My Top 10 Gift Ideas for Watercolor Artists

It's hard to believe that we are heading into the holiday season again, but it will be nice to decorate and relax with your family and friends. 

This year I've compiled my top 10 gift ideas for the watercolor artist in your family.

After painting 20 years, I've found these to be some of my favorites and I wanted to share them with you. Most are under the $60 dollar range. 

1. ROSA Professional Watercolor Paint Set - Artists will appreciate the single pigments.

If you are looking for some super bright watercolors, these are gorgeous. This is the small set, great for checking out the quality of these paints. When you add just a touch of water to these, you'll be amazed at how bright the pigment is. There is none of that mixing forever to get a lot of saturated colors.  I was gifted these paints by one of my artists and friend Lisa Hedrick (she's a designer and art instructor that works with Gina K. designs) this fall and just loved them! 

They come in this cute little portable metal case with 12 different colors. Each pigment is a single pigment color, so you can get some great pure mixtures. They also have a high lightfastness, which basically means that your art will last for years without fading quickly.  

2. Silver Brush Limited Dagger Striper Paint Brush - A game changer for painting loose.

Okay, so this one does take some practice, but wow it's the perfect brush for adding those little lines for tree branches, waves, or anywhere you want a light touch that doesn't disturb the layers underneath. This is one that I love to use in my Watercolor Seascapes Course is the 1/4" size, but they do have a 3/8" if you prefer. 

Great for layering and creating swirling shapes, which I think makes it great for loose florals. It's not really expensive either, because it is a blend of squirrel hair and synthetic fibers. 

3. White Ceramic Artist Palette - The perfect little mixing tray for a limited color palette. 

If you haven't tried a ceramic or porcelain palette let me share why it's preferred to plastic trays. They are super smooth, which makes them easier to clean up and less likely to stain from watercolor pigments. 

This one is conveniently small and great for a small art space. Works great for a limited color palette and holds 7 tube colors, but you can also just use it to mix your pan colors. 

4.  Strathmore Watercolor Cards - Excellent surface and ideal for small artwork.

One of my favorite ways to use this paper is not as a card, but to cut it into half to make (2) 5X7" pieces. The texture is wonderful on these and it doesn't produce any pulp and is strong for wet into wet techniques. It comes in sets of 10/50/ or 100 along with envelopes.

If you purchase the 100 cards, you get 200 small 5x7" surfaces to paint on. But of course, if you rather use it as a card, having the envelopes to go with it is perfect, especially for the holidays. 

These also come in bright white or postcard size. 

5. White Gouache - Perfect for adding white details without masking fluid.

Go for the bigger 1.25 oz if you are like me and don't want to wait for masking fluid to dry, or want to be more expressive with your paintings without planning where those lighter areas will be.

It's great for adding sparkles in water or highlights, creating clouds, and my favorite way to pop in birch trees over lots of green trees! This stuff is a permanent part of my artist toolbox and I use it daily. The black gouache is great too.

6. Arches Watercolor Pad - Spend your money on good watercolor paper.

Although I like the Strathmore cards for my small paintings, Arches paper is my go-to professional watercolor paper. These 9x12" pads fit perfectly in my cabinet and are easy to carry. The paper, no matter what size or press is fantastic. My students find less frustration when they use good-quality paper. 

This paper is 100% cotton and has been around for centuries, seriously since 1942. These folks know what they are doing. My favorite is the 140lb cold press, it gives me just the right about of texture for creating rocks and other textures in my artwork. Also comes in hot press (nice for fine details/portraits or ink), and rough. 

7. Winsor & Newton Cotman Kit - My very first watercolor kit. 

This was the first and only watercolor kit that I used for the first 5 years of painting, and you know what, still use it to this day. This kit only has 12 colors and it comes with a lovely little sable brush. 

We use this kit in our watercolor classes, and I recommend it to my beginner students. A great small kit to learn about water-to-paint ratios and mixing. Since they are pan-paints, you can mix and create your own colors from these basic colors. A great set to explore and make your very first color wheel. 

8. Dorlands Wax - A game changer for sealing watercolors on wood without frames.

If you hate to spend a lot of money on UV glass and framing watercolors, this is a fantastic alternative. 

I love to mount my watercolor paper onto a wooden panel, seal it with UV then top it with this wax medium. It protects your watercolors and adds depth to your colors. PS. The wooden panel is my Number 9 item. 

It gives watercolors a completely different look. You can leave it with a matte look or buff it to a glossier finish. It also won't yellow or fade.

Here are some watercolor ornaments that I sealed with this wax. 

9. Unfinished Wood Panel - Love this contemporary look for watercolors.

These wooden canvases/panels come in many sizes and widths. Make sure that your seal the raw wood so that it doesn't damage your watercolor paper for attaching your art. My preference is the deep panels, that look like a frame. You can choose to leave the edges natural, stain, or paint them to match your artwork. 

This is such a beautiful and contemporary way to mount your watercolors. You can also use these panels for Oils. Here's an art piece that I finished. Interesting story, I had originally poured resin over this piece of wood but didn't care for the painting so I painted over the resin with watercolor grounds, then waxed the top. 

10. Steal Like An Artist - Book by Austin Kleon - Just a fun little read for any artist.

I've had this little book sitting on my shelf for a number of years. It's a great little book that reminds me of the little things. Just a little fun read for any creative person. Makes for the perfect stocking stuffer too. 

Would love to hear about some of your favorites! Leave me a comment and let me know. 

Happy Creating,

Kellie 

Legal Info: Thanks for watching my channel I am affiliated with Amazon and This Channel accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions, or other forms of compensation. I only recommend items that I personally use and like and hope that my opinion helps others. :) Safety Note: When using paints and chemicals please adhere to any and all manufacturer safety guidelines with these products. If you have specific safety questions or concerns please contact the product's manufacturer or your doctor. I am an artist, not a Scientist or a Doctor. These are just my opinions and my process, I am not responsible for your health or actions.