Painting Watercolor Skies at Nemours Estate

Painting the sky is like practicing alchemy, we are trying to capture something on paper that is ever changing, ever shifting, and often unpredictable, but that’s what makes it fun!

If you attended the workshop at Nemours Estate a few weeks ago, or are just here taking a look around, welcome! Below is a list of painting supplies that we used for our Wellbeing workshop, Painting Watercolor Skies, along with other favorites that I use regularly. Most often I buy my supplies from Blick Art Materials or Jerry’s Artarama, but I always look online for sales from other retailers like Michael’s.  I have no affiliate program connected to any of the links below, they are just jumping off points to get you started.  If you want to treat yourself to a road trip, head to Blick’s in Philadelphia (a massive store) or Jerry’s in Newark Delaware.  Both offer plenty of painting supplies and have lots of staff on hand to assist you.

Sketching - I swear by the Pentel Twist Erase III mechanical pencil with the 0.7 lead.  The lead isn’t too hard and the eraser is built right into the pencil, better yet, both are refillable!

Paints - Winsor Newton Cotman Watercolors are vibrant and economical.  They come in tube sets and palettes in many variations.

Paper - I use  Canson XL Watercolor paper for many of my projects.  The texture has a nice medium tooth for a cold pressed paper, and the price can’t be beat.  Of course, there are many more brands and types of paper available, experiment with a few and see what feels best to you!  Thinking you’d rather have a watercolor sketchbook?  The Moleskin brand of watercolor books are a favorite of mine and they lay flat, which is an added bonus.

Paint Brushes - Some people have a lot of shoes, I have a lot of paintbrushes! My favorite by far are these simple round brushes from Creative Expressions.  It is the same brand we used in our workshop and one I often reach for when working on projects of my own.

Still have questions? Send me an email, I’m glad to help you find whatever you are looking for!