After producing art with inktense watercolour pencils, I was keen to try proper watercolour paint. Watercolour pencils provide more control but spreading paint liberally across the paper was difficult and often the results looked scratchy. It was just after my birthday and I was visiting my parents in Dorset. They asked if there was anything special I wanted for my birthday and I had happened to have stopped and admired a watercolour gift box in the window of an art shop in Lyme Regis the previous day. With this small prompt I was off to make my purchase.
Art shop in Lyme Regis - try and buy from local art shops whenever you can: http://www.fineartandframing.co.uk/
Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour Bamboo Box half pan set:
It was an expensive gift for what essentially was 12 colours in half pan blocks, a pad of A5 watercolour paper, a few brushes, a sponge, and a small towel. However the box was beautiful and as an entirety it exuded quality. One piece of advice I was given as I started practising art again was to buy the best materials I could afford. Occasionally I did try cheaper items but realised the paper was frustrating to work with (wrinkled and easily disintegrated) and that cheaper paints, with less pigment and more binder, lacked vibrancy. It is difficult to explain the emotional pleasure that I gained from laying down these scrummy colours on quality watercolour paper - to a certain extent creating a picture felt almost secondary to the enjoyment of the colour.
Below are a couple of early paintings of puffins I produced using my watercolour set. Looking at them now I can see I had such a long way to go however I was pleased with my initial efforts and knew I had the rest of my life to master my skills.
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