If you like to paint relaxing watercolours, here are helpful resources on where to buy vegan watercolour paints and brushes. Some watercolour paints are made with animal ingredients (like ox fall, Kandahar ink from shellac or bone black). There’s no need, as it’s perfectly possible to find ethical alternatives, that are also good for the planet. Use with recycled art paper.
These handmade vegan watercolours are made in Germany, sold in a pretty tin. At end of use, you can even send back the tin, and the creator will fill the tin again with new colours using the enclosed discount coupon. The paints are mixed with a homemade binding agent made from dried resin. Keep away from children and pets, due to ingredients and choking hazards.
For (supervised) children, Honeysticks Watercolour Paints are made with food-grade ingredients, sold in a pot with a wooden paintbrush.
Quality Vegan Watercolour Art Brushes
deWinton (Yorkshire) makes good synthetic paint brushes, created from sablene, a unique synthetic fibre that mimics the properties of sable hair. Sable is made by killing weasels, ferrets or minks.
Run paintbrushes under water (agitate lightly) to remove adhesive coating before use, never leave brushes in water. Lay flat to dry, to preserve shape.
Choose from:
- Miniature brushes for painting detailed work.
- Bloom Brush Set for painting flowers.
- A watercolour bundle set or watercolour brush set
A one-time purchase from Canada, The Wonder Forest paintbrushes are worth buying for years of painting your favourite pictures. They are also free from animal fur (conventional brushes often use squirrel or badger fur) but are of the same quality. The brushes have ultra-pointed tips for incredible details, plus you can buy (individually or as part of a set) a one-inch wide wash brush, with bristles that snap right back to a point, without fraying.
Each brush is individually wrapped and protected (recycle soft plastics at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not collect). The range also includes a mop brush, a petal brush and a dagger brush (also good for calligraphic strokes).
Natural Earth Paint Watercolour Brushes are just what the animal-friendly artist ordered! These synthetic bristles (so no animals harmed) and are professional level for watercolour painting. Made with sustainably-grown wood handles and varnished with a nontoxic plant-based resin, the bristles mimic mongoose hair (for a perfect cross between sable and hog in softness, but are animal-kind). The set of 4 includes:
- Filbert (curved bristle top) #6
- Round (fine tip) #8
- Filbert (curved bristle top) #12
- Bright (rectangular bristle shape) #16.
A Cotton Watercolour Pad
This watercolour pad is made from cotton cold-pressed paper at 300gsm thickness, to hold large expansive washes, and also provides a great surface for detailed painting.
