My Favourite Watercolour Papers

What is the most important item in watercolours? Is it the paints, paper or brushes? Personally I agree with the artist and teacher Charles Webster Hawthorne in his small book 'Hawthorn on Painting" ` in fact a collected edition of his students notes, published after  his death in 1930. He said "buy good paper- fifty percent of and more of your watercolors depends on the paper you use". Actually it's the hand that guides the brush but good paper makes it easier.

Most starting off in watercolour use a cheaper paper with the British Bockingford being the most popular, at least in the UK. You also have a number of cheaper papers in the German Hannemuhle range, while in the USA Strathmore have cheaper papers. And there are others. The thing about these budget papers is that they are not made of cotton, but high quality wood pulp in the case of Bockingford and I think cellulose or alternatives are used in others. I have tried some that Great Art sell but wasn't impressed although the 100% cotton Centenaire  is a good paper.

I stress the following is just my opinion and others may well differ. Also I haven't tried every available paper although I have sampled a good number.

This is my current favourite paper in the 'High White" version, also in a block although blocks are more expensive than sheets.

Fabriano Artistico "Extra White' was one of Charles Reids favourites and also mine. He said it suited his style of painting, and didn't like Arches as he said it was too 'hard -sized"

 I've gone off it for three reasons. Firstly the price has escalated, something that has affected all papers in line with the increasing overall costs for watercolour artists. The others are the block size "18 x 12", my preference being "16" x 12", and the way the blocks fall apart when you get down towards the last few sheets. Waterford hold together very well.

This paper was introduced to me by Judi Whitton and Charles, who knew Judi who attended at least two of his workshops, one of which I was on, probably heard of it from her. He considered it equal to Fabriano but particularly liked the block size - 40 x 50cm. Unfortunately getting hold of Schut papers, including the favoured Noblesse, was difficult. I first read about it in a book by the late Zoltan Szabo. I actually obtained some from an art shop in Stow, then from a small wholesaler, actually a private house with a small warehouse, in Banbury. This then dried up.

I recently decided to see, with rising prices in papers, if Schut was still available and at what sort of price. Enquiries discovered the Schut paper mill had changed hands and was now part of the Fontaine group. Further enquiries finally brought the information that ALL 100% cotton papers under the Fontaine label were actually the paper previously marketed as Schut Noblesse. There are four surfaces and a good range of blocks and sheets. A new surface called 'Cloud Effect' is also available. 

Both Great Art and the SAA are selling them, not yet Jacksons though. There is some slight confusion in that there is conflicting information regarding the number of sheets in a block, some saying 15 and others 25. This has an effect on the price per sheet, which seems to be approximately the same as Waterford or slightly higher. I haven't bought any as I have a large supply of paper, possibly enough to last except if I reach 100. Actually I'm exaggerating here slightly. I'm currently painting on the reverse side of failed paintings. Ron Ransom told me he did this and it is perfectly possible on decent papers like Fabriano and Waterford. I have many!

What other papers have I tried.? Quite a few actually. I have a small stock of Moldau, the Czech hand-made paper, obtained with great difficulty, the saga of which is related somewhere on this blog. A lovely paper but getting hold of it oh dear! I also found, quite by chance a small shop selling quite small sheets of loose watercolour paper in Amalfi on the Sorrento coast of Italy. The largest was 11" x 15", quite light at about 90lbs. A lovely paper I have to say but I I've not been back since that second visit. The lady owner, when asked where she got it, waved her arm saying 'at my factory over there'. I doubt I'll go to Sorrento again but would certainly buy more if she was still there. 

Another paper creating waves, especially in the USA from where it emanates. is Stonehenge Aqua. Rave reviews have appeared  from American artists. Jacksons sell it and I've purchased and painted on a block of the 16" x 12" size with a not surface and rate it equal to the Waterford. Certainly not superior (in my opinion). The American Strathmore group have a good name but I have no experience with any of their papers. 

Other than that what can I say? There are lots of other papers including some very expensive hand-made ones. The ones I've listed are mainly 100% cotton, which to me is a benchmark.  Cotton and linen is mentioned in some of the high end papers.

