Page 1 of Paper & Canvas by Cheap Joe's Art Stuff

brushes stuff before you buy paper before you buy paper finding a truly new watercolor paper isn t easy there are so many papers to choose from and i know it must be confusing at times especially if you are a beginner i ve been there ­ i know the feeling so i thought that possibly i could simplify some of it for you the best watercolor papers are all made of cotton yep just like a cotton shirt why cotton well cotton doesn t contain the chemicals that make acid like trees do so it lasts a lot longer and shouldn t yellow for many years to come ingredients cotton rag papers are made from the longest cotton fibers and generally considered to be of the highest quality ­ lasting up to a hundred years a good cotton paper can handle heavy erasing and reworking showing minimal signs of wear and tear cotton is torn or beaten into individual fibers to create a thick soup consistency and moulded to create this paper cellulose or wood pulp papers are generally of a lesser quality a high acid content will destroy the paper gradually over time yellowing as seen in newsprint and construction paper is a result of the acidity of the wood pulp papers however buffers can be added to produce an acid-free cellulose paper still some papers are made from determined amounts of both wood pulp and cotton rag weight 140lb cold pressed 140lb cp is the most popular surface and weight 300lb is the next most popular weight and is probably used more by professionals as it doesn t buckle as much as 140lb and can really take a beating and keep on ticking you can scrub erase scratch etc and it holds up well 200lb is also a very good weight falling between 140lb and 300lb but quite a bit less expensive than 300lb weight is an important consideration when selecting a paper as a general rule paper is measured by the weight of one ream of 22 x 30 paper 500 sheets these are standardized for papers smaller than 22 x 30 their measurements are determined based on the weight of a ream sized at 22 x 30 other weights include 60 80 90 and 260 pounds heavier weight papers are thicker and can handle more water without buckling curling or warping and can also handle much more abuse than lower weight thinner papers paper textures cold pressed cp sometimes called notcp confusingly enough by far the most popular type it has a medium tooth or texture holds color really well and is a favorite for most professionals has a moderate texture or tooth this effect is achieved by pressing the wet paper to smooth it slightly rough r has a surface with a prominent texture or tooth this texture is a natural result from allowing the paper to dry without smoothing or pressing i enjoy painting on rough because i can scrape sandpaper etc and really achieve lots of texture hot pressed very smooth with little or no tooth or texture this effect is achieved by passing the fresh paper through heated rollers during manufacturing watercolors become more loose and difficult to control but create beautiful effects it s great for drawing pen or ink and of course watercolor i really like hp for my journal paper you will find it in my american journey watercolor journal page 154 sizing sizing is a material such as gelatine casein starch or rosin sizing is added to watercolor paper to keep it from acting like blotter paper paper can be internally sized added while the paper is still in a liquid state externally sized added to the surface of the paper after the sheet is dried or both internally and externally sized generally the more a paper is sized or depending on the type of sizing used the harder a paper becomes and the more durable it is against reworking scrubbing or scumbling i ve used lots of brands of watercolor paper and i find i get different effects on each one so now after several years i know which paper i want to use say for fog or bright colors etc if in doubt i choose 140lb cp i am a little partial to kilimanjaro natural of course as it is our own but i enjoy painting on all papers i even tried yupo and liked it i have also tried tyvek from the building supply store and yep i had fun painting on it too so be brave be willing to put paint on any surface and you might just hit the mother load happy painting surfaces mould-made paper sheets are considered to be an imitation of handmade papers they still have a random distribution and arrangement of fibers but are moulded from high-speed cylinder-mould machines that simulate the handmade process these sheets are generally more durable under intense use machine-made paper sheets have a surface texture that is more mechanical than handmade or mould-made and is generally less durable a great paper for sketching and drawing due to its smooth regular texture do not expect these papers to have the same durability and feel as handmade or mould-made papers joe 136 cheap joe s art stuff call us 1-800-227-2788 fax us 1-800-257-0874

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