WATERCOLOUR PAPER REVIEW
Watercolour paper review
Tested brands in alphabetical order:
Arches 300gsm NOT 100% cotton
Canson Fontenay 300gsm NOT 100% cotton
Canson Montval 300gsm NOT 100” acid free cellulose
Centenaire 300gsm NOT and rough 100% cotton
Daler-Rowney Aquafine 300gsm NOT 100% acid free cellulose
Fabriano 300gsm hot press 100% cotton
Lanaquarelle 300gsm hot press 100% cotton
Saunders Waterford 300gsm NOT 100% cotton
Hahnemühle ,12 different papers,will be listed and reviewed separately
My watercolour paper collection has been steadily growing throughout the years. Some of them are used on a daily basis and others haven’t been touched yet. Therefore I’ve decided it’s time to give them a closer look and to discover more about their properties and whatever special features some of them might surprise us with.
The best kind of watercolour paper is made of 100% cotton rag. To prevent bleeding the paper needs some sizing. This means gelatine is added to the paper pulp and to the surface of the sheet. Studio range papers are usually made from high quality wood cellulose sometimes with the addition of varying percentages of cotton rag. Some papers are manufactured from bamboo, esparto grass or other natural fibres.
Some papers are mould-made and some are produced on a machine. The mould-made papers have irregular edges and are usually more expensive than machine-made papers.
The thickness of watercolor paper is indicated by its weight, measured either in grams per square metre (gsm) or pounds per ream (lb).
Watercolour paper is most commonly offered in following weights:
90lb/190gsm
140lb/300gsm
300lb/638gsm
European papers are usually
200-220gsm
300gsm
625gsm
The standard paper usually is a 140lb paper. There are thinner and thicker papers, but they usually aren’t in stock at smaller retailers and might have to be purchased by special order.
Thinner paper will need stretching if you don’t want it to buckle.
140lb paper is the most economic choice because it’s thick enough not to buckle too much and still more affordable than thick watercolour board.
Watercolour papers can have three kinds of surfaces: hot press, cold press and rough.
Hot press paper is very smooth to the touch. It is mainly used for wet on dry techniques and allows very fine detail.
Cold press paper (also called NOT) has a fine tooth. Texture may vary from brand to brand. Cold press is a lovely all-purpose paper that allows larger washes and finer details. It’s therefore the most commonly offered paper.
Rough paper comes in two varieties. Some rough papers have a very textured surface, others have a smoother but cloudy texture called “Torchon”. Rough watercolour paper takes water very well and allows for dynamic wet on wet techniques. It’s usually not very suitable for detailed work due to its coarse texture although Torchon may allow some rather charming results with finer brushes.
Most watercolour papers are off-white. Some like Arches and Fabriano satin are more yellowish, some others like Saunders Waterford appear more white. Some companies offer some “extra white” versions.
Watercolour paper is offered in blocks, pads, sheets and rolls. Rolls are the most economic option, glued pads are the most expensive. Sheets are my favourites because I can cut them to the size I want and they're nice and flat. Retailers often have a cutting machine in their shop, so one can cut large sheets there. Some online retailers even offer to cut largers sheets into smaller sizes: www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-sau…
Links that might be useful for more detailed information:
Arches
www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-arc…
Canson Fontenay
en.canson.com/watercolour/cans…
Canson Montval
www.greatart.co.uk/Watercolour…
Centenaire
www.greatart.co.uk/Gold/Papers…
Daler-Rowney Aquafine
www.greatart.co.uk/daler-rowne…Fabriano
www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-fab…
Hahnemühle
www.hahnemuehle.com/en/traditi…
Lanaquarelle
www.greatart.co.uk/Watercolour…
Saunders Waterford
Watercolour Pans Versus Tubes
It has always struck me as surprising how painting habits can be different in Europe and the US. (Apologies to any other country/continent that I don't know of, especially all of Asia and the Southern hemisphere - I just don't have any knowledge about what artists prefer there)
European artists tend to use more pans for their watercolours, opposed to Americans, who seem to favour tubes. Of course, it's probably a question of availability, too. Companies like Schmincke (German), Winsor&Newton (English, but manufacturing in France), Sennelier (French), Rembrandt (Dutch), Lukas (German) etc. all offer pans AND tubes. To my knowledge US brands Daniel Smith, Da Vinci and M.Graham only offer tubes. (Please do correct me if I'm wrong.)
