Watercolor Pad, Cold Press, 9x12 inches, 12 Sheets - Professional Art Paper for Watercolor Gouache Ink Acrylic

The Arches watercolor paper is expensive compared to many different options, but you get such a great effect and gradations of color. The 100% cotton paper has texture perfect to “grip” the color and create effects without any effort. Even if you are new to watercolor, do yourself a favor and buy a small pad of Arches so you know what great watercolor paper feels like. I bet you will get hooked like I am and will save elsewhere to be able to get more of this wonderful paper.

When I first started watercoloring, I tried using whatever paper I could find at my local big box art store (I won't name names, but its very common paper at a very common store). My art was... pathetic, blurry, faded in all the wrong places, and just not very good. And I almost stopped painting with watercolor altogether. If it wasn't for the fact that watercolor paint is more seemingly more environmentally friendly than, say, acrylic painting with its plastics and oil painting with all the chemicals needed, I would have given up on watercolors altogether. But I love how watercolor pigments only need to be rewetted to come back alive, how I can travel anywhere with only a small palette, some basic brushes, a bit of water and some paper, and be painting within minutes - little mess, little fuss, and beautiful ephemeral artwork. But... The paper... If you have the very best brushes ever created and the world's finest professional pigments, but you are using bad paper, your art will never turn out the way you want it. Period. Whereas, if you had the worlds cheapest brushes and pigments, but are using fine cotton, well-sized watercolor paper - your art can be breathtaking. All that is to say, if you only spend your art supply budget to buy good, cotton watercolor paper, and not fancy brushes or paints, you will still be able to create masterpieces, because the paper will behave predictably and reliably with the water and pigments. You will be able to lift pigments when and where you want. You can add several washes of color to the same areas without severe warping or ruining the sizing. You can paint fine, hair's breadth details with smooth application or you can soften an abstract background with gradients and wet washes in beautiful patterns. You can use masking fluid (and not remove it for some time) and not have the paper tear when you do remove it, and on and on. But to do that, you must have good watercolor paper. You simply must. When I finally coughed up the extra money to buy a pad of Arches 140# coldpress is when my artwork finally reached a level that I wasn't humiliated to have another person see my paintings. There are plenty of other brands of cotton rag paper that I understand are excellent as well, but few are at a pricepoint that would allow me to paint as a hobby. Arches manages to do that as well, at least right now. So, really, unless you are a professional artist, (and maybe even then) Arches is perhaps your best all around choice for a watercolor medium, and I can absolutely see how it rules all the discussion boards, youtube videos, and watercolor class discussions as the top pick for watercolor paper.

This is good quality watercolor paper. I do find that my paintings look better when I use better paper. I don’t stretch my paper, I tape it down. There is very little warping as long as I do not remove the tape before the painting is completely dry. I think this is a good size (9x12 in). I use this paper for practice, even though it is expensive (to me). Sometimes I will cut this into 4.5x6 inch pieces, to make the paper last longer. This and New York Central are my go to brands for watercolor paper. I will keep buying this brand. I would recommend getting some sort of large folder to keep this in or keep it in a drawer because the edges will collect dust and fuzz.

I would never have believed that paper could change my painting this much!! I watched several influencers that talked about this paper and how it would bring your art to the next level. I had someone commission me to paint for them and I need the best paper so I purchased this one. It was amazing to me to see how differently it reacted to the watercolors. They tend to sit on top of the paper and slowly dry in which allows you to blend and also to remove any mistakes. I couldn’t believe how I was able to blend color out fully and leave no dry lines. The thickness is amazing so even without prepping the paper it doesn’t buckle much. You can tell just by feeling it that it is cotton and higher quality. I’ve also used drawing gum for white areas and on cheaper paper it tends to pull the paper up. But not on this paper. It has a thicker texture and is definitely good quality.

I always use arches watercolor cold reds 100% cotton when wanting a top quality picture. Nice texture and helps make any painting look good.

Not much to say that hasn't been said...this is the benchmark of Cotton cold press watercolor paper. If you know someone who paints watercolor there is a 9 out of 10 chance that they will say their favorite paper is Arches if you ask them. Its the gold standard. If you are a pro, you already know. If you are a beginner like me, struggling to get control of your pain, you must try a good quality paper and see the dramatic difference in your ability to paint. the difference is night and day. I had those issues when i started out and everyone I asked that knew what they were talking about said to bite the bullet and buy some arches paper. You may find other good paper out there that you can work with but once you use Arches you will compare all other brands by how well they stand up against Arches.

Arches is the best!

Nothing better than Arches for watercolor IMO-found these on a sale and got several pads. 100% cotton paper!

Quand on travaille sur ce papier après en avoir essayé d'autres, c'est un vrai bonheur. Il accroche bien les pigments, son grain est adapté, il supporte qu'on passe plusieurs couches de pigments. La mise en eau n'a pas besoin d'être trop délicate et la couleur est homogène sans difficulté. J'ai même utilisé quelques touches de feutres acryliques et tout se passe bien. La qualité de ce papier fait vraiment la différence.

troszkę długo to trwało ale ok.

ちょっと高いけど仕上がり抜群。画材の乗りも発色も抜群

This is my first time buying this paper. Although I classify myself as a higher-end beginner, I could immediately tell the difference in the paper quality. I've tried a few different 300lb varieties and this is by far the best. YES it is expensive, but it has a more polished and professional look and it makes my mediocre paints (and skill!) look better than they are. I'm actually starting to learn how to do layers, without the paint just turning into a flat blob. The colours look awesome. I'm excited to improve on this paper.

Este papel me encanta para la acuarela. Al llevar algodón se absorbe muy bien.