Artist Watercolors

Artist watercolors contain a full pigment load, suspended in a binder, generally natural gum arabic. Conventional watercolors are sold in moist form, in a tube, and are thinned and mixed on a dish or palette. Use them on paper and other absorbent surfaces that have been primed to accept water-based paint. Clean up with soap and water.

Pan Watercolors

Pan Watercolors, available in professional as well as student and scholastic grades, offer pigment and binder in a dry form. Apply water with a brush to moisten the pan and lift pigment. Use a palette with indentations to mix colors. Pan watercolors are ideal for field and outdoor painting.

Student Grade Watercolors

Student Grade watercolors have working characteristics similar to professional watercolors, but with lower concentrations of pigment, less expensive formulas, and a smaller range of colors. More expensive pigments are generally replicated by hues. Colors are designed to be mixed, although color strength is lower. Hues may not have the same mixing characteristics as regular full-strength colors.

Watercolor Gift and Travel Sets

Watercolors are available in two formats, as a semi-liquid in tubes and as a solid in watercolor pans. Although most artists prefer tubes, watercolor pans are ideal for travel and outdoor painting. The sets offered by Dick Blick are beautifully packaged and presented, and are suitable for a fine gift.

Watercolor Travel Kits

Winsor & Newton Artists' Watercolor Case

Ideal for the traveling watercolor artist. Features 12 half pans, a water bottle and a cup. There is also a handy metal loop on the back to place the case on your belt loop or hold it securely in hand while painting. Convenient fold-out palette.

Sennelier Watercolor Travel Sets

These cases open fully with one fluid movement, presenting a slide-out palette with a thumb-hole. Sennelier sets are small enough to balance comfortably in the palm of your hand, and slip into a purse or backpack to take with you wherever you go.

Raphaël Watercolor Travel Set

The Raphaël Aquarelle Watercolor Travel Set is a great little 4½" diameter compact plastic box with 10 half pans of student-quality watercolors and a secure snap closure. 12-compartment mixing palette and pocket size 3½" brush.

Travel Brushes

Hand Book Artist Journals

A hand-bound, sketch journal covered in book cloth is the perfect travel companion for artists.

Each journal features 128 buff colored blank pages, a durable elastic closure, and a useful clear plastic envelope to hold notes or business cards. The heavyweight sheets are 130 gsm (normal drawing paper is 80 gsm) and acid free.

They have a light, toothy surface that accepts pen-and-ink, pencil, markers, and light watercolor washes without buckling.

Artist Watercolor Gift Sets

Maimeri Blu Watercolor Sets Experience the rich tradition of colors like those treasured by ancient masters and appreciated by modern Italian painters for over 80 years.

Student Watercolor Gift Sets

Reeves Studio Paint Sets Choose Reeves quality watercolor, acrylic, or oil colors in introductory-sized 12 ml tubes, packaged with brushes, paper or boards, mediums, palette, and colorful instruction booklet.

Watercolor brushes

Watercolor brushes typically have long, absorbent hairs, and the best are of natural fiber. By tradition, a watercolor brush has a short handle, since the artist executes fine detail and works close to the paper or medium. High-end watercolor brushes, such as Kolinsky sable pointed rounds, are prized for their ability to keep a fine point, useful for detail work. Desired qualities include resiliency and snap. The cost and scarcity of high-quality natural fibers has fostered the development of good synthetic alternatives. Synthetic watercolor brushes can be used with other media.

Da Vinci Kolinsky Round Brush Sets
Series 36

Da Vinci Kolinsky Round Brush Sets Series 36 Whether you're a professional or just starting out, you'll appreciate the qualities of these amazing tools. Handmade by Da Vinci from pure Harbin Kolinsky Red Sable winter tail hair, these extra sharp watercolor brushes are renowned for their ability to point, spring, and hold their shape. Soft yet resilient, they have exceptional water and color carrying capacity, for detail work or delicate blending. They feature short black lacquered handles. Set of 3 — This set includes brushes in sizes 8, 10, and 12. Set of 5 — This set includes brushes in sizes 0, 1, 2, 4, and 6.

FREE Silver Brush
Renaissance Red Sable Brush Set

Renaissance Red Sable Brushes feature short, gloss black hardwood handles. They offer natural spring and a generous color holding capacity. This set includes the following five brushes: Renaissance Red Sable Round, sizes 2 and 4 Renaissance Red Sable Bright, size 6 Renaissance Red Sable Cat’s Tongue, sizes 2 and 4

Blick Wonder White Round
Series 2026 STUDENT

Dick Blick's White Taklon has a texture and responsiveness comparable to red sable, but with greater durability. The sharp point has good spring and is great for all water-based media. (Expect some staining of the filaments that won't harm the performance of the brush, just the appearance.) The Wonder White Round features a short, red-enameled handle with a seamless, nickel-plated ferrule. Set of 6 — This set includes sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12

Papers

Watercolor Papers Artists select fine watercolor papers by finish and by weight. Manufacturers generally sell three or more finishes, usually labeled Rough, Cold Press, and Hot Press. For transparent watercolors, most artists prefer a Rough or Cold Press finish. A smoother finish, such as Hot Press, is desirable for opaque watercolors, and for printmaking and drawing.

Student Grade Watercolor Papers

Student grade watercolor papers are designed to have a texture and feel similar to artist grade papers, but they are not made of archival grade materials. Although they are acid buffered, the buffering will eventually be used up, depending on air quality, and the paper will begin to discolor and deteriorate. Use a student grade paper for practice work, but not for a work that is for sale.

Artists Watercolor Papers

A paper's weight is the weight, measured in pounds, of one ream, approximately 500 Imperial Sheets (22" × 30").

A light paper typically has a weight of about 90 lb

A heavyweight paper may be 300 lb or greater.

Because of the complexity of this traditional English system for weighing paper, the watercolor world is embracing a metric alternative, grams per square meter (gsm). A standard 140 lb watercolor papers has a metric weight of approximately 300 gsm.

The traditional sheet size since pre-industrial times has been the 22" × 30" Imperial Sheet and its 15" × 22" half sheet. Even in a metric world, the A0/B0 standard and other metric sheet sizes have made little headway.

Watercolor Cards

Watercolor Blocks

Watercolor Albums and Books

Paperbound Sketchbooks

Hardbound Sketchbooks

Wirebound Sketchbooks

Watercolor Painting & Techniques - Books

A sampling of watercolor books offered through Dick Blick:
Encyclopedia of Watercolor Techniques	Watercolor by Design Composition	Winsor & Newton Colour Mixing Guide: Water Colour