Let's Talk Watercolor Paper!

Probably the most important part of learning how to watercolor, strangely enough, is actually the paper. You do not have to have the fanciest paints or even the best brushes to learn how to watercolor reasonably well, but without a decent paper, it is going to be extremely difficult if not IMPOSSIBLE to master some of the techniques needed to have good results. Unlike drawing where you can generally get decent results even with cheap notebook paper, or acrylics where you can paint on just about anything you wish to paint upon (providing you have the proper permission, of course). For watercolor, you really need watercolor paper, computer paper simply is not durable enough to have good results and, to an extent, price matters for watercolor paper. Here is a collective image of the watercolor papers I currently own:

Seeing as I am very much a novice, I have had some trial and error in finding good papers to work with in order to improve. I will cover each of these papers briefly to give you an idea of what I have learned, with the intent of doing more extensive reviews later on. I will include example paintings when available. The papers I have are all cold press and include: Artists' Loft Fundamentals 90lb (and a "block" I made from it), Canson XL 140lb, Strathmore Artist Tiles 400 series 140lb, Strathmore Windpower Series 140lb, Strathmore Visual Journal 140lb, and Strathmore 400 series Watercolor Block 140lb. 

Before I get into the individual papers, I  will unpack certain terms that may be strange to watercolor newbies like me!
   - 90lb (185gsm), 140lb (300gsm), 300lb(640gsm), etc: this refers to the weight (read: thickness) of the paper. The higher the number, the thicker your paper will be. The weight comes from weighing 500 sheets of said paper before it is cut down to whatever size it is sold at.
   - Cold Press, Hot Press, Rough: this refers to the texture of the paper itself. "Cold Press" is by far the most common option for watercolor paper, it is lightly textured and is generally good all around; "Hot Press" is very smooth, good for those who love doing a lot of sharp detail or working very wet; Finally "Rough" is, well, a very rough texture, good for gritty earthy artworks.
   - Pad, block, sheet, sketchbook, etc: this merely refers to how the paper is sold. While there are more forms of watercolor surfaces, I am merely going to cover the more common forms. Watercolor paper is available for purchase in individual sheets, usually quite large and can be cut down to whatever size you wish and is typically the most economical way to go; unfortunately I only have one brick and mortar store within an hour of me that sells sheets in-store so while it is available, it is not always the easiest to find. A "pad" is the most readily available form of watercolor paper I have found and is typically gummed  at the top and can be removed like paper from a notepad to be taped down to a surface and painted upon. A "sketchbook" is watercolor paper sold in a, well, book; generally not intended to be torn out, but many sketchbooks do include perforations if you want to do so. A "block" is like a pad, save it is gummed on four sides leaving a small gap somewhere to slide a palette knife and remive the top sheet, you do NOT have to tape down a block so they are very convenient, however that convenience comes at a premium, blocks are the least economical way to purchase watercolor paper.
   - Acid Free: if you ever locate a watercolor paper that does NOT have this printed upon it...RUN AWAY. Acid will degrade your paper and artwork over time . . . that being said, I have never found a watercolor paper that was not labeled "acid free".
   - X% cotton: This deals with the paper composition. The best watercolor paper is 100% cotton, however, it is also the most expensive which is why I do not own any yet. Some papers are made from a blend of cotton and wood-pulp and will say "25% cotton" or what have you. Some paper is made of only wood pulp which is okay, providing it has good sizing, I believe all of mine are wood-pulp.
   - Sizing: this has nothing to do with the size of the paper, it has to do with a coating of something, usually gelatin (sorry, vegetarians), but there are other ways to "size" watercolor paper if that is a concern. Sizing helps the paper fibers resist water so you have more time to work and blend. All watercolor papers should have some type of sizing, even the 100% cotton ones. Wood pulp especially is extremely absorbent and will swell, which lead to buckling, absorbing pigment so you cannot blend, and so on.
   - Stretching: this is a technique used to minimize buckling with watercolor paper. It generally involves saturating the paper (but not so much that the sizing is removed) to swell all the fibers to their largest and then attaching it to a surface to dry flat. However, you usually do not stretch purchased blocks and you can usually get away with not stretching 300lb paper because it is so thick. Watercolor boards also do not need to be stretched.

