Watercolor Paper

I'm ready to paint

Can't wait to apply the paint to the "Watercolor Paper" I just purchased.

Grab the sheet, wet the paint, just can't wait, where is the brush.

In walks Jim and asks a couple of strange questions, "who made the paper and why did you choose that brand".

Who cares, I just told the store clerk, starting Watercolor Class and need paper - picked out a much cheaper priced sheet than the clerk suggested, $5.00 sheet, found some priced at $1.25 - took those. Saved $3.75 a sheet.

Paper

Choosing paper by its reputation, price or recommendations is only part of the story.

For those of you with some experience, you should consider your personal needs. Choosing the right paper to complement your style or technique is very important.  Cheap paint or cheap paper is going to be bad news.

MANUFACTURERS OF WATERCOLOR PAINTING PAPER

All descriptions of Watercolor Papers are just my opinion.

KILIMANJARO

House brand of an art retailer.

Made in Europe?

Mouldmade, 100% cotton rag, acid free, buffered, internally sized.

"Bright White" sheets contain a chemical additives and are more likely to change color or deteriorate as time passes.

It comes in Cold Press finish, sizing moderate, the surface is not suitable for work that requires extensive lifting or re-working.

Masking products removed easily, but scrubbing left visible streaks under a wash.

OPINION  --  Average Quality Paper.

JACK RICHESON

Mouldmade, 100% cotton.  Internally and externally sized.

Available in Cold Press or Rough.  Color is bright and warm.

The sizing appeared to me as minimal.  The surface sucked up the wash rather quickly.

Resists - OK, Scrubbing did cause streak marks and some damage to the surface.  Was difficult to re-paint area without it showing.

Found it difficult to remove painted area.  Paint color was no brighter than any other papers.

I could not paint on it comfortably.

WINSOR & NEWTON

Made in Europe.

Mouldmade, 100% cotton, acid free, internally and tub sized with two natural edges.

Made in white only.

Cold Press:  surface has a very slight texture capable of imparting some brushstroke textures. but also found it to be good for detail work.  

Masking came off easily.

Sizing moderately heavy, the sheet I painted took a wash nicely.

Moderate scrubbing was OK.

Hot Press Surface.  Finish is hard.  The color is a soft bright white.  The sizing appeared thin, but took a wash easily with even color, no blossoming or splotching.

Resists - OK. very crisp edges.

Did not like a lot of wetting and re-working, paper roughed up a little.

Overall these are nice sheets, beautifully showing color and the texture.

Both types will not tolerate heavy re-working.

SAUNDERS WATERFORD

Made in England.

Mouldmade, 100% cotton, internal and surface sized.

Made in Rough, Cold Press(not), Hot Press.

The Rough finish, is as rough as any paper available.

The sheet painted a wash very easily. Masking lifted cleanly without damage to the surface.

Non staining colors lifted off with no damage to the paper.

The surface is sized fairly heavy, this allows the sheet to overcome surface abuse associated with some painting techniques.

Cold Pressed (not).

Color is a warm ivory white, a little less sizing than the rough.  Wash was even.  The lifting capabilities of the paper were excellent.

Masking lifted - OK.

Hot Pressed

Color is a dull ivory.

The sheet took a very even wash better than any other Hot Press paper I have looked at.

Masking - OK.  Hard scrubbing left a noticeable streaking.

Overall I liked all the surfaces.

Like to paint large, they make a 40" x 60" sheet.

ARCHES

Made in France.

Mouldmade, 100% cotton, surfaced sized.  Hot Press are also internally sized.

All sheets are air dried.

Rough Surface

Relatively mild texture compared to Saunders Waterford.

Warmest color I tested.

Sizing is light causing some blossoming in the magenta strokes.

Color lifted only with difficulty by hard scrubbing causing damage to the paper.

COLD PRESSED (not)

Again sizing was light.  Scrubbing left very niticeable streak marks.  Paint was "sucked" into the paper relatively quickly.

Difficult to work on paint when it is "into" the paper quickly.

HOT PRESSED

Very smooth surface, color dull ivoery white.  Sizing heavy so paint covered a large area.

Wash was a little problem, was not easy to paint cleanly.  Did not tolerate extensive re-working.