Pros and cons
PANS
pros:
1) easy to transport
2) clean
3) dry
4) lightweight
5) refillable
6) often offered in a palette box
7) beginner sets of 12 half pans are good value for money and ready to go
8) you've got all your colours in front of you
9) you can open your box and start painting without needing to prepare anything but a brush and water
cons:
1) can be easily contaminated when one doesn't clean the brush before dipping it into the next colour
2) colour mixing can become a challenge if you don't mix enough for the area you're working on
3) some pans need more scrubbing to get the colour off
4) colours are often less intense when you pick colour from a dry pan
TUBES
pros:
1) intense colours
2) a little goes a long way
3) easy to mix big quantities of colours
4) good for huge areas where much colour is needed
5) good for diluting in water and pouring
cons:
1) tubes can be messy
2) lost tube caps result in dry colours
3) caps get stuck and the tubes get twisted when you try to open them
4) heavy
5) expensive
6) you need more preparation before you can start painting
7) more waste of colour if your colours dry on the palette and get dusty
8) some tube colours don't rewet well when they dry out
9) sometimes the pigments and the suspension liquid separate in the tube, and you're left with half a tube of transparent gooey mess that you cannot use for painting
10) you need an extra palette to squeeze your colour on. (OK, there are some empty palette boxes for tubes, but they are harder to find than the empty boxes for pans - Some companies do offer tube sets in enamel boxes.
Sennelier: www.amazon.com/Sennelier-Water…
QOR: www.amazon.com/QoR-Introductor…
Schmincke: www.amazon.com/SCHMINCKE-Water…
W&N Artists' www.ebay.com/itm/WINSOR-NEWTON…
W&N Cotman in a plastic palette box www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-C…
A few hints to get the best of the two worlds:
1) If you have access to both kinds of paints buy WHOLE pans in a set.
Schmincke www.amazon.com/SCHMINCKE-Horad…,
Sennelier www.amazon.com/Sennelier-Frenc…
and Winsor&Newton www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-A…
offer lovely sets with whole pans. (Those links do NOT lead you to the cheapest bargain. They're just to give you an idea what those sets look like. Check at your local art store or online to find the best offer for you.)
2) Whole pans go a long way, therefore they are cheaper in the long run. They are also better for your brushes. Poking holes into tiny half pans ruins your brush tips and it's difficult to get enough colour for larger washes. Of course, some people might prefer smaller pans because they work on smaller formats like cards, where one doesn't need to cover big areas. Some people prefer to have lots of colours to choose from and therefore love to use 48 half pan sets, which are the sets with the biggest possible colour choice in one box. As for me, I prefer mixing colours from a limited palette, but I do see the attraction from such a "little" jewel.
www.cassart.co.uk/painting/wat…
www.cassart.co.uk/sale_1/paint…
3) After working with those pans for a while, you will notice which colours you use most. You can then buy a few tubes and replenish the pans. (The only backdraw for W&N is that not every tube colour rewets well, so you might be cautious using this method with that brand. Schmincke watercolours use the same formula for their pans and tubes and rewet without any problems. I haven't tested how Sennelier tube paints react, though.)
4) All watercolour brands can be used together. Daniel Smith tubes have excellent rewetting properties, so you might use them to replenish W&N whole pans if you have access to both brands.
5) Spritz a mist of water on dry pans and let them activate for a few minutes before using them, you won't need that much scrubbing to get colour on your brush.
6) Be very careful how you unscrew tubes. Clean the rim immediately after squeezing out colour and don't forget to clean the cap as well.
7) Keeping watercolour tubes upright can prevent you from getting suspension liquid when you squeeze the tube. I put my tubes into smallish lidded plastic containers that can be placed on the side, so the tubes stay upright. Companies usually hang their tubes on racks.
8) If a lid gets stuck, you can try to stick it into hot water for a moment. Grab the lid with a paper towel to avoid burning yourself and try to unscrew by holding the tube upright. Be careful not to spill too much paint, as that method tends to liquify it.
9) Should your paint have dried in the tube, you can cut it open and use the dried paint same as you would use a pan. Some paints might not reactivate, but it's always worth a try. (Schmincke and Daniel Smith paints always rewet well)
10) You can make your own pan set by buying empty full pans and filling them with tube colours of your own choice. www.amazon.com/Whiskey-Painter…
Daniel Smith offer empty enamel palette boxes you can customize yourself. www.seniorart.com.au/index.php…
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Summer Card Project
You don't need to draw the card yourself, you can also use a nice printed card and write a lovely message to someone who's sick or in pain.
Here's more information about the project:
Summer Card Project
No matter the reason, any stay in a hospital could use a little sunshine. And what better way to brighten a hospital stay than with art from the heart?
After nine successful years of DeviantArt's #HolidayCardProject, we've decided to bring the project to the summer months, for the first ever #SummerCardProject!
The idea behind this project is simple: create an inspirational card to brighten the day of someone staying in a hospital. If you're looking for even more incentive, every deviant who sends in a card will be given a free one-month Core Membership to DeviantArt.
Last December, the project received over 4,500 cards sent in from 2,000 deviants from 60 different countries/political regions. Cards are then divvied up and distributed by DeviantArt members to patients in local Los An
Links to my contributions:
