My main Art supplies (page in progress)

Shop with me on Amazon, and at St. Louis Art Supply - please use my affiliate link: shop.stlartsupply.com/maria_morjane

• Watercolor paper. My main watercolor papers are: Hahnemuhle "Collection", Hahnemuhle "Leonardo", and Arches, as my third choice. These are the papers I recommend to all beginners. You want to start with professional grade supplies because cheap art materials will only hold you back.
  

The truth is that you need the right tools to grow as an artist.

I recommend to only paint on Professional Grade Watercolor Papers. It is very easy to get discouraged if you paint on cheap/student grade because the colors will not come out right, colors will quickly fade, the paper won't absorb the water/paint correctly, the paper will buckle more, rip, tear, you won't be able to use art masking fluid properly without damaging the paper.

• Paints. I mostly paint with Holbein watercolors in tubes. I prefer tubes because of the size of my paintings, and because it's much easier to get the correct ratio of color and paint. Tubes also last for a long time. They are a better investment. My second choice are Schmincke Horadam in tubes.

• Brushes. I have my own lines of watercolor brushes such as: "Golden 1", Round 8, "Golden 2" Round 8 and 3/4, and "Songbird" quills (custom made by Da Vinci Artist brush) are available in my Etsy shop.

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Extra stuff I like to have:

• For brush care I recommend Escoda Olive Soap
• If you like to play with texture you could use natural sponges as I did in this turtle video.
• I like and recommend  masking Fluid by Winsor and Newton, a Fineline Applicator for masking fluid or ruling pen. 
• Ocassionaly I also use a rubber pen by Meeden to spread masking fluid and have more control.
• To remove masking I use a cement eraser. 
• I use two different types of palettes. The main one you see in videos is eight-well plastic palette by Richeson. Today, I much prefer a butcher palette.
• If you like gold accents like I used in this video I recommend Gold ink by Winsor and Newton.
• I paint on a glass top table by STUDIO DESIGNS but there's a similar/cheaper version on Blick's website. Painting on a glass top prevents my watercolor paper from buckling. Here are other versions, click here.
• I use Holbein soft tape and MT Washi Tape from Japan. One is thicker and one thinner.
• I use two products to protect my watercolor paintings, one is matte varnish - Dorland's Wax Medium and second one Sax True Flow which has a glossy finish.