If price is a factor, and when isn't it these days, for us struggling amateurs, Great Art do an own brand called Centenaire which is 100% cotton and cheaper than the above. The Hannemuhle group have several cheaper papers and there are a few others.  Frankly the long established Bockingford, made from high grade wood pulp (they say) is as good as anything if you want an inexpensive, decent paper. Some will say cotton papers are better, and they probably are, but  do many  amateurs need to spend big bucks?  Based on my experience with several local art groups I suggest no is the answer.

Added 10.15pm. I omitted to mention Khadi, a Nepalese hand-made paper, available in a wide range of sizes and weights. Some of my fellow artists have tried it with mixed responses but it is 100% cotton and  very reasonably priced. It isn't a favourite but I do have some and occasionally use it. The surface is on the rough side whereas my choice of surface is not.

Watercolour Papers

The paper used in watercolours is considered by many artists to be the most important item. The celebrated American artist and renowned teacher Charles Hawthorne (1872 - 1930) had this to say:

"Buy cheap colours if you will,  but buy good quality paper - fifty per cent and more of your watercolours depends on the paper you use".

There are not many books exclusively on paper although most books on painting will have something. Two books that do deal with paper are the "The Watercolourist's Guide to Art Papers" by Ian Sidaway(2002)  and "The Book of Fine Paper" by Sylvie Turner (1998). I have the Sidaway book but not that by Turner. The Sidaway book is available on Amazon from its partners at around £9 including postage. The Turner one at a variety of prices starting at £26 for used up to a whopping £233.96 (!) for a new copy. It has 240 pages, as opposed to 95 and seems to be on a different level. Bruce McEvoy speaks highly of it while giving a mixed review to Sidaway. Handprint has an extensive section on watercolour papers and covers the subject in detail plus reviews of individual papers.

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This book is profusely illustrated in colour and is useful covering the best known, as well as some lesser known makes. It is split into sections based on the type of surface, rough and  not but assigns the hot pressed surface into a third group with 'more unusual  papers'. At the price it is worth buying if you want to dig deeper into paper. It is perhaps a little dated.

Essentially the choice for the artist is either machine made or handmade. Machine-made papers are much cheaper but within them prices vary, with those made from cotton fibre the most expensive. The most popular budget make is Bockingford from Waterford made from high quality wood pulp. According to Sidaway the Daler Rowney Langton is Bockingford. Hahnemuhle do a wide range worth exploring including some good quality cheaper papers like Brittania.  Top artists like Gerard Hendriks and Viktoria Prischedko use Hahnemuhle in the heavier weights.

Weight is another issue, the most popular being 140lb (300gsm) but you will find papers in various makes starting from 72lb and rising to 400lb. The heavier the paper the more expensive.  In the lighter weights, up to at least 140lb, you will need to stretch if you want to avoid 'buckling', especially if you use heavy washes. I have stretched in the past but don't any longer and use mainly 140lb in blocks.

Next is surface, There are three standard ones, rough, not - which means cold pressed - and hot- pressed. Rough varies from make to make. Some makers rough surface is similar to others not. Not is somewhere between rough and cold pressed with moderate tooth, although this varies between makes. Hot - pressed is smooth with no tooth. Some offer an 'extra rough' and there are other odd papers made from different materials. The most popular surface is not and is a good compromise. The hot press is used by botanical artists but  can be used for other subjects and can give interesting results.

The above illustrates Schut Noblesse which comes from a Dutch papermill. Schut do a variety of papers but have never been easy to get in the UK. I don't know what the situation is elsewhere. I first heard of Noblesse - the top of the range paper - in a book by the late Zoltan Szabo. Later both Charles Reid and Judy Whitton  used it as a single large block was available - but no longer - from a small art shop in Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds. Judy lives not far away and until recently Charles held annual workshops in the area. I believe Judy has also used Vivace, as I have and it is a nice paper cheaper due to the lower cotton content of 50%.

A while back I tracked Schut down by obtaining a phone number for a mysterious company or agent trading as 'Hookers Green' at Banbury in Oxfordshire. This appeared to be a private house who confirmed they sold Schut papers and apparently had a small warehouse. They sent me a plain A4 list.  Schut do other papers like Vivace, and I ordered both Vivace, a cheaper 50-50 cotton mixture as well as Noblesse.  Later still I phoned them and asked for an up to date list which was promised but never came. I can find no trace of them currently so I contacted Schut who have a website, and despite it being  in Dutch was able to send an e mail asking where I could buy the paper in the UK. I received an automated reply almost immediately saying they would contact me as asap. This was a few days ago and I'm still waiting for a reply. This saga is second only to that concerning the centuries old Czech Republic company Velke Losiney who make Moldau watercolour paper. 

