Watercolour painting is a timeless art form that has been popular among amateur and professional artists for centuries. The translucent and luminous nature of watercolour makes it perfect for capturing light, atmosphere and emotion. But achieving those breathtaking watercolour effects requires the right supplies. For professional artists, the quality of their paints, brushes and paper is critical.
So what watercolour supplies do the pros swear by? Here’s an overview of the best professional grade watercolour materials preferred by artists who rely on their paints to make a living.
Professional Grade Watercolour Paints
For professional watercolour artists, quality paint that delivers vivid, consistent color is a must. Student grade “cake” watercolors don’t offer the rich pigments and lightfastness needed for sellable artwork. Professional painters use tube watercolors with higher concentrations of pure pigment. Here are some of the most popular professional watercolor paint brands.
Winsor & Newton Professional Water Colour
Founded in 1832, Winsor & Newton is one of the oldest and most reputable watercolour paint brands. Their Professional Water Colour line provides 226 rich, saturated hues with an average of 14 high quality pigments in each tube. With excellent transparency and minimal staining, they are perfect for layering washes and controlled techniques.
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolours
This American company prides itself on its purity of color using high concentrations of rare and luminescent pigments. Their 288 Professional Quality line has an exceptionally creamy consistency. Known for intensity and lifting qualities, these paints are great for vivid washes or leaving whites.
Sennelier French Artists’ Watercolours
Sennelier has been producing luxury art supplies since 1887. Their watercolours contain finely ground pigments for unparalleled brilliance. With 110 luminous hues that flow smoothly off the brush, this French paint is a favorite among professionals.
Holbein Artists’ Water Colors
Made in Japan, Holbein watercolors offer rich, concentrated colors inspired by traditional Japanese painting. Their handmade paints use high pigment ratios for unsurpassed intensity in glazing and layering techniques. With over 300 colors available, Holbein is perfect for vibrant loose washes or controlled detail work.
M. Graham & Co. Professional Watercolors
This innovative American brand focuses on creating highly intense, lightfast paints safe for artists. Their collection includes 80 Professional Grade opaque and transparent watercolors made from the purest pigments and gum arabic binder. Known for vibrancy, they maintain brilliant color when diluted.
Professional Watercolour Brushes
Choosing the right watercolor brushes is crucial for controlling paint flow and achieving desired effects. Professionals rely on top quality brushes with soft, responsive bristles and good water retention. Here are top watercolor brush brands for artists:
Da Vinci Watercolor Brushes
Handmade in Germany, Da Vinci’s Maestro line provides sable blend brushes with seamless nickel plated ferrules. Their brushes have excellent snap and point, maintaining shape through extensive use. With a huge range of shapes and sizes, they work beautifully for any watermedia painting style.
Isabey Quill Mops
Isabey has made prestige art brushes in France since the 1800s. Their soft squirrel quill mops are perfect for juicy washes or organic edges with lots of control. The responsive tips carry a remarkable amount of paint for loose, textured effects.
Raphaël Kolinsky Sable Brushes
Kolinsky sable is considered the finest natural hair for watercolor brushes. Raphaël uses only top grade Kolinsky from the winter harvest to create brushes with perfect spring and snap. The extra-fine pointed round brushes hold ample moisture for precision work.
Silver Brush Black Velvet Brushes
For a synthetic alternative, Silver Brush’s Black Velvet line offers the control of sable with nylon bristles. Their brush shapes for watercolor hold a point sharply and retain water for vibrant washes. The synthetic bristles provide versatility at a more affordable price point.
Escoda Versatil Travel Brush Set
Escoda uses premium Kolinsky sable hair for its Versatil line, which is prized for springy tips and great water retention. Their portable field set provides an assortment of 15 travel-sized brushes for sketching and on-site painting.
Professional Grade Watercolour Paper
Choosing the right paper is essential for achieving the luminous washes and flowy effects watercolour is known for. Professional painters use heavy weight paper over 140 lbs or 300 gsm. The extra absorbent rough texture allows for lifting, glazing and control. Here are top papers:
Arches
The gold standard of watercolor paper, Arches has been made in France for over 500 years using traditional methods. Their professional grade cold press paper has an excellent strength, absorbency and working versatility perfect for vibrant layered washes.
Fabriano Artistico
Also milled in France, Fabriano’s line is 100% cotton, acid free and archival quality. Their cold press papers provide a harmonious surface for even the wettest washes and bold techniques without buckling. Known for its bright white tone that keeps colors luminous.
Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour Paper
This premium paper is made using only the finest 100% cotton fibers. It has a gently textured surface sized to create stunning blending effects and prevent overworking. Winsor & Newton paper stands out for its ruggedness allowing vigorous techniques.
Canson Heritage
Canson has made fine art papers in France since 1557. Their 100% cotton Heritage Collection provides excellent texture for water flow control with a resilient surface that won’t deteriorate. It delivers vibrant washes and granulation effects.
Saunders Waterford
Saunders Waterford paper is milled in Ireland using refined cotton and traditional machinery. The 100% rag cold press finish has a durable, resilient surface sized for vibrant colors. It’s perfect for smooth washes, strong layering and lifting.
Watercolour Palettes
A quality palette keeps your paints organized and accessible while painting. Porcelain, ceramic and enamel palettes retain moisture well and mix colors cleanly. Here are the best watercolor slabs for pros:
Robert E Wood Watercolor Palette
This classic white porcelain palette provides 12 large wells with a thumb hole for easy handling. The cool white base keeps colors clean without staining. Durable for travel and outdoor painting.
Sennelier Enamelled Tin Palette
Sennelier’s portable tin set holds 14 half-pans of their extra-fine watercolors. The white enamelled interior resists staining while keeping paints workable. Ideal for plein air painting or quick studies.
Holbein Porcelain Plastic Palette
Holbein’s portable palette combines slick plastic with a removable porcelain insert with 12 wells. The heavy plastic case protects paints in transport while the porcelain well keeps colors vivid.
Grumbacher Aluminum Palette
This lightweight aluminum palette provides 18 mixing areas and removable mixing grids. The slim design is perfect for travel and the non-porous surface stays clean between uses with quick rinses.
Winsor & Newton Enamelled Palette
This 8 well porcelain palette has the high quality expected from Winsor & Newton. Durable and stain resistant, it provides a practical surface for mixing paints while remaining easy to clean.
Additional Professional Grade Supplies
Beyond quality paper, brushes and paint – professionals require a few more essentials to complete their watercolour painting setup:
Artist Quality Watercolour Pencils
Watercolor pencils like Derwent, Caran D’Ache and Faber Castell provide vibrant, water soluble core pigments perfect for precision details and sketching before adding wash layers.
Masking Fluid
Masking fluids like Winsor & Newton’s Masking Fluid or Pebeo’s Drawing Gum protect areas of white paper for saving highlights in a wash. Once dried, they can be easily removed.
Spray Bottle
A water sprayer bottle provides convenient water flow control. Essential for wetting paper before washes, softening edges and allowing backruns.
Fine Mist Watercolor Spray
Holbein’s Duo Aqua Mist or Pebeo’s Atomizer provide ultra-fine sprays for softening paint transitions without disruptive drops hitting paper. Useful for atmospheric effects.
Water Containers
Multiple containers for clean water allow convenient mixing and brush rinsing while painting. Plastic or ceramic bowls, jars or a matte palette with wells work well.
Paper Towels or Facial Tissues
Absorbent paper is needed for quickly drying brushes, removing excess paint and lifting glazes to lighten areas. Soft tissues are ideal for delicate lifting.
Watercolour Pencils
Watercolor pencils like Derwent or Caran D’Ache allow detailed preliminary sketching before adding paint washes. Their water soluble leads blend beautifully with wet paint.
Easel
A sturdy tabletop easel provides a stable upright surface and keeps hands free for painting. Look for adjustable canvas, paper and drawing board attachments.
Backdrops
Neutral backdrops like grays, browns or white provide ideal contrast for evaluating color tones and values while painting. Can be paper, foamcore or cloth.
Major Watercolour Paint Brands Compared
With so many professional grade watercolor brands available, it can be difficult to choose paints. Here is a comparison chart of the most popular professional watercolor paints brands:
| Brand | Origin | # of Colors | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton Professional | England | 226 | Vibrant, transparent, minimal staining |
| Daniel Smith Extra Fine | USA | 288 | High concentration of pigments, very intense |
| Sennelier French Artists’ | France | 120 | Smooth, luminous, flow beautifully from brush |
| Holbein Artists’ | Japan | 300+ | Rich, concentrated for glazing techniques |
| M. Graham & Co. Professional | USA | 80 | Vibrant, intense, maintain color richness when diluted |
As you can see, each brand offers unique advantages:
– Winsor & Newton provides a wide range with transparent mixing and controlled staining.
