Basic Art Supply List
I’m blessed to be teaching Art in our Charlotte Mason home school co-op this year. We are alternating between soft pastel and watercolor skills. I teach 23 kids from ages 4-14 and we are loving our supplies and curriculum.
Choosing art supplies can be a stab in the dark with the millions of products on the market. Luckily I have already found a few of the best priced, highest quality items and I want to share my finds with you! I want to have the best quality art supplies we can afford for our kids and to teach them how to take good care of them.
Must Have Watercolor Colors
It’s tempting to buy the rainbow assortment of watercolors but there is so much learning potential in mixing your own colors.
You only really need to start with three primary colors:
Quinacridon Pink
Prussian Blue
Hansa Yellow
Learn and practice your mixing skills with this close-able paint pallet that’s handy for taking out on nature study walk. After the colors dry the new mixes you make are available to re-use next time you paint.
Best Watercolor Brushes for Beginners
You only need to start with two brushes, round #5 and #10. I couldn’t find a good deal on them individually so I got this set and it’s been great to share with my three kids. Plus I do love the #1 brush for my fine details.
We are learning brush forms with this free book!
Basic Color Wheel
Get to know your paints by making a simple color wheel like this. Practice blending shades of brown, grey and make yourself a black.
Soft Pastels are really fun for the kids… I actually love the variety in this set. Blending is so satisfying and the Pink Pearl brand erasers are excellent for removing smudges and adding highlights.
Best Watercolor Paper Sketchbook
If you follow the free instruction book I recommended above you’ll want some graph paper for brush forms. I like the reinforced binder holes on this so we can keep our work in a folder. It’s fun to make patterns on and adds a simple mathematical aspect to our art.
After comparison shopping all around the internet and in stores with coupons I found the 7×10 watercolor note book by Canson is a sturdy weight so we can use both sides of the paper. One side for watercolor and after it dries we use the other for the soft pastels, alternating through the book. We spray the finished pastels with this workable fixative. Watch out not to get the mixed-media version of this note book, it’s not nearly as thick but it’s good for drawing with my favorite colored pencils and charcoals.
My five year old thought it was funny to paint her paints…
As a totally unnecessary but fun splurge we use these water basin tubs. They have a ribbed bottom in the rinse section that really helps wash out the pigment. They are not likely to accidentally spill with the kids, like ever, which I love… plus it keeps me from mindlessly taking a drink of my rinse water instead of my tea!
Basic Art Questions
That’s it for today, I hope you have an Artful Day!
These are beautiful. Did you paint them all?
Hello, thank you! I did the apple and the banana in soft pastels. The rest were from children in my art class at our homeschool co-op.