Watercolour paper can be hand-made or machine-made.  The former has an irregular surface texture and is usually of the highest quality – but that comes at a premium price.  Most papers are machine-made, and then the surface texture is more regular.  How regular and how pronounced varies from make to make – some papers have a highly regular, deep texture so that the surface is almost “patterned”.  I prefer something more subtle.

Paper comes in 3 surfaces: Hot Pressed, which is fairly smooth and can be difficult to work; Cold Pressed (normally called NOT) which is medium textured; and rough – which is self explanatory.

Paper also comes in different weights.  The heavier the paper the less likely it is to buckle when wet and the more ‘abuse’ it can take.

90lb is just about alright for sketching, with a pen and applying very light washes, but for anything else most artists prefer 140lb or heavier.  200lb is a pleasure to work on, and 300lb is almost like stiff card.

This month’s painting was done on 140lb Canson Fountenay paper.  This is a hand-made 100% rag-moulded paper.  An excellent feature is that this paper is double-sided – one side being described as “Rough” and the other as “Fine-grained (NOT)”.  Personally I think the Rough surface is closer to a NOT and Fine-grained much like a normal Hot Pressed surface.

Watercolour requires little in the way of equipment – a piece of paper, a few colours, and a couple of brushes – and hence its attraction to so many amateur artists.

The most important of these pieces of quipment, I would suggest, is the quality of the paper.  Watercolour is a difficult enough medium to control in the first place, but, no matter how good are your paints and brushes, if you are using poor or inappropriate paper your chances of enjoying the experience or producing a satisfying painting are virtually impossible.

Firstly, ensure you have WATERCOLOUR paper and that it is produced by a recognised name (eg Bockingford, Saunders, Arches)

Watercolour paper comes in many weights, surfaces and degrees of sizing (which is what stops it acting like blotting paper) and I will discuss each of these in the coming months – but it is always worth experimenting with different surfaces/papers.  I use several different papers, dependent upon the dimensions of the painting, and the effects I want to achieve.

For information, this month’s painting, Winter Lane, was a two hour demonstration watercolour, painted on 200lb ‘NOT’ Bockingford watercolour paper.

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