WATER COLOR PAPER

There are hundreds of excellent water color papers on the market. I am always trying new paper - there are a few I constantly use, but experimenting with different papers is a good way to keep your work interesting and exciting.

Selecting Paper

Arches 300gsm cold pressed or rough is a good all round paper. It takes washes very well and can handle a fair amount of abuse. Saunders 300gram is also an excellent paper. Hot pressed paper is very smooth and flat which makes it great for fine detailed paintings.

Cotman 300gram is a cheaper, moderately textured paper with fairly heavy sizing. I use it for quick sketches and demonstrations. The paint tends to sit on the surface creating all sorts of interesting effects - it is not a good paper for large flat washes, but colors are rich and vibrant due to the whiteness of the paper.

Rough papers are great for heavily textured mixed media paintings, but tend to over power anything more subtle.

Storing Paper

Store your paper in a dry acid free area. If possible leave the paper in the large plastic sleeve it comes in. If storing in a draw or on a shelf make sure the paper does not come into contact with acidic chip board or particle board. A couple of thick coats of paint or varnish will seal in the acid.

Stretching Paper
Anything larger than a quarter sheet of 300 gsm paper should be stretched. The easiest way to do this is as follows...

	First spray both sides of the sheet then let it sit for a minute. You will notice the paper swell up
	Next tape the paper to a *rigid board with gum paper tape (not masking tape). Once dry the paper will shrink back to its original size making a nice tight surface to work on. When your work is finished and completely dry run a Stanley knife around the inside of the tape to remove it from the board
	If you plan to work very wet, soak the paper in a tub of water for fifteen minutes and then stretch it over a soft rigid board, pinning or stapling it around the edge.

*To prevent acid leaching out of the board and ruining your paper, seal the board with a few heavy coats of gesso

back to tools and materials

Home  I  Lessons  I  Blog  I   Gallery  I  Store  I  Bio  I  Contact   I   Copyright