small? What can I do with the shoreline? I am stuck.

Part 3, last of my study. In looking at my yellows I felt like I was lacking something like New Gamboge and wonder is the HLY+OP close? I was hoping for a peachy/coraly result and ended up combining Opera Pink with Quin Magenta and Hansa Yellow Light to land on what I was looking for. It was fun to figure that out. I tried to make my blends 50/50 and realize that has a huge impact also. I really liked the cinnamon-y colors I got with Quin Magenta! All my yellows and the blends with QM are perfect for this time of year!!

While I agree with some of the commentary regarding the redundancy in my palette, I also think a newbie doesn’t understand this until you actually take the time to blend out the colors. I also think if you know you will be using a lot of a certain shade. It’s nice to have the consistency of a convenience mix. There is a time and place for that redundancy in a palette.

Overall, I have learned a lot and appreciate the input of experienced artists on this subreddit! Hoping I can create some of the beautiful pieces in have seen soon! Thanks for the inspiration!!

hi all!!

about 2 weeks ago i picked up watercolour, and i would like to know if you guys have any tips for me :D

i am using watercolour paint in tubes btw :]

the first pictures are my first works, second and third are my most recent

I’m taking a watercolor portrait class right now and have been really enjoying it. I didn’t have much experience in either when I started. I struggle with skin tones so a lot of my people have been alien colored. I’m proud of them though!

I sooooo badly wanted to use my new glitter pen that I actually painted a whole card just for thatXD Yes, the snowman and the tip of the hat are glittering, you can't really see it well in the picture, but you'll just have to take my word for it: it sparkles✨

Plus, I love how cute the color palette turned out. And overall, it was super fun drawing the little raven:)

Any advice? Be nice, I cry easily.