Fabriano, the well-known Italian company make a variety of papers with Artistico being the top of the range. It has been one of my favourite papers in recent years but price has escalated  and special offers infrequent. It is 100% cotton, a lovely paper but I don't like the block size of 18" x 12". My preferred size is 16" x 12", as it is for many of my fellow artists at my Avon Valley group. The 'extra white' is the preferred version. Yvonne Harry is a big fan of this brand. Blocks unfortunately, while convenient as they do resist buckling, although they don't eliminate it, are more expensive than sheets the cheapest way to buy paper.

The premier English paper company are Saunders Waterford who make the popular Bockingford, sold under a variety of names including Langford. Waterford also sell their premium paper Saunders Waterford, a favourite for many years with top artists like the Australian Robert Wade who describes it on his DVD's as "a lovely paper'. Handprint gives it a good overall rating as a good allrounder. Not that long ago a 'High White" version was introduced after demand for a whiter surface was apparent. This is in addition to the normal off white. Several of my friends tried it and initially it wasn't  well received as somehow it was different. However that seems to be overcome and it has been taken up by several of the best artists in my Avon Valley Group, some changing from Arches, which has become very expensive. I think the overall view is that it's equal to Arches. Although I've tried many different papers over the last 17 years I have mainly painted in the last years with either Fabriano Artistico or Waterford and have now decided to use mainly Waterford. Another point is that the Waterford blocks are very well put together, certainly superior to Fabriano.

I have tried many other papers. One I liked very much was Fontenay but something peculiar happened. I was buying blocks and some sheets at competitive prices when Great Art, who sold it, suddenly doubled the price and said it was now 'hand made', That was that as far as I was concerned. Other papers tried included the Canson range and the cheaper papers sold by Great Art. None of them impressed me. Incidentally Great Art have a very large range of papers, more so than Jacksons and Ken Bromley.  I did approach them to see if they would stock Moldau, and while the Managing Director knew about Velke Losiny the response was pretty negative. Although Great Art are German they have a UK website and have recently opened a shop in London, They don't export outside the UK though whereas Jacksons, Bromley and others like Rosemary Brushes do. These orders are not subject to the 20% VAT rate we pay and they charge carriage at cost.

Added 06/08/2016. I should have included as a cheaper option an excellent 100% cotton paper from Great Art at a lower price called Centenaire. This is available in both rough and not surfaces in blocks and also sheets.  It is around 15% cheaper than Waterford at normal prices but they do occasionally offer them at even better prices. I prefer Waterford but Centenaire is acceptable.

Others papers I have are Khadi, the Nepalese hand-made paper  bought in an A3 pack from a London bookseller who have a shop in Bristol, and Jacksons Eco paper - the latter like blotting paper! If you are wondering I'm an impulse buyer though more restrained these days.

Apart from Moldau, the saga of which has been related in previous posts - see the Index July 2014 if you are curious - I also bought some paper from a small shop in Amalfi near Sorrento. I've described this elsewhere also. The shop sold paper in mainly small sizes and amongst them was this watercolour paper in "11 x 15" sheets, packets of ten. Only lightweight, around 90lb, it is nevertheless a beautiful paper which paint seems to love. I enquired from the lady owner where it came from and she waved her arm pointing in a direction saying 'from my factory over there'. I haven't been back but would seek it out if I did go to the Amalfi coast again. As for Moldau although it was available in the USA from a company called Italian Art the only way to get it here would be to go to the Czech Republic on holiday and visit the mill which has a retail shop. That's a little extreme even for me  though Moldau is a beautiful paper to paint on.

Finally there are other hand-made papers, some made in the UK. One is called Milford (although considered a special paper apparently mould- made) and is a replacement for the famous Whatman. It is expensive and with many wonderful artists quite happy with Fabriano, Waterford and even Bockingford why spend more?  Sidaway lists 60 different papers but many are difficult  to find and many are not available in the UK. I haven't included American brands like Kilimanjaro and Strathmore. This is because I've no experience with them. Strathmore has recently been added by Jacksons. The top of the range paper is the 500 series but series 400 is also available and is cheaper. 

On watercolour paper

My friend Mick asked recently how I was getting on with the new Waterford `High White' paper. So far not very well. Ken Bromley http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/  writes, in the most recent catalogue, that St Cuthberts Mill made the new paper after requests from professional artists who were searching for a whiter shade of watercolour paper, but without compromising on quality. It also goes on to say `With the new `High White' shade the paint pigments will appear more vivid, and with more sparkle, giving the whole a fresher look....a whiter shade will make finished paintings more contemporary looking, as artists have commented that they felt the original white colour created a more antique look to their finished compositions'.   Incidentally Bromley are also advertising another new watercolour paper called `Millford' This is a replacement for Whatman, which has been discontinued, and is 100% cotton rag, mould made and trimmed four edges. Discounted price is £17.95p per pack of five 30" x 22" sheets.  Slightly cheaper than Arches.

This is news to me and I wonder who these professional artists are? In any event a very good  `Extra White' shade of Artistico has been available from Fabriano for some time  http://www.jacksonsart.co.uk/  but Bromley don't sell it.

Myself and two other artists from my Avon Valley Art Group tried this new paper, in all three versions, HP, Not and Rough. The others, both very good painters tried, respectively, the HP and Not. neither liked the new paper and Yvonne, who is an excellent flower painter, said she would stick to Artistico `Extra White' which she considered much superior.  I have so far attempted  three paintings with it and none have been satisfactory. Of course I'm only a poor old amateur so take my experience how you will. Possibly it takes some getting used to but I have done many paintings on Fabriano `Extra White' and found the paper generally excellent. I won't give up on it yet and will report further in the near future.

Recently another new paper has been introduced by the German company Great Art http://www.greatart.co.uk/. They are making quite large claims for it `prices never seen before for such a high quality range'. `the very finest watercolour paper' etc etc. It is made from 100% cotton but so are many other good papers including Waterford, Artistico, Lana and others. This paper is called `CENTENAIRE' and you can order  a sample which I did. Unfortunately this is only about six inches square. I ordered the Not version, also available in Rough, which  has quite a smooth surface and duly tried a few swatches of several colours. On this very small sample I can't see what the fuss is about especially as the prices quoted are not particularly keen. It is available in blocks of 20 sheets, six sizes from 18x26cm to 46x5lcm and also sheets 56x76cm. The block prices are reasonably comparable, being dearer than Waterford but cheaper than Fabriano, although Fabriano sizes are slightly larger, 18" x 12" for example as opposed to 16" X 12". In the case of sheets they are not competitive except with the dearest available which is Arches. Five sheets, the only option, are £13.75p. I recently completed a survey for Great Art in which I pointed out their paper prices were not as good as Bromley and Jackson's where they sold the comparable makes. Great Art do have a much larger range of watercolour paper overall. Incidentally if you buy as an art group, Great Art offer 15% off catalogue prices when the annual edition is launched and subsequent orders 10% so this is a factor but not for the individual artist. I paid £3 for the first catalogue to get this deal then another three arrived (separately) unsolicited!

It will be interesting to see what the artist's magazines have to say about these papers if and when they review them. I take such reviews with a big pinch of salt because invariably they are more concerned, so it seems to me, about their advertising revenue and appear to pull their punches and then some. I've never seen a bad review yet. I recently was in communication with The Artists editor about Windsor and Newton's Cotman policy, sending her copies of my e-mail correspondence with the company.  I was fobbed off with `very interesting I'll take it up with W and N when I meet them in March' or something similar. Needless to say nothing has appeared in the magazine so take what magazines recommend, and some professional artists, with a pinch of salt and a healthy dose of scepticism. Incidentally I don't have a grudge against `The Artist', subscribe to it and think it  excellent on most counts.

The Blues in Sorrento!

View from balcony of room, 4th floor Hotel Royal Sorrento, Vesuvius in background.

Actually I need to explain myself. After taking considerable trouble to decide what painting kit to take with me to Sorrento I committed an unpardonable sin. When waiting for our baggage at Naples airport I was suddenly struck by a horrible realization. I had forgotten to bring my main painting box and had only a mishmash of supplementary paints! What a disaster! My wife says it shows I am losing it so it's double doses of Ginkgo Biloba from now on.

I had everything else but what could I do with the paints I had ? My supplementary paintbox, occasionally brought into play, contains Greengold (PY129), Indian Yellow (PY153), Permanent Magenta (PV23), Opera Rose (PR122 plus a dye), Permanent Rose (PV19), Avignon Orange (PR206), Indanthrene Blue (PB60), Hookers Green (PG7/PO49) and Ivory Black (PBk9). The odd tubes I put in the bag were two or three versions of Naples Yellow (Reddish etc), Ultramarine Pink (PR259) and Quinacridone Rust (PO48). The latter were intended for the colours of buildings in Italy. I only brought the supplementary box as an afterthought.

I first tried an experimental painting on the terrace of the hotel, which is on the cliff top facing the sea. The main problem as I saw it was the lack of a decent set of primary colours - no blue apart from Indanthrene blue, no primary yellow either. When It came to the sky I was scuppered so the hunt began for an art shop to supplement what I had. The holiday representative tried to be helpful but the end result was NOTHING! The only paints available in Sorrento were  two solitary boxes of Cotmans priced at 34 and 74 euros.  No sale.
We arrived late on Friday and had opted for a trip to Amalfi on Monday. The thought occured might there be something available in Amalfi, although as a smaller town than Sorrento I didn't hold out much hope. However on arrival I explained my predicament to the young lady who was the guide for the day, and although she wasn't optimistic directed me to a shop specializing in various stationery and paper products. After  a good look around I discovered a small area where there were some brushes, and on further inspection found a small tray underneath holding some Maimeri half pans. That was the good news. The bad news was the selection of colours was minimal but I managed to find Cyan Blue (PB15:3) Permanent Green (PGY/PY175) and  Permanent Yellow Lemon (PY175). Thinking I might find something else further up the main street which winds upwards off we went. To cut a long story short no luck! But I did discover a small shop, the shops are all small, selling paper of various sorts which seemed to include watercolour paper. This was confirmed and some small and medium sized sheets were produced. by the lady serving. I chose the 16" x 12" largest size and on enquiring whether it was hand-made, a stupid question really, the lady immediately said "Yes, by me at my factory over there" waving her hand in an easterly direction. I asked for 5 sheets (ten euros) but got six for the same price. The paper has a beautiful soft feel although quite light, possibly 90lbs. That doesn't bother me because I do some paintings on 90lb Fabriano and my style of trying for a finish first time, with no big washes, means I can use lighter paper, although 140lb is the staple. The paper is expensive compared to the usual mould-made but I was on holiday so.... I discovered, should have known, that Amalfi is famous for paper of different sorts and the  address and name  for this supplier is: Arte e Carta, di Rita di Cavaliere, via P.Capuano, 30 84011 Amalfi (Sa). She even has an e-mail address: arteccarta@hotmail.it

If you visit Amalfi, and almost everybody who goes to the Sorrento area does, then call in the shop. What first attracted me were the lovely small drawings and paintings in the window, obviously done on the paper she produces.

How did I get on with the painting using this unfamiliar hotchpotch of paints? Not terribly well although I did some painting from the balcony shown above and a couple more from the terrace down below. I was tempted to post one of them but decided against. It was a useful exercise trying to paint with an unfamiliar set but not one I wish to repeat so I definately won't make the same mistake again. I did take many photos at the old fishing port called the Marina Grande. Lots of boats and things. Hope to do something with them in due course.

One final glitch (almost). When I packed my art materials the tripod and mdf board (with attached Ken Bromley bracket) plus paper went into  one of our cases. My backpack held everything else including my Walkstool. On going through the checking area at Naples airport the bag was x-rayed then pulled out and inspected. A young lady said the Walkstool couldn't go on the plane and would have to go back via luggage  at the entrance of the airport, some distance away. This was a potential nightmare but fortunately another young lady appeared and waved us through. It was nearly inspected again when a holdup occured at the boarding gate and two officials started pulling people out of the queue, pulling their hand luggage apart. Luckily not mine, especially after the incident over the Walkstool. I'm all for airport security but the Walkstool in its bag is only about 12" long and weighs eighteen ounces. In future in the case it goes.