10 Watercolour Painting Tips

Have a look through our art supplies to find watercolours, brushes, paper and use these handy tips to get you started on your watercolour painting.

1. Test watercolours on the same brand and type of paper that you are painting on.
2. Use paper of weight #140 or higher to avoid crinkling and leakage through the paper.
3. You can use a flat white dinner plate for tube water colours if you don’t have a palette.
4. Have two containers of water: one to clean brushes and one to wet your paint brush as you paint.
5. Use a cheaper synthetic brush to do the mixing; and a more expensive brush (like a sable brush) to do the painting.
6. Dipping your brush in hand soap before loading it with masking fluid will protect the brush and make it easier to clean.
7. Masking fluid can be diluted with a little water to make it easier to apply.
8. If your tube watercolour has hardened you can cut open the tube and use the hardened paint inside as if it were a block or pan of watercolour.
9. You can clean watercolour brushes with mild soap and water.
10. Use paper towels when cleaning out the paint on a palette; tissues leave residue behind.