Okay, now that we have the vocabulary down, lets get into the individual papers I have. First up is the Artist's Loft Fundamentals Paper:

Brand: Artist's Loft
Acid-Free
Line: Fundamentals
Form: 9inx12in (30.4cmx22.8cm) pad, 25 sheets
Weight: 90lb (185gsm)
Texture: Cold Press
Composition: wood-pulp
List Price: $4.99 (Michael's Craft Stores)

Review: This was the very first watercolor paper I purchased along with some cake watercolors. Not knowing any better, it was a pad  of paper that said "watercolor" and the price was right. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that merely saying "watercolor" is not enough. This paper is really not good for learning how to watercolor. Let us look at some illustrative photos:

Here is a, admittedly not good, painting I did on this paper using Daniel Smith paints and a reference photo from "paint my photo". What I want to point out though is the blue streaks in the sky. I had maybe a minute between laying down those streaks and reaching for my next color to lay alongside the blue to allow it to blend all pretty-like, but the pigment had AREADY DRIED and no matter how much water I added, even soaking the sky over top, I could not blend those edges away because it had been absorbed into the paper. I am working under an LED light in an air-conditioned house, no extreme conditions to affect the speed of drying and even so, I should still be able to re-wet the paint and blend it out somewhat. But this paper gave me absolutely nothing. On top of that, even from this angle you can see how much it buckled, in spite of being a very small size (approximately 5"x4") and being painted on a "block" that I made of of this cheap paper.

here is a side-view to show the warping in greater detail. Again, this paper was secured down onto a block. Now, it is a very thin watercolor paper which does contribute somewhat to the warping. If warping was my only issue with this paper, I would simply get a heavier version, but it's not. Sizing is almost-non-existent and it is not fun to paint on, so I am hesitant to try any other "Artist Loft" Watercolor paper.

Bottom Line: DO NOT RECOMMEND, spend the extra dollar or two and buy at least 140lb. Or even better, just buy one of these:

Brand: Canson
Acid-Free
Line: XL
Form: 9inx12in (22.9cmx30.5cm) pad, 30 sheets
Weight: 140lb (300gsm)
Texture: Cold Press
Composition: most likely wood-pulp
List Price: $10.49 (Michael's Craft Stores, Wal-Mart, Blick, etc)
Review: This paper is worlds better than the Artist's Loft, not only is is a heavier weight, it does so much better at allowing you to blend. I picked up mine from Wal-Mart for about $6, for $1 more, I have more sheets of much better quality paper than the first pad I bought. Still, this is a student quality paper, so it will eventually start to absorb pigment, especially of the staining variety. Let us look at some illustrative photos:

 Here is an image I painted some time ago while following along with a "Mr. Otter Art Studio" video on YouTube. I used Windsor & Newton Cotman paints here and this was actually my second attempt at this painting. I did tape this one down and I believe I even "stretched" the paper before I used it (another post). Even though the colors do not blend smoothly here, mostly due to my inexperience rather than the paper, you can tell my student grade paints on this paper definitely blended better than my artist quality paints on the cheaper paper.

Also this painting is much flatter.

Bottom Line: EXCELLENT STARTER PAPER for the price. Between this and the Artists Loft pad, this one wins hands down, there really is no contest. This paper is generally enjoyable to paint upon and you also don't have to worry about "wasting" the paper as much as you are learning because it is relatively inexpensive. But if you would rather work in a journal or sketchbook form, might I suggest:

Brand: Strathmore
Acid-Free
Line: Visual Journal
Form: 5.5inx8in (14cmx20.3cm) journal, 22 sheets
Weight: 140lb (300gsm)
Texture: Cold Press
Composition:wood-pulp(?)
List Price: $9.69 (Blick, Amazon, etc)

Review: I love this little journal. It is super cheap, I got mine from Blick for about $5 or $6  and the size is super convenient for travel. However, there is a 12inx9in size available if you want something a little bigger. The wire binding means it can be opened 365 degrees and technically the sheets can be painted on both sides, making it a 44 page journal, however the backsides of the sheets are a different texture.  The pages can take a lot of abuse and water with minimal buckling. The downside is because the bages are wire-bound, the do shift a bit so some pigment may spill over onto successive pages if you enjoy painting all the way to the edge of the page.

