Supplies I Bring to the Workshop

Sometimes, people ask me about the supplies I bring to the workshop.  Here is a good list and some suggestions on where you can buy them.

Paper

To bring out the best in your watercolors, you need high quality watercolor paper.  There are many to choose from but Arches 140 lb cold pressed watercolor paper is considered on of the best quality out there and a great beginner paper.

Watercolor Color Palette

Any professional grade watercolors  will work Winsor and Newton is great. Another awesome brand I love is QoR and it is does tend to be more expensive but the sets are a good value.When it comes to watercolor, I always reach for the professional quality and in tubes.  Always choose professional grade for rich pigments and textures,and tubes because they are actually a better overall value, can easily be reconstituted and provide the flexibility to mix and match color schemes.

 

 

Here is a list of the watercolor pigments used in my class:

• Quinacridone Violet
• Alzarin Crimson
• Winsor Red Deep
• Cadmium Red
• Permanent Orange
• Cadmium Yellow Deep
• Cadmium Yellow Light (Primrose)
• Quiacridone Gold Deep
• Green Gold
• Hookers Green
• Sap Green
• Viridian
• Cerulean Blue
• Indigo
• Cobalt Teal
• Phthalo Blue
• French Ultramarine
• Ultramarine Violet
• Wisteria
• Permanent Rose
• Iridescent Gold (fine)
• Iridescent Silver (fine)
• Titanium White

But there are tons of colors, explore and play with them.

You can purchase colors individually from  Amazon.com, Blick Art Supplies or Cheap Joes. And here are some favorite recommendations to really make your jewelry pop:

• For vivid colors there is a rich and fun *high chroma* color scheme made by QoR.  You can also so my review of it here: https://marikareinke.com/2015/01/me-and-my-high-chroma/.
• QoR Iridescent Gold & Silver! Seriously there is gold and silver watercolor and it is here!  When it comes to making jewelry pendants what a perfect match!  I add these flavors at this at the end of my painting process. It can be applied opaquely to cover even the darkest colors.  In fact, it even looks better on the darkest colors.
• Winsor and Newton Iridescent  Medium– This isn’t quite a watercolor but a medium.  You can apply it directly to paper and dried pigment or you can mix it with any watercolor to achieve a sparkling version of the original tint.  It’s perfect for when you love the colors you have but just want a little extra sparkle, not metal.

Glass Pendants

These are the glass quality and shapes used in class.  There are also circles and other shapes to play with as well.  You can do a google or amazon search and find all sorts of fun shapes to work with and if you buy in bulk they are a great value too.

Bails

Bails can be found in bulk on amazon or Etsy as well.  Most of them are metal plated.  It takes some additional searching to find higher grade bails like sterling silver but you can find them easily online.

Adhesives

Diamond glaze is essential to adhere the painting and pendant together.  This brand does the job well and offers a good value too.

E6000 is the goto glue for adhering bails to the pendants.  It is commonly found online and in craft stores.

Necklaces

Any chain or cord will work for this project and it really depends on your preferences.  For colorful jewelry, I tent to like satin cords over metal but this is really up to you.  You can purchase packages of satin cords on amazon here or even search on etsy.com.

Brushes

Synthetic watercolor brushes are firm and easy to control. They are a good starter brush. I encourage you to experiment with different sizes but for this project, small are great and a round #0 and flat #4  allow for a lot of flexibility and detail for this small project. Your relationship with your brush is very tactile and these have a comfortable fit. Princeton brushes and Winsor and Newton are great brands.

Scissors

You can use an exact-o knife but the advantage of a good old pair of awesome scissors outweigh them by far.  You don’t have to worry about a cutting surface and with scissors like these you can cut as close as you need to.  My go to scissors are  Kai 5210 8-inch Dressmaking Shears

Anything else?

Listed above are the most important supplies for making this project successful for you.  Please comment or send me an email at [email protected] if you have questions about anything else used or mentioned in the workshop.