Stop it alright! Just stop. The madness and the addiction has to end. Ok, no it doesn’t actually. Not completely anyway. I’m addicted too and as addictions go I could do a lot worse, but I wanted to sound semi serious for a split second.

What in the Sam Hill am I talking about?! Our beloved art supplies! We’re all obsessed aren’t we? Yeeesss, don’t deny it. I can see the 500 questions on the tip of your tongue right now. What brush is that? What brand? What size? What paint is that? What paper is that? Where can I buy it? What hand soap did you use before you started?

No Mo FOMO

I get it. Especially you beginners new to watercolor (or painting in general). You need info, not platitudes and fortune cooking sayings. BUT! in your journey to discover more about watercolor, or any medium, don’t let gear obsession take over your developmental fears. There’s actually a clinical term for this you know, its called FOMO (fear of missing out) and it takes many forms. If that fear takes over, you start missing out on the real skill development fun. I am the first to admit, I love to obsess over gear and art supplies sometimes, but more because I love to get new stuff and try it out. However, if you let gear obsession feed the lie that you can’t paint really well until you have the exact, right stuff you’re missing out already. Thats right, you’re already at the point you feared. Moving forward in your artistic development is NOT gear related as sure as I’m sitting here on my plump little behind.

Obsess Over This!

Find out just enough about the materials you need to get “decent” brushes, paper and paint and then get to painting. Go ahead and obsess over art gear if its for curiosity and experimentation’s sake and you have the money to do so, but not because of FOMO. Far better to obsess over mastering that next cool technique or skill. Master painters can take the materials you have and think are crap and paint you an unbelievable painting, and if they used their preferred gear for the same painting, I doubt you could tell the difference. They can tell because they have the experience to notice subtle differences, most of which play to their preferences and not the results.

Understand me well. I’m not saying gear makes no difference at all, but it makes far less difference than you think. The question I should get but rarely do is, “why are you using that brush, paint or paper.” A far more instructive question than, “what is that?”