Painting Materials

The #1 tip anyone can give is: Do not skimp when purchasing art materials.  Purchase the best quality tools/supplies that your budget will allow.  Although there are exceptions to this.....your results will only be as good as the quality of material used.  If you try to cut costs on brushes, paper and pigment, you probably won't see the best results you might otherwise have achieved had you purchased better quality supplies.

If forced to purchase less than the best, then my suggestion is to spend the better part of your money on top quality paper and definitely pigments. 

Paints

I do not recommend student grade paints as they are not pure and often are made up of dyes and fillers.  My recommendation to anyone would be Winsor & Newton Artist Grade pigments but there are other less expensive artist grade paints on the market.  I'm just an old W&N fan.  An alternative might be DaVince.

As to whether tube or pan, that choice is up to you.  Tubes are easier to work with when needing large mixes of paint mixed.  Pans are great for packing up and carrying.

Brushes

You don't have to spend big bucks on your brushes.  There are a lot of synthetic brushes out on the market that are a joy to use.  Synthetic blends (synthetic plus squirrel or sable) are the next best thing to go with.  Personally, I prefer the synthetics and synthetic blends over the naturals like Kolinsky.  The natural hair brushes do not prove to have the same "spring" I have come to rely on when painting.  I like having an extremely sharp point and find natural brushes don't always give me that.  They don't spring back into shape readily as do the synthetics.  A good choice would be W&N Sceptre Gold II brushes or ProArte Prolene Plus. 

Although not listed below under starter supplies, I absolutely love using a slanted flat.  For those, I normally get Loew Cornell Comfort Grips in sizes 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2".  And for lifting or scrubbing paint off the paper, I recommend an old bristle flat.

Paper

If you can find 'Bockingford' paper, that's an inexpensive but good quality paper.  Most will recommend you stay clear of Cotman but that's a personal choice and I know several who love it for the techniques they use.  Strathmore make decent paper and is a cross between Cotman and your Artist grades like Arches.

Arches has always been and continues to be my all time favorite. It's really not much more than Bockingford and I'd rather spend a few more pennies knowing I'll have a better chance of achieving my best results.

As a suggested starter list of supplies: