What kind of paper is best for watercolor?
In general, we recommend a watercolor paper that has a weight of 140lb. (300gsm). Our 300 Series Watercolor paper is a great, economical place to start that will let you practice, experiment and create beautiful work.
What weight of watercolor paper is best?
140 pound watercolor paper is probably the most commonly used paper by watercolor painters. It is thicker and can handle quite a bit of water and scrubbing. (140 pound paper has a mid-range price tag as well.) 300 pound watercolor paper is probably the strongest, heaviest paper you will ever need.
What is the smoothest watercolor paper?
Hot pressed
Which side of the watercolor paper do you use?
It is generally accepted that the correct side of the watercolour paper to paint on is the side from which the watermark is legible. For example, if you are using Saunders Waterford paper, the correct side would be the side on which the ‘Saunders Waterford’ Watermark is displayed the right way round.
Can I watercolor on canvas?
Normal canvas, even if it has been gessoed, is generally not absorbent enough to work well with watercolors. The watercolors would lift off too easily, which would make blending or overlaying colors particularly difficult. There’s a way to do it, using Golden Absorbent Ground, which you can learn about here.
How long should you soak watercolor paper?
about 3 minutes
Can you use both sides of Watercolour paper?
Yes, you can paint on both sides of watercolor paper. Usually the only difference is the texture is more subtle on the back. Most watercolor papers have sizing on both sides, and some even have sizing throughout the core of the paper.
Should you always stretch watercolor paper?
Do I Have To Stretch Watercolour Paper? If you don’t want to Stretch Watercolour Paper, you don’t have too. It is usually only necessary to Stretch Watercolour Paper that is 140lbs / 300gsm or less. The heavier the paper, the less likely it is to buckle.
Do you have to stretch 300 lb watercolor paper?
You can use 300 lb paper. No stretching required. Some illustrators “paint” the back side of you paper with water, then staple it down to a board. That way they can start working right away.
What’s the difference between hot and cold pressed Watercolour paper?
Hot-pressed watercolor paper has a fine-grained, smooth surface, with almost no tooth. Paint dries very quickly on it. Cold-pressed watercolor paper has a slightly textured surface, somewhere in between rough and hot-pressed paper.
Is 160 GSM paper good for watercolor?
The weight of watercolor paper is not indicative of quality because the best paper comes in both heavy and light varieties. But weight is important because lighter papers need stretching before use and may buckle or wrinkle when wet. Light paper is anything less than 140 lb/300 gsm and heavy is 300-400 lb/600-850 gsm.