So, I’ve gathered my favourites together in one place to make choosing art supplies a little easier. These are the paints, papers, brushes and other bits and pieces I genuinely use in my own studio and teaching.
Think of this page as a guide, not a shopping list. You absolutely do not need everything here. Start with what you have, add things as you need them and, if you have a great local art store nearby, support them whenever you can. There’s nothing quite like being able to pick up a brush, feel the paper and get some good old-fashioned advice in person.
For everything else, I’ve included links to help you track things down. Some come with special discounts, some links may earn me a small commission, and some are simply things I love and recommend.
It is very easy to walk into an art store as a beginner and think you need approximately 47 tubes of paint, 16 brushes and a very fancy palette. You might also feel like you need to rob a bank. You don’t. To get started, I’d keep it simple. In fact, I’ve put all my favourites into one kit if you’re starting from scratch! Quality, entry-level supplies tried and tested not only by myself but 1000s of my students too.
Starting from scratch? I've popped all my favourite beginners materials into one convenient box, ready to be delivered to your door.
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Affordable, super vibrant and compact! These paints flow beautifully and are a great intro to the medium.
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You don’t need every size. A good medium-sized round brush will do a lot of the heavy lifting. I'd go for a size 4 or 6 and 10 or 12 to get started.
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I've tried them all and this paper wins handsdown when it comes to performance versus price. It's not cotton, but it has a lovely texture and is great to practice on.
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You actually don't need a palette, a old white plate will do the job! I do get a lot of questions about this one though, so here's the link!
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Nothing fancy, just simple household items. My favourite jar is one of those big Moccona coffee jars. You could use an old rag or kitchen towel.
You can always upgrade or add to your collection once you know what you enjoy using.
These are the supplies I use myself in the studio. It's taken 20 years of experiementing to arrive at these items - and honestly, the discovery process is half the fun! It's important to note this is an ever-changing list, too. I will keep it up to date as I discover new things.
I mostly use Daniel Smith, I do have some Schmincke and Windsor & Newton in there too. I prefer tubes so I can choose my colours, I squeeze them into my palette and allow them to dry.
I have a set of 7 essential colours and any other colours in my palette rotate as I try new things and experiment. You can watch a video on my 7 essential colours on YouTube here.
Polina is a fellow watercolour artist with her own line of brushes. I love the shape of them, with the elongated bristle and fine point. They hold a great line and a vast amount of water.
My go-to brushes are the synthetic rounds in size 0 and 2 as well as the mop brushes.
The perfect balance of texture and softness Saunders Waterford is my favourite 100% cotton paper to work on. I use the 300gsm, 425gsm and 600gsm as well the blocks. The cold-pressed (medium) texture is often called NOT. It's in the middle in the image above, rough is on the left and hot-pressed on the right.
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One of my most favourite items in my kit, these pastels are so versatile. Bold, rich, opaque colours that draw wonderfully but also activate with water. Note the Neocolor I are not watersoluble, only Neocolor II.
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I bought my palette a long time ago and I can't find the exact same thing to share with you. I've found some similar ones though. Mine is plastic for lightweight travel, however I also found a porcelain one, and a even more compact one.
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The best fineliner to pair with watercolour as it is truly fixed and will not bleed one it is set. I use the 0.2mm, 0.5mm and the 0.8mm depending on what I'm working on. They are also lovely to sketch with too.
Shop HereWhen you're on the move you need your kit to be more compact and lightweight. Although I don't exclusively paint outdoors, I do enjoy it and as I travel around Australia I've picked up some handy tips too.
My studio palette was too big for life on the road so I condensed into a fold-out metal tin palette. It's far more compact but you still get reasonable mixing area.
I've got 18 full pans of colour in there, which I ordered separately and filled with my choice of paints from tubes.
This was a little surprise discovery on the trip, a recommendation from a student. I'd seen it in art stores before but never knew what to do with it. It's a wetting agent and helps your washes flow more easily across the paper, buying you a little extra working time when everything wants to dry at lightning speed. There's a synthetic version suitable for vegans too.
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These are the perfect answer for a really compact kit. I pop the lids on and throw them in my en plein pencil case. No more ruining brushes in transit!
This isn't going to be for everyone but this tough, cushioned picnic mat has come in handy so many times. I throw it on the ground, sprawl out all my materials and away we go!
They are a good size, fold down so well and come in lots of fabulous patterns.
Loose sheets don't do so well in the travel bag, so instead I use the Saunders Waterford blocks. Same quality paper, just in a nifty block.
If you're unfamiliar, blocks are sealed on each edge with wax, keeping the paper taut. You have to carefully release each sheet. Pads have one gummed edge keeping the sheets together.
You can always upgrade or add to your collection once you know what you enjoy using.
Shop HereSome of the brands I use and recommend have kindly given me discount codes to share with my students. Yay, perks!
Use code: NATALIE10
Micador is a family-owned Australian business. They make great art materials at affordable prices making art accessible for everyone. I've worked with Micador a really long time and use all their materials in my workshops and recommend them for beginners.
Use code: NATALIE_MARTIN
These brushes swept me away the first time I used them, they were unlike any other brush I'd tried. They handled beautifully, held so much water and have this incredible balance of elongated bristles with fine point. It was love at first paint! I use Polina's synthetic round brushes, mops and rigger.
Buying the materials is the easy bit. Knowing what to do with them is another story.
My complete beginner course takes you right back to basics. We’ll look at your materials, learn how water and paint work together, practise essential techniques and build your confidence from the ground up.
No experience required. No enormous collection of fancy supplies required.
If you’ve got watercolours plus a collection of pencils, pens and other art supplies gathering dust, this is your invitation to get them all out and play.We’ll explore how different materials interact, loosen up your mark-making and combine watercolour with mixed media to create expressive floral paintings.
Explore Spring Florals in Mixed MediaArt supplies can be incredibly tempting. I know.But more materials don’t necessarily make better paintings.Start with what you have. Learn how it behaves. Mix colours. Make messes. Fill pages. Use the good paper you’ve been saving.And when you’re ready to add something new to your kit, I hope this page makes choosing it a little easier.
A note about affiliate links
Some links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you.
I only recommend materials and brands that I genuinely use, enjoy or feel comfortable recommending to my students. Affiliate partnerships don’t influence what makes it onto this list.