Take Your Watercolour Paintings To The Next Level With Our Watercolour Painting Supplies
Whether you're a complete beginner or a professional artist who has been using watercolours for years, your final piece is only as good as the materials and watercolour painting supplies you used to create it.
Riot Art & Craft are dedicated to providing all artists with the high- quality products they need to produce their best work possible. We've got artist quality watercolour paints by brands such as Jane Davenport, Eraldo Di Paolo, Mungyo, The Paper Mill & The Art Studio. Pair them with our watercolour paper pads with various sizes and textures to suit any project, including cold pressed and mixed media paper to combine with a huge range of mediums, from gouache and oil paints to Sennelier pastels and crayons.
We've also got easels, gallery wrapped stretched canvases and canvas panels, plus all of the extras to complete your watercolour painting experience. Pick up a bargain today when you shop our best sellers and checkout easily with free postage Australia-wide over $99.
Watercolour Paints and Paint Sets
A watercolour paint set can help you get all of the colours and essentials you need in one handy purchase to save time and money. We've got tube sets and pan sets with a dazzling range of colours in each for blending and mixing.
Shop the Art Studio box set with 12 paints, palette, paint brushes, pencils, sharpener, eraser and sponge for the ultimate starter kit. Experiment using brush pens with the Eraldo Di Paolo set including 36 vibrant colours, aqua brush, sponges and palette.
You can also take your watercolour supplies anywhere you go with the Eraldo Di Paulo travel set containing mixable watercolour paints, lightweight palette and paintbrush all inside a compact case that will fit into your pocket!
Watercolour Paints to Start
Our professional watercolour paints are suitable for beginners and professionals alike. They're highly pigmented for a bold, bright finish with excellent lightfastness to prevent fading when exposed to light. We've got an incredible range of professional watercolour paint sets and individual tubes to help you get started with watercolour painting from brands you know and love, including Art Spectrum, Eraldo Di Paulo, The Art Studio, Mungyo and The Paper Mill.
Watercolour Paper
Quality watercolour paper will be strong enough to hold pigment and water while producing bright colours and long-lasting vividness. You can find watercolour paper in different textures and forms, including:
1. Rough, hot pressed, cold pressed - Hot pressed paper is smooth and ideal for fine detail, such as illustrations and calligraphy. Cold pressed has a medium texture for a diverse range of techniques and rough paper is highly textured for a grainy effect.
2. Light weight, medium weight, heavy weight - Watercolour paper ranges from 190gsm for minimal paint and water to 638gsm for heavy-duty paper that can hold heavy washes and large amounts of water without buckling.
3. Pad - Create your masterpieces using a watercolour pad with connected sheets for experimenting and painting
4. Sheets - Tear out sheets from a pad to create separate works of art
5. Blocks - A watercolour block is a stack of sheets glued together with a solid backing. All four sides of paper are glued in pace so you can paint freely without stretching the paper beforehand. When done with each page, simply remove it from the block.
Difference Between Pans and Tubes
Watercolor pans are plastic containers that hold watercolour discs made up of dry, concentrated watercolour paint. They become activated when you add water to them with a brush and apply to paper. You can find half pan and full pan sets at Riot Art with stunning colours, including metallic, pastel and basic shades.
Paint tubes contain wet paint, similar to acrylics and oils that are ready to be squeezed onto a palette and used dry or watered down further. You can shop our paint tube sets by Eraldo Di Paolo or pick up individual tubes by Art Spectrum to grow your collection.
Watercolour Paint Brushes
There's a number of different brushes you can use to apply and blend watercolour paint. You can use natural or synthetic paint brushes to achieve anything from washes to filling in and adding detail. Shop our brush sets for watercolours by Borciani Bonazzi Artist's First Choice, Eraldo Di Paolo and Holcroft. Experiment with quality Taklon brushes in various sizes and shapes, including round, flat, long handle and fan brushes.
A brush pen or water brush can also produce very interesting results when applied to paper. Fill our Art Studio aqua pens up with water and use them to blend and soften edges or fill them up with liquid colour to create fine lines like a marker.
Additional Extras
To make the most out of working with watercolours, you can stock up on some extra supplies to bring the best out in any project. While not essential, they'll make it easier to plan, experiment, produce and preserve your masterpieces. Think about using:
1. Pencils and pens
2. Eraser
3. Tape
4. Easel
5. Boards
6. Ruler
7. Masking fluid
8. Spray varnish
Pencils For Initial Sketching
Many artists like to sketch out their design first before applying paint. This can be done with graphite pencils and an eraser. For some colour, you can also experiment with watercolour markers and watercolour pencils. They can be used alone or to add detail to a watercolour painting. Dip them in water and start drawing or apply dry and add water to blend with a brush.
Check out our pencil sets by Art Studio to create beautifully vibrant works of art, including coloured watercolour pencils and water-soluble sketching pencils.
Best Watercolour Art Supply Store
Watercolour painting can be an expensive activity when you combine the cost of watercolour paints, paper and accessories. To make sure you get everything you need at the best price possible, shop online with Riot Art & Craft!
As the leading art and craft supplies store in Australia, we stock the biggest brands at the most affordable prices, from Faber-Castell and Holcroft to Eraldo Di Paolo, Art Spectrum, Art Culture and so much more. Discover the full range today and pick yourself up an amazing bargain!
FAQs About Watercolour Painting Supplies
What Supplies Do I Need For Watercolour Painting?
It might seem overwhelming at first, but you don't need too many supplies to begin painting with watercolours. Start with the essentials, then add to your collection as your skills and style evolve. Dive in with these items:
1. Watercolour paint - tubes or pans
2. Watercolour paint brushes
3. Watercolour paper
4. Palette
5. Pencil and eraser
What Are The Best Watercolours For Beginners?
For those new to watercolours, a paint set is an affordable and convenient place to start. Our paint sets are available in tubes and pans with essential shades for mixing, plus come with many useful watercolour supplies, including paintbrushes, watercolour paper, pencils, erasers and sharpeners. Paint tubes are the easiest to use as you can just squeeze and apply.
What Is The Best Surface For Watercolour Painting?
Unlike acrylic paint, watercolour paint requires an absorbent surface that can hold fluid paint and water without breaking apart or warping. Watercolour paper is the best surface to use. Our range of quality watercolour paper comes in various sizes and textures. You can find paper that’s:
1. Made with 100% cotton for durability
2. Acid free to prevent yellowing
3. Available in rough, cold pressed and mixed media
How Do You Watercolour For Beginners?
Even great artists, such as Van Gogh and Picasso, had to start at the beginning! If you're new to watercolours, practice and experimentation are the best ways to grow your skills and develop your personal style. Pick up a paintbrush and explore these basic techniques:
1. Wet-on-wet
2. Wet-on-dry
3. Building colour
4. Painting gradients