Embedded Files
For your class you will need the following supplies. You can find these supplies in my Shop.
The first few brushes are included in the I'm New Kit, enabling you to paint along with us smoothly. You need to have traditional Chinese brushes made from animal hair for this class, and this does not mean synthetic western brushes made in China with English words on the handle. Chinese brushes usually have Chinese characters on the handle and usually have a string loop on the end. They don't have metal ferrules. If you have brushes from OAS, Blue Heron, or Nan Rae, these are Chinese brushes, just let me know which ones you have.
Please email me in advance of class if you need an I'm New Kit, or buy the I'm New Kit in the store.
The Basic I'm New Kit is $15 for Fall 2026. The $15 I'm New Kit contains new products. It includes:
the Spotted Weasel Brush
a Medium Orchid Bamboo brush (or Large Wolf brush with the same measurements)
a white felt calligraphy mat ($4.00 if purchased separately)
a white or clear plum blossom palette with deep wells ($3.00 if purchased separately)
a free flannel for dabbing water off brushes (a $1 value),
a free hook and line, swatching and dotting brush (a $2 value),
a free paint mixing brush (to keep from wearing out delicate brushes; always use when stirring dried or panned paint) (worth its weight in gold)
a free pipette for moving around water. (a 50 cent value)
If you need them, I will have 2 soup-sized plastic containers, one lid, and a 2 oz container for a fresh water source (a $2 value). You can use the lid as a paint tipping and blending surface. If you have a brush washer and a blending plate and don't need these, please return so that others may use them.
NEW: There is also a Deluxe I'm New Kit, which includes everything in the I'm New Kit plus two additional brushes, the Long Flowing Goat Brush and the Bee and Blossom Brush. This adds two very important brushes. It costs $16.50 more, but that's still a steal. The Deluxe I'm New Kit is not available as a rental, but you can add the Long Flowing Goat Brush and the Bee and Blossom later.
You can rent the Basic I'm New Kit for $5. $5 Rental I'm New Kits may include used (loaner) products. For example, It might be my personal set of brushes as I have two, one for studio and one for plein air. Alternatively you can apply the $5 towards a purchase of something in the kit or the shop. Or, if you are not interested in continuing, I will keep your $5 rental fee and the used I'm New Kit. You don't get to take home the rentals, they are just for use during class.
The I'm New Kit for the Berryville classes will have the following changes:
As we run out of the Medium Orchid Bamboo brush it may be replaced with a Large weasel brush by another manufacturer. I have found the replacement brush to be quite delightful and is the same size as the Medium Orchid Bamboo. I still have 15 Medium Orchid Bamboos so we may not run out this season, but, other people who are not local may start buying the brushes as the shop is now open to the public.
The mat will be a white mat which is red gridded on one side. This works well, costs less, and is a good fit for our calligraphy class. It is also very nice under white paper, you just flip it over to the non-gridded size for making paintings. It does show some ink spots, unlike the gray felt.
Other supplies which you may want to bring and are not included in the I'm New Kit. You might have from around your house or from previous watercolor painting. If not, you can get by, or order most of these from the BRCB online shop, Amazon, or OAS:
A saucer or plate (mostly white) or rectangular or square mixing area for blending and tipping. It does not have to have wells. If the center area of your blossom palette is at least four inches wide, it can be used for this purpose. You can always simply bring a white plastic plate, a white plastic lid, or use a Western folding watercolor palette for tipping.
For Sumi (black ink classes) An ink fishtail dish or three ink saucers or clean jar lids, sauce dishes, or a sloped inkwell (does not have to be stone as we use bottled ink).
Bring a clean plum blossom palette to each class if you can (please don't throw away paint from the last class if you are still using it. I keep using my old paints and reactivated them with the mixing brush). For inks that are permanent, a disposable palette is provided, or just use the center of the well and let it dry there - it won't come off, and you can add more to that spot later without reactivating it.
A brush washer with three to four wells or four separate containers about 8 oz each. Four wells are really nice for Sumi (black ink) classes. I sell these in the shop.
I use a flat bottomed grocery box bag to keep wet paint in palettes flat and your fishtail ink dish from spilling on the way home. You can get one from the grocery or buy a cute one, there is a Mount Fuji box bag in my Amazon Supply List page. Since there is a sink in this room, you can easily rinse out your ink before heading home, but Chinese paint and ink can be reactivated and used again so you may want to save it.