The sheets smell yeasty when throughly wet, attracts my dog.  Try it with your pet.

It seems to me the quality has delined over the last few years.

They were always #1 - Now?

That being said they are still one of the most durable watercolor painting papers around.

They have an Arches Bright White sheet on the market.

WARNING: - The contain more chemical additives, hence they are more likely to change color or deteriorate as time passes.

COLD PRESS - BRIGHT WHITE

Sizing moderately heavy - even washes and displays the pigment well.

Again it exhasted (sucked) the paint up more quickly than I like.

Masking removed easy.

Scrubbing left sluffing and visible streaks.

HANDMADE PAPER

Twinrocker

Made in U.S.

Hand made 100% cotton and rag, acid free, air dried, woven finish.

Internal & external sizing.

Three surfaces - Hot Press, Rough and Cold Press, made in various sizes, including round shapes.

Rough

Color is white, paint that was applied looked very bright.

Surface sizing produced very even washes that seemed to run across the surface rather than sink in.

Scrubbing and masking was easy.  Left no trace marks on paper.  Did not thick, the surface was as rough as mouldmade papers.

Cold Press

Surface was veryt close to being Hot Pressed, and very hard.

All the descriptions for "Rough" apply to this surface.

Hot Pressed

Very smooth, beautiful finish.  There was a very slight streaking caused by scrubbing.

I was very impressed with all these Watercolor Painting Papers.

The colors were maore brilliant than any other papers I have worked on.

THUMBS UP.

But on the downside they being handmade , expensive - 16" x 20" sheet - $10.00 +-

Please Note:-  There are many more manufacturers making Handmade Watercolor Painting Papers.  This brand stopped me from buying others - why look any further.

So lets look at the surfaces of Watercolor Paper:

ROUGH -has a "pebbled" texture, which gives you many options.

A) Brush held on edge and scraped across the surface produces a spotted effect.

B) Lightly scraping with a razor blade across a dry wash - pinholes appear.

C) Using settling or granulating pigment in washes, more pigment settles in the crevices than on the crest of the paper surface. Uncommonly interesting effect.

Rough is a versatile and generally forgiving surface.

COLD PRESS OR NOT - is the most popular surface. It is somewhere between Rough and Hot Press. Excellent choice for a novice.

The surface permits you to create some textural effects and yet renders detail as well. You can scrape and scrub and lift to varying degrees, laying washes one over the other without fear of lifting the drier wash underneath. Forgiving surface, allowing for better control.

HOT PRESS - no surface texture, smooth burnished under pressure of the metal plates.

Best left alone until the artist has some experience under their belts, so to speak. Paint tends to slip and slide around on the surface and you must be able to control it.

DOWNSIDE - the surface is not very forgiving, you must paint decisively and directly to get the best results.

Difficult to glaze one wash over a previous dry wash, without lifting off some of the color.

That being said lifting color is useful mainly for effects and NOT for repainting. A re-worked area will look dull and obvious, hence not recommended for novices.

ILLUSTRATION BOARD - This is for the adventurous, surface is so smooth that it's like glass.

If you work wet-into-wet be positive and optimistic, good effects can and will happen, blossoms will also occur fast. Brush pigment in a gliding, dancing motion across the paper.

If you work dry you can obtain extraordinary details in your work.

The surface is excellent for rendering line and bright colors. (Colors do not sink into the paper.)

Lifting a non staining wash, you can nearly return to a white board. Lifting a staining wash will leave it singing like a piece of glass.

Keep in mind this is a difficult surface to work on.

A standard sheet of Watercolor Paper 22" x 30" can come in 90,140,200,300 & 400lbs weight.

The weight number used is based on the weight of 500 sheets, hence 90 lb. will be the thinest sheet and 400 lbs. the thickest. Stay with 140 or 300 lbs.

You can buy paper in wide widths in rolls of 10yds or more.

SIZING - Is a waterproofing agent applied to the paper externally or internally or both.

Moderately sized will give you a softer look and soft edges.

Heavy sized can withstand surface attacks, scrubbing, erasing and re-working. Light sizing will give you darker more predictable wash, but allow less re-working.

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