The best watercolour brush for beginners

Watercolour is fast becoming my favourite medium. I can't say it is easy - acrylic paint is far more forgiving I think.  If you are just getting started with watercolour it is easy to get discouraged. If that resonates with you,  I have two suggestions that might be helpful. They relate to one of the most important watercolour supplies for beginners. A great brush.  The best watercolour brush for beginners can make all the difference when it comes to enjoyable painting.

Luckily, a good brush doesn't mean an expensive brush necessarily.  When I started out I had a set of paints which came with a brush. I always wondered when to spend more money on a brush or if it was even necessary. It felt like a cop out - you know, a bad workman blames his tools. But there is always that little shred of hope -  perhaps my painting would be so much better if I had a better brush....?

I now have a brush which has become the only brush I want to paint with. It is a Princeton Neptune Round No 12. Yes, that is quite a big brush. The thing about a good brush though, is that it holds its point well. That means that if you just use the very tip of the brush, and hold it vertical to the paper you can achieve a lovely fine line - even with a number 12.  So my first suggestion is to find yourself one of these brushes. They are not too expensive and a total joy to paint with.

The second thing you can do to help yourself is to learn how to use this brush.

I think one of the easiest ways to do this is to watch someone else using it. One of my favourite You Tube teachers is Angela Fehr. She is also a fan of this very same brush, and recently put out a video which demonstrates some easy some leaf painting.  Angela makes watercolour painting seem much more approachable. Check out her video here.

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