Several paper towels in case you get paint on your hands. You may never need them because of the free flannel, but it is nice to have.
A brush rest or found object with notches so the loaded brushes won't touch. If your ink dish has a fishtail or notches in the lid, those are built-in brush rests.
A bamboo brush roll. A 36 cm high with 8-9 slots is best, although a 30 cm high one fits the brushes for this class too. Once you toss the disposable cap and rinse your brushes, they need to be stored in a bamboo brush roll. The cap is not put back on, but save them for pencil protectors for your other hobbies.
Bring a pen or pencil for notes, as you may not be comfortable at first writing with the small spotted weasel.
A journey folder (xuan carrier) to help you carry your papers home, or additional papers you may want to purchase for practice. For the fall classes, we will be using larger rectangular paper, so you may want to get the larger Big Bam 15x20 folder, or you will have to cut your paper down to fit the 15x15 folder. Rectangular gives us more room for long branches and taller bamboo.
A weatherproof portfolio is nice for carrying your paintings back and forth on days when it is raining. A 18 x 24 size (A2) will accomodate one or more journey folders. A3 is too small to fit.
See below for sources for supplies, either through me or on Amazon.
You don't have to bring ink, paper, or watercolor to class; I provide them for use in class so that we are working with the same colors.
What is this doodad for?
What is this doodad for?
With your first class you get some supplies included which may seem a little puzzling:
a pipette for moving water around accurately to dilute paint; I like to keep mine in the center well of the aqua brush washer.
a tiny flat paint stirring and mixing brush, especially useful when trying to rehydrate dried Chinese watercolors the next day, don't use your nice brushes for that dirty job, that's like scrubbing a toilet with a silk shirt)
a swatching and dotting hook and line brush, which allows you to slip into the mouth of a tube of paint and swatch your labels, the plastic end can pierce the foil covering on the mouth the tube and save a big mess, and serves as a pollen dotter, and the brush makes fine lines, antennae, and tendrils.
a piece of washable flannel for dabbing your brush instead of paper towels, just allow it to dry on a rod, or throw in the washer after a few uses.
a roll of washi tape. Every student gets a different color. Tape a piece onto your supplies so that there is no question to whom it belongs if it falls on the floor or is left behind. If you bring other items such as pens or your own brushes, you can tape them, too. Tape your sunglasses your waterbottle, your husband. JK. He knows how to get home. I would especially do this on the most expensive brushes. A brush can fall on the floor and we won't know whose it is. That happened to my mother once in a class, and she lost a $40 brush.
Practice Supplies
Practice Supplies
Featured Brush Loaner
Featured Brush Loaner
BRCB fine Chinese Brushes are not included free in the $35 instructional fee.
During the class the instructor will be showing how to use 1-2 new brushes in addition to the two brushes in the I'm New Kit (sometimes, these brushes aren't even in the Deluxe Kit). At this time, you do not automatically get to try them unless you rent or buy the brushes in advance.
For the Fall classes, you have the option to rent the featured brushes. The rental fee is $5 and you get a coupon which allows you to forward that amount to a BRCB supply purchase. This allows you to try the brush before you buy it; and the coupon is valid for 60 days. You will be able to buy the brush rental and the I'm New Kit in my shop before class. If you are not interested in making any purchase, I keep the rental fee. I'm sorry to have to charge that, but I cannot change the price of the class now to include it, plus, many people already have some of the brushes now. This keeps the price of the course down for students who simply want more instruction.
Please note that the $5 featured brush rental is not the same as the $5 I'm New Kit. If you want to rent everything, it's $10. You can find these rental options in my store in advance and pay for them ahead of time.
Practice Supplies
Practice Supplies
At home you should be practicing the strokes you learned in class. There are full-sized supplies available on my Amazon List for ink, paint and paper, but they can add up fast. In my shop, I have sample size inks that we used in class available which cost far less than the Amazon prices because it's a small portion from a bigger teacher-sized bottle. You can buy several samples and explore new inks more affordably. I usually carry additional paper for sale either in bundles or by the sheet that you can bring home for practice. Every week I add more items to my shop.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse