My Studio Essentials (Patreon)

Every artist has their favorite brushes, paper, and watercolors. But beyond these essentials, there are numerous tools and materials that enhance my painting routine. In this post, I'll share the studio essentials that make my creative process smoother and more enjoyable. From organizational hacks to color swatches, these are the items I rely on daily to bring my watercolor visions to life.

Let's start with a very simple thing, yet quite essential in watercolor painting - a kneadable eraser. This eraser helps remove pencil lines without damaging a very fragile watercolor paper.

My favorite are by Faber Castel.

I store little things like erasers, pencil sharpener and refills for my mechanic pencil in a little box left from the candies. I think it's cute and very convenient to take for plein airs or trips☺️

Since we already started with a metalic candy box, let me show you another one, which perfectly suits some pans I have.

Here are some pans I don't use very often so I don't take this box with me as it's quite heavy. But it's a nice storage for pans in my studio.

Let's move to another helper - a masking liquid. This material helps me create highlights. There is one thing to remember - don't use brushes to apply it, masking liquid will destroy it. I use wooden sticks.

Next one is another box I store my precious watercolors - little 5 ml tubes by Daniel Smith and Schmincke.

Can you guess how many tubes are there? I just counted, and there are 50 of them!

Masking tape is always next to me. It is essential if you use separate watercolor sheet and painting something with a background. It prevents paper from warping. I use ordinary one but it can damage paper sometimes. So if you are afraid of ruining your masterpiece, i would recommend to pay attention to those you can buy in an art store.

Here is my handmade wooden brush holder. It's not essential, and normally I would put my brushes on the paper towel while painting. I made this wooden holder when we were at glamping last summer. I love it because it adds a personal touch to my studio and reminds me of a nice time we had.

There is a recommendation to not place wet brushes vertically because the water will travel to the handle and it can damage it. So it is better to leave brushes in horizontal position until they will dry. And of course, NEVER LEAVE YOUR BRUSHES IN THE WATER. But I'm sure you already know it 😉

Color swatch cards are one of the most essential things when I'm searching for a perfect color for a new painting. They halp me navigate through hundreds of my watercolors to find the perfect shade. I have over 10 red shades from warm Vermilion to cold Quinacridone Rose. Swatch cards help to see how color looks on the paper.

There are many ways to make swatches of the colors you own. Some artists use a sketchbook with all the names and swatches. For me it's easier to use swatch cards ( I use left overs from paper of my paintings or drafts to make them).

For making these cards so adorable I use corner rounder. And as you could have guessed I store all these cards in another metalic box😁

Besides watercolor in pans and tubes, sometimes I use liquid watercolor especially for creating backgrounds. The only thing is that this watercolor is not lightfastened, means the color will fade out with sun exposure.

I have ceramic palettes that I use for my most used watercolors in tubes. I have these colors always ready to use for the color mixes.

Here is a stationery knife I'm using for cutting paper sheets. Also I use it sometimes to sharpen pencils.

And the last one is a tester of perfume I got from my sister in law. She didn't like the fragrance and for me, this is how productivity smells! Actually it smells like leather, but I use this perfume when I'm doing something in my studio (painting or writing a post for Patreon). Do you have any perfume you wear specifically at home?😏

Thank you for watching this full tour, I hope it was helpful!

P.S. One ting I didn't mention, but is very essential - is paper towel. I always have it next to me every time I paint.