I recently went to a huge art store with my daughter because she needed some new watercolor supplies. (I live near Paris, France, and there are only a couple of stores like this in the city). The interior is amazing. They have everything an artist could possibly need ! And above all they have a tantalizing range of beautiful watercolors !

I was like a kid in a candy store !

I could spend hours in a place like this contemplating splendid bits of equipment that I haven’t tried yet.

One of the biggest problems when you’re a beginner is knowing which painting supplies to put on your list. The best advice is always to get only what you need, keep it simple, and choose the best quality items you can afford.

There’s no need to buy a lot of expensive items you may never use, but in order to paint successfully you need some essential pieces of equipment.

Of course the most important are your paint, brushes, and paper.

If you want to make the right choices from the beginning, I suggest that you read the articles below before you spend a lot of precious time searching, and lots of hard earned money.

The art supplies that I recommend here are among my favorites. These are things which I use myself, so I’m happy to endorse them because they were chosen after a lot of time and consideration. They include materials and equipment which I’ve tried and tested, and I’ll tell you every time why I think they’re great, and also the things to avoid when you’re looking for new equipment.

There’s a huge array of art supplies on the market. I hope that the advice and ideas you find here will save you some time, and help you find the best value for money supplies. The aim of this guide is to help you learn how to choose the right watercolor equipment so that you don’t waste money and get discouraged !