Paper is the support of a painting, and it should be supportive

There is a plethora of watercolour papers available to suit every budget. But different papers are not equal and will paint differently, with their performance changing the painting. Once an artist knows how to ‘understand ‘ a paper, they will use it to get the most from it. They will cast aside papers that they’ve found do not suit them, or whose performance is just not good enough to help them progress as an artist.

Good paper isn’t cheap. You do get more performance for your money and a good paper will perform better. It should assist the painting process.

Absorbency of a watercolour paper will affect its paintability

Now down to the nitty gritty. One of the biggest differences with different types of paper is their absorbency. How the water is absorbed into the sheet, for a watercolourist, this means how long the artist has to work on the painting before leaving it to dry, or adding more water. Having a paper dry evenly is crucial to paint easily, battling with a sheet that puddles, whilst the edges dry is going to be challenging even for professional artists.

How the paper receives a wash, does the brush glide across the sheet to produce a nice even colour, or does the paint reticulate, does it have nasty lines, dark spots or other unattractive looking features? A good paper will receive paint evenly, giving a pleasing look and be a joy to paint.

Does the paint sparkle and glow on the sheet, or is it dull and lifeless? The vividness of the paint’s colour can be affected by not only the shade of the base sheet, but also how the paper absorbs the pigments. With washes, can you successfully build up multiple glazes of colour on the paper? A good paper will allow you to build up glazes without obliterating the brush strokes underneath. Can the paper also allow the artist to blend neighbouring pigments on the surface, where the colours merge attractively?

Surface of the watercolour paper shows through

Watermedia is often a transparent medium, which means the surface of your paper will show through your finished painting. Choosing a surface you find attractive is very important, as it will become an intrinsic paint of the composition. A paper with regular lines, a harsh pattern or bland and matt looking could all detract from the artwork. Often a sheet with a random pattern is deemed pleasing to the eye.

Choosing the right surface texture will enhance the painting

There are three main surface textures an artist can choose from. It should be a carefully considered choice which surface the artist uses depending on the composition. One surface may not to suitable for every type of painting an artist creates. In brief, the HP (Hot Pressed) surface is the smoothest, suitable for highly detailed work where a smooth texture aids the detailed elements. The CP (Cold Pressed - also known as NOT in the UK) is a medium surface and the most versatile. Rough is the most textured surface used for landscapes, seascapes and bold expressive works.

How a paper can assist with light tones?

A good paper will allow the use of masking fluid, without the surface tearing when the drawing gum is removed without the sheet picking. Some papers will also allow the artist to colour lift paint from the sheet to expose the white sheet beneath for highlights.

A good watercolour paper will take abuse

Watercolour paper needs to be tough, really tough! Once a sheet is in a wet state after a wash is applied, the surface is weakened. With a watercolour paper it is absolutely crucial the paper does not degrade at this stage by pilling, or generate little balls, where the surface rubs away, as the artist paints onto the sheet. A good paper will survive scrubbing, masking fluid, scratching, soaking, plus all manner of harsh treatments at the hands of the artist.

Surface stability – keeping a watercolour paper flat

The engineering inside a good watercolour shouldn’t be overlooked. Artisan papermakers will take great pride in their craft. A mould made paper does not cockle/buckle as much as fourdrinier made sheets. When an artist adds water to a paper the fibres inside it swell. A mould made paper resists the buckling effect more, because the fibres inside the sheet are more randomly placed, whereas on a fourdrinier made paper (these papers are inherently cheaper as they are made on a fast paper machine), have fibres tending to lie in one direction, making the swelling happen in one direction that causes the unsightly buckling. Once a paper buckles, not only is it unattractive, it also makes it difficult to paint.

Archival watercolour paper

A good watercolour paper will last. The papermaking technology inside needs to be acid free, its ingredients should be pure, and it should have an alkaline buffering of calcium carbonate to give added protection from atmospheric acids present in pollution.

St Cuthberts Mill watercolour papers can be trusted

At St Cuthberts Mill we make three ranges of watercolour paper. All are professional quality, that are highly engineered to paint very well. They all offer different characteristics to artists, so there is a choice to suit different techniques or compositions.

As a brief explanation, all the papers made at St Cuthberts Mill are mould made, so offer the surface stability for a flatter sheet. They are also all made to archival standards and are good looking papers with a pleasing surface texture, plus are designed to be strong. The big differences are how they paint. They all dry evenly, Saunders Waterford has a really long drying time, so the artist has plenty of time to work before the paper dries. Millford also has a long drying time, but also stays in its wetter state for longer, so the artist has more time to move the pigment around.

Bockingford offers performance at a good value

Our Bockingford papers are priced more economically than the Saunders Waterford and Millford papers. It gives a very good painting performance, with all the paper engineering from St Cuthberts Mill, but at a better value. Bockingford is used by many professionals, as it is not a low quality paper, with its all-round good performance for large flat washes, colour glazes, and physical vividness of the pigments on the sheet. It has the ability to build texture unlike many other professional grade papers. It also performs excellently with masking fluid use, and allows artists to lift colour superbly. Bockingford gives artists a high performance paper at good value.

Millford a high quality paper with a different painting experience

The Millford paper is quite unusual, above it details how the absorbency of the sheet is different because it is deliberately made to be ‘hard sized’ (less absorbent). It gives an excellent painting performance with glazes of colour, the vividness of the pigments, large washes of colour and the blending of colour on the sheet. It is also excellent at lifting colour bringing the sheet back to white. Millford is a high paper that is less absorbent that other papers for a different painting experience.

Saunders Waterford professional paper that is resilient to rough treatment

Saunders Waterford is St Cuthberts Mill’s flagship paper. It is an extremely tough paper designed to withstand rough treatment at the hands of the artist. ‘Bomb proof’ is often how it is described. It is an excellent paper to paint with for colour blending on the paper, large flat washes, glazes of colour, vividness of the pigments, plus the artist has a very long time to work on the painting before the paper dries. It is also excellent for masking fluid use. Saunders Waterford is a professional grade watercolour paper that’s a pleasure to paint with.

St Cuthberts Mill’s papers are all dependable

All of St Cuthberts Mill’s watercolour papers are the reliable support an artist can depend on. The choice is which paper or papers suit the artist’s style. Don’t restrict yourself, experiment and try different papers out, see how they perform. Choose to paint on a paper you know supports your work. Don’t let the paper restrict your progress. Good paper won’t let you down.

To learn Edo Hanemma’s views on why Bockingford is a special paper.
https://stcuthbertsmill.blogspot.com/2024/01/testimonial-edo-hannema-on-bockingford.html

To learn how Saunders Waterford became Miguel Angel Lacal García’s ally.
https://stcuthbertsmill.blogspot.com/2023/12/testimonial-miguel-angel-lacal-garcia.html
 

Click here for more articles