It's Not You, It's Your Paper: Why Watercolour Paper Matters More Than Paint
I vividly remember hating watercolour as a schoolgirl in art class.
I did the best I could with the generic sketchbook page, but I felt like I was ruining the paper before I could even get enough paint down. The books and reference material made it look so effortless - pretty blends, blooms, and washes that despite being loose and organic seemed to land perfectly on the paper.
My repeated ‘failures’ were disheartening, and put a barrier between me and any kind of expressive painting. I abandoned all hope of any kind of still life or portraiture, and instead left watercolour for creating splotchy, buckled paper backgrounds. It wasn’t until years later, when I found in my possession a pad of actual 100% cotton watercolour paper, that I realised why I had struggled so much.
When we pick up a new hobby, particularly a new art medium like watercolour, it makes sense that we’d obsess and research over finding the perfect paint. If the paints we’re using are good enough, surely it doesn’t matter what we’re painting on? The beautiful shop displays and starter kits can lead us to believe it’s all about paint. It’s very unexciting to have to think about paper types, when there are countless beautiful colours and tubes to pick from first.
Here’s where I need you to trust me: it doesn’t matter how good your paints are, if you’re not painting on the right paper. Oil sits on canvas, pencil sits on board, but watercolour doesn’t sit on anything. It soaks in and stains the fibres beneath it. It means the paper isn’t just a flat surface to paint on, it’s entirely the outcome.
There’s a noticeable physical difference between painting on a good quality cotton watercolour paper and a standard cellulose paper. I remember the first time I used a good quality cotton watercolour paper. It was the first time I had seen myself painting in the way I’d spent all those years looking at in reference material. All of a sudden, it felt possible, and I had this new love for watercolour.
Meeden 300gsm 100% Cotton Cold Pressed Paper
Bockingford 300gsm Cellulose Hot Pressed Paper
Seawhite of Brighton Sketchbook Paper
I sat and watched as the paint slowly soaked into the paper. It wasn’t pooling on top and running everywhere, it wasn’t creating buckles and bumps in the paper beneath. I didn’t have to use half the tube just to see some colour on the page. I was used to watching the paper give way, pilling and falling apart under even the lightest of washes, but even after multiple layers there was no sign of damage. I could blend the colours smoothly, having the time to work different colours back and forth without them seeming to evaporate in seconds and leave dull, chalky colours behind.
It turns out there’s a science behind this. Here are a few things you might be interested to know:
Fibres
Cotton paper is made of long, absorbent fibres which pull water and pigment down into the sheet. The standard cellulose paper fibres are shorter, and don’t hold up the same way under water.
Sizing
Watercolour paper isn’t just raw fibres, it’s treated with ‘sizing’ - a coating that alters the absorbency of the paper. Some papers are coated on the surface after they’re made, while others have sizing mixed right through. If you’ve ever managed to scrub through the top layer of a watercolour paper and suddenly found it can’t handle the paint anymore, you’ve likely got the former.
Working Time
Because cotton holds moisture for longer, the paper stays workable for longer. You’ll get a much longer window before the paint starts to dry, which is why blending and reworking are much more possible in a way that cellulose paper can’t handle.
Pigment Binding
Cotton paper holds the pigment where it needs to be, so it doesn’t sink away and dull. Even the most pigmented watercolour washes over cellulose paper will stay settled on top of the paper, drying into a blotchy and chalky finish, often settling in the ripples of the buckling paper rather than dispersing evenly across the surface.
Once cotton paper dries, it binds pigment strongly. Colours stay saturated and tend to shift less when you brush another layer of colour over the top.
Product Recommendations
So hopefully I’ve managed to convince you to splash a bit more cash on a watercolour paper. Here’s some of the papers I’ve loved over the years and continue to use today:
Widely regarded as the gold standard, and the paper I use for almost all professional commissioned pieces. It’s 100% cotton fibre, and gelatine-sized throughout. It’s one of the more expensive papers you’ll encounter, but worth every penny if you’re passionate about watercolour.
I’ve found to be a great, slightly cheaper alternative to Arches. Similarly, it’s 100% cotton and sized throughout, this time with a plant-based agent (not containing animal derivatives like many other papers). If you’re looking to create more detailed works, I’d perhaps choose a different paper, as I’ve found both inks and paints have a tendency to bleed slightly on this.
This is a great and unique product that uses a cotton surface layer over a cellulose core, rather than being cotton all the way through. It’s a great budget-friendly starter for cotton paper, giving you a taste of some of the benefits like controlled absorption and longer working times.
A good quality yet still budget-friendly paper that’s a great alternative to some of the more expensive brands. The pads I have come in blocks, meaning they’re glued on all sides, and give the paper even more structure to withstand water without buckling. The surface can be a little ‘fuzzy’, so the paint can dry quicker and lift more easily, making it a bit trickier to blend colours and paint in layers.
To Conclude
I hope you’ve found these recommendations helpful, and it’s given you the motivation to spend a little more time looking at watercolour papers before you claim you just can’t do watercolour and throw in the towel.
I wish the teenage girl in GCSE art had known just a little bit more about what a good watercolour paper can do - I like to think she’d have stuck it out.
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