– Daniel Smith focuses on high intensity pigments with a creamy viscosity.
– Sennelier produces luminous paints that blend smoothly.
– Holbein excels at vivid layers and glazing with concentrated hues.
– M. Graham makes intense paints that stay rich even when thinned.
The best professional watercolor brand comes down to your personal painting preferences and techniques. It’s worth investing in a few tubes from different premium lines to compare and find your perfect palette.
Best Student Grade vs Professional Watercolours
While professional watercolors offer superior quality, student grade affordable sets are fine for beginners learning techniques or casual painting. Here’s how they compare:
| Criteria | Student Grade | Professional Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Pigment Concentration | Low | High |
| Lightfastness | Moderate | Excellent |
| Mixing / Blending | Moderate | Excellent |
| Staining | High | Low |
| Lifting / Correction | Difficult | Excellent |
| Price | Affordable | Expensive |
Student sets provide an economical way to try basic techniques, mix secondary hues and explore color theory. But professional paint offers better working properties for advanced methods. Investing in quality tools helps develop skills over time.
Building a Professional Watercolor Paint Set
Curating your own selection of professional watercolors allows you to customize a palette for your personal style, subject matter and techniques. Here are some tips on thoughtfully choosing paints:
– Select one warm and cool version of each primary color for mixing versatility.
– Include a split primary or secondary if you’ll blend extensively.
– Add convenience colors like green, violet and orange if these are common in your work.
– Choose opaque white gouache for highlights.
– Consider granulating colors like French ultramarine for texture.
– Sample specialty paints like iridescent or luminescent hues for accents.
– Select at least one staining color like alizarin crimson for glazing.
– Avoid too many duplicative hues.
– Prioritize colors you love and find inspiring.
– Leave room to add new hues you discover as you progress.
With a thoughtfully edited selection, you can achieve a huge range with primary mixing but minimize wasted tubes. Take time playing with sample sheets from brands you like before you buy full sized tubes.
Essential Neutral Tube Colors
Every watercolorist needs a versatile selection of neutral paints. Here are essential neutrals for mixing any color:
Cadmium Yellow or Lemon – Mixes clean greens and bright oranges. Daniel Smith Lemon yellow is very pure for mixing.
French Ultramarine – Granulating cool blue perfect for natural greens, dark neutrals.
Burnt Sienna – Useful for warming other hues and painting wood, foliage, skin.
Raw Umber – Excellent neutral brown for shadows. Useful for landscapes, portraits.
Payne’s Gray – A dark blue-gray perfect for natural shadows, shading white objects, strong contrast.
Neutral Tint – Pre-mixed dark gray with hint of brown. Handy for muting bright colors or shadows.
With these core mixing colors, you can adjust any hue warmer, cooler, darker or more muted. Plus they’re useful colored on their own.
Best Professional Watercolour Palettes Sets
For convenient color selection in a compact set, these professional palette collections provide useful starter hues:
Sennelier French Watercolor Half-Pan Set
– 24 half pan colors
– Portable enameled tin palette
– Balanced warm & cool primaries, secondaries
– Soft mixing granulating colors
Winsor & Newton Cotman Field Plus Set
– 14 half pans plus brush in tin palette
– Transparent primaries and mixable earth tones
– Great for plein air painting
Holbein Artists’ Water Color Set
– 12 or 18 concentrated colors
– Portable plastic tray with lift out palette
– Rich pigments for blending and layering
Da Vinci Maestro Watercolor Pan Set
– 11 or 22 half pan basic palette
– Selected from their top quality line
– Vibrant pure pigments for mixing
M. Graham Basic 5 Color Watercolor Set
– 5 essential tubes
– Phthalo Blue, New Gamboge, Alizarin, Sap Green, Titanium White
– Vivid foundation for mixing triad palette
Best Brushes for Professional Watercolor
Investing in quality brushes allows optimal control of water and paint. Here are top watercolor brushes recommended for pro painters:
Round Brushes
– Escoda Perla or Versatil: Excellent point retention
– Da Vinci Maestro: Superior spring and snap
– Isabey Sable Mop: Softs tips for washes
– Raphaël Kolinsky: Legendary fine point
Flats & Brights
– Rosemary & Co. Master Gold Sable Flat: All-purpose wash brush
– Isabey 6230C Quill: Precise yet soft wide flat
– Escoda Prado: Thin yet sturdy bright for controlled lines
– Da Vinci
