Watercolour painting is a delicate and rewarding art form, and one of the crucial elements that contribute to its success is the choice of paper. Selecting the right watercolour paper can significantly impact the outcome of your artwork. In this guide, we'll break down the essential factors to consider when choosing watercolour paper, helping you make an informed decision for your practice.
Watercolor paper comes in various textures, including rough, cold-pressed (medium), and hot-pressed (smooth). The choice of texture depends on your painting style and personal preference.
Hot-Pressed (HOT): Provides a fine and smooth surface, perfect for intricate details and controlled washes. Artists who prefer precise and detailed work often opt for hot-pressed paper.
Cold-Pressed (NOT): Strikes a balance between rough and smooth textures. This surface is versatile and accommodates different painting styles, making it a popular choice for many watercolor artists.
Rough: As I'm sure you've guessed is the most textured watercolour paper. The deep pits in the paper are brilliant if you want to get the most out of the granulation of your watercolour paints. This heavily textured paper is well suited to those with a loose watercolour painting style.
As we've learned, texture is an essential factor in determining the type of watercolour paper you need. But it’s just as important to select a high-grade paper with the right weight. A watercolour paper's GSM is the indicator of the paper’s weight. GSM is grams per square metre and refers to the thickness of each individual sheet of paper. The lower the gsm, the more the paper will buckle as it dries. The most common watercolour paperweights are 190 gsm, 300 gsm, 356 gsm, and 638 gsm.
Renowned for their artist's quality watercolour surfaces, the Arches paper mill in France manufactures all of its fine art papers using traditional cylinder moulds. They are revered for their quality, and dedicated to replicating the precision of hand-made papers created by master papermakers in the same mill in 1492.
100% Cotton - Its 100 % long cotton fibre composition gives the paper its beauty, a natural, lasting whiteness and an inimitable touch as well as strength.
Gelatin Sizing - Exclusive to Arches, gelatin sizing to the core preserves the lustre and transparency of the colours whilst preventing paints from penetrating into the paper. It allows superposing of washes and gives it added strength to resist erasing and scratching without tearing or linting. It also allows paints to be removed, either wet or dry, easily revealing the whiteness of the paper.
Winsor & Newton offers two ranges of watercolour paper, they work with expert papermakers to test quality papers, across price points and select superior surfaces that maximise the performance of the art material used, whatever your skill level.
Winsor & Newton’s ultimate 100% cotton Professional Watercolour paper is made on a traditional cylinder mould and offers the highest quality surface for smooth, even washes, preserving transparency of colour. The long and fine cotton fibres used give the paper it’s beautiful feel and are internally and externally sized for optimal absorbency and extreme strength. Acid free and free of optical brighteners, this paper offers a bright natural whiteness of archival quality, that does not yellow or degrade over time. Available in different formats across a variety of weights (300g/m² – 140lb and 640g/ m² – 300lb) and textures such as cold pressed, hot pressed and rough.
Winsor & Newton’s watercolour paper is a perfect introduction for students, beginners and hobbyists wanting to experiment, hone their skills and work with large quantities of paper, providing a surface of exceptional quality and value. Made from 25% cotton and high-quality cellulose wood pulp, this paper is free from acids, chlorine and optical brighteners, offering a bright natural whiteness of archival quality that does not yellow, degrade or alter over time.
Bockingford is a English watercolour paper, traditionally made on a cylinder mould machine at St Cuthberts Mill. This is a high-quality paper made using pure materials to archival standards. Its attractive surface is created using natural woollen felts that give it a distinctive random texture. Appreciated for its excellent colour lifting abilities. This is an extremely forgiving watercolour paper valued by professional and amateur artists around the world. Bockingford offers quality watercolour paper at an affordable price. Bockingford is now available in Hot Pressed (HP) in 140lb (300gsm) which has a smooth surface.
Revered among watercolour artists the world over, The Langton paper is known for its superior quality and is designed to withstand the most demanding techniques of an artist’s craft. The Langton collection comprises two ranges: The Langton paper and The Langton Prestige, while some features differ between the two, there are some similarities in the manufacturing and makeup of these papers.
Both collections are made in the traditional way, using a cylinder mould machine and are available hot pressed, cold pressed and rough texture. Being mould-made, artists can enjoy a combination of the consistency that only comes from machine-crafted paper with the appearance of handmade paper.
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