I mean, just look at that bright bold color. I used my Prima Marketing "Tropicals" set. My skills are limited, but I did a TON of glazing and lifting and wet into wet on this page and still the paper holds up.

eve with all that abuse, the page is still mostly flat, If I wanted to, I would have no trouble framing this.

Bottom line: AMAZING! I will recommend this to high heaven if you really want an excellent inexpensive paper to practice on. The only downside is they can be tricky to find. They are not widely marketed and I found they do not typically come up if you perform a search for "watercolor paper" so you will need to look for "Strathmore Visual Journals", but to help you out, I will link Blick's online shop here. But if you want something a bit more luxurious, might I suggest giving this a whirl:

Brand: Strathmore
Acid-Free
Line: 400 Series
Form: 6inx6in (15.3cmx15.3cm)  Artist Tiles pad, 10 tiles (sheets)
Weight: 140lb (300gsm)
Texture: Cold Press
Composition:wood-pulp(?)
List Price: $8.25 (Michael's Craft Stores, Blick, etc)

Review: These are a fun way to experiment with the 400 series to see if you like using the paper before buying full pad or block. I love that it is "Made in USA", as are all Strathmore papers. I have not worked a ton with these, so I am limited in what I can say about them. I have no complaints, really, either, I shall have to play more. Anyway, here is a painting I did do upon a tile. Once again using my Windsor and Newton Cotman paints and a Mr. Otter Art Studio tutorial:

I did do some lifting in the sky, but nothing really major.

Also, very little warping.

Bottom Line: Definitely the way to go if you want to try out Strathmore Papers, however it is a bit limiting on the size of the finished artwork. However, if you like these, you might enjoy

Brand: Strathmore
Acid-Free
Line: 400 Series
Form: 9inx12in (22.9cmx30.5cm) block, 15 sheets
Weight: 140lb (300gsm)
Texture: Cold Press
Composition:wood-pulp(?)
List Price: $17.49 (Michael's Craft Stores, Blick, Amazon, etc)

Review: I have not had a chance to try this one out yet! But it is definitely the priciest option I am including today, even though I picked up mine from Amazon for  $10.41. There is still only 15 sheets and unlike the pad, cutting down the size of the paper defeats the purpose of buying a block in the first place.

Bottom Line: NOT FOR PRACTICE! This block is lovely, but it is better for final works because of the price. If you just want something to practice on, go for a pad or individual sheets, they have greater versatility  because you can cut the individual sheets down into smaller sizes if wanted and they are cheaper to begin with. And if you really want to try a block, they are relatively easy and inexpensive to make from the cheaper papers. Heck, you could probably just "block-ify" a pad and have the best of both worlds. However, maybe you are really into the "green" movement, you could check out:

Brand: Strathmore
Acid-Free
Line: Windpower
Form: 6inx9in (15.2cmx22.9cm) pad, 15 sheets
Weight: 140lb (300gsm)
Texture: Cold Press
Composition:wood-pulp(?)
List Price: $7.95 (Michael's Craft Stores, Blick, Amazon, etc)

Review: Another one I have not used a ton. I feel the quality falls somewhere between my Canson XL and my Strathmore 400. However, I love the concept of using wind energy to make paper.

I only have a very poorly done sketch and this unfinished sketch in this "pad", I really don't consider this a pad, more a journal type thing. If I want to remove a sheet, I will need scissors or an exacto knife, I don't expect it would tear well. Still a nice pad though
Bottom Line: GO FOR IT if you want to try out some "green" art supplies. I have no major complaints about this paper.

There you go, I hope this post is somewhat helpful. I realize I have mostly Strathmore, I enjoy supporting USA companies when I can, plus I like working on their papers and they generally are not unreasonably expensive either, which is a plus. Go out and find a paper you like painting on, but don't go into debt for it. THE SUPPLIES DO NOT MAKE THE ARTIST, however a decent paper for watercoloring will go along way in helping and individual become a better one.