Affordable Art Equipment - Watercolours

I am by no means an expert in the field of art equipment or art in general, however my interest in drawing and painting does mean I have a certain amount of experience of buying items on a somewhat limited budget. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who is tempted by the expensive items you see in the shops but in my experience cost certainly doesn't equal quality. So heres a couple of my thoughts on a number of watercolour related items I am currently using...

First up are my trusty  WH Smith watercolours which I have owned now for almost 8 years! Can you believe it? Yes, some have run out and others dried up somewhat, but these little stars have seen me through both exams and personal painting in their time. You can buy a similar pack here, but given the length of time I have had my own I cannot guarantee their quality - Sorry!

Next up is my Windsor and Newton watercolour pan. I only bought this recently and haven't tried it out fully so perhaps my review is somewhat limited. I heard rave reviews about this item and the recommendation by so many people that I should get one definitely influenced my purchase, however - controversial opinion alert- I have yet to see what the fuss is about. I almost always find myself using my above tubes whenever possible rather than this box, maybe I just need a little more time.

As well as paints of course a brush is an essential part of watercolour painting. Above is my favourite Derwent water brush. Unlike the above box this really is as good as its reviews claim and wow do they rate it! Personally I feel the size of this one (2) is perfect for anything I do while its water storage and lid mean you can take it anywhere - perfect for painting on the go. The water storage also means I have far fewer water spillages than before, always a bonus!

Finally they are not exactly watercolours but my WH Smith watercolour pencils are always my go to when I'm creating a picture. I love being able to layer on top of my paint and find that these are perfect and certainly as good as any more expensive versions I have used.

So there you go, thats my round up of watercolours, stay tuned for my thought on pens and pencils! What art equipment do you like? Are their any you hated? Have you tried any of the above, what did you think? I'd love to know.