This is the minimum kit you need:

Paint - three primary colours plus white - you are aiming for a cool and a warm in each colour - any other colours are an added extra but these six plus white are the absolute essentials to make any other colour.

• red- vermillion and crimson
• blue - cobolt and ultramarine
• yellow - a sunshine daffodil yellow and yellow ochre
• white - the best quality you can afford! It has to do a lot of work.

In addition, you need:

Brushes - I'd recommend flat ended are better, in sizes 2,6,10. A one inch house painting brush is also useful if you have one lying about in a shed.

Palette knife with different cuts to the blade, giving it a few different sized edges.

Water pots- 2 for preference - anything that holds water, such as yogurt pots. I use those handy glass ones so they have a bit of weight, but plastic pots are great.

Palette - an old plate is good. If you bring clingfilm you can wrap it and use it again, the clingfilm stopping it from drying out.

Paper - the thicker the better. Boards are also good - very cheap in The Works.

A bag.

Useful things - a board to put your work on and masking tape to hold it flat to the board - it also creates a border if you want one. The thinner the paper, the more it will cockle as you paint. Taping it down helps stop this.