This palette has large wells for big brushes.

Use a variety of palettes for different purposes.

Masking Fluid was used to provide highlights onthe rocks in this painting. None was used in the water or sky.

Pencils – don’t chew them and always keep them sharpened to a fine point. It is a lot harder to draw accurately with a blunt, rounded point on a pencil. A 2B, 4B and 6B are capable of imitating any range of tones, a HB is generally too hard for soft watercolour paper, but if you use it lightly it is fine. Don’t sketch heavily with a 6B unless you are very sure of your lines. All pencil lines and smudges can be easily cleaned up with the artist’s friend - the Kneadable Rubber. Plastic erasers are good cut into thin slices to lift out the tiniest lines with accuracy. Use both.

 Palettes- they don’t have to be clean but they do have to be dust free. Put them away when not in use. The lay out of your palette is as individual as your subject matter and style. As a general rule, try to keep pigments in relation to the most common mixes you make, and always have a little bit of black nearby to lower tones cleanly. If you are using tubes, squeeze out what you need and keep the rest in the tube. Emptying the whole tube onto your palette exposes the colour to pollution and makes it harder to mix. Use every last drop of paint in your tube by opening them up with a craft knife. If you are going to use the best you might as well get the very last drop.

It’s useful to have a range of palettes for different colour schemes and situations I only ever clean up my palettes when they get dusty or there is no more room to make a useful mix. To clean your palette, rinse under running cold water. The lightest mixes will dissolve leaving you with clumps of good paint. Blot off excess water with a tissue and start again.

Masking fluid -is a thin rubber solution that forms a barrier between the paint and the paper underneath. This is useful for blocking out fine lines or highlights so you can go over the whole area with a  wash without having to go around fiddly bits. Masking Fluid is hard to get out of your brush. Always use a synthetic bristle brush, never sable and if you dip it into clean water first it will help in rinsing it out later. Once your wash has dried you can remove the masking fluid by rubbing gently with a clean fingertip. For really fine lines try using things like toothpicks and mapping pens.Masking Fluid comes in transparent and yellow formulations - and shouldn't be left on the paper for too long as it may be difficult to remove after time has passed ( say 3days to a week)