Comparing Watercolor Papers

I wanted to compare the watercolor papers that I have on hand.  The stamps and colors are the same for all three with different background wash techniques.  I used Reeves Paints that come in a tube and put in a palette.  With the 12 colors in this set, there is countless combinations of colors. I used Med Yellow, Crimson, Sap Green and Viridian Hue.  For this first card, I used Strathemore 300 Series.  Very little warping, a nice paper to work with.  I added lots of water to the flowers and dropped the color in.  With a clean, wet round brush,  I went around the flowers while they were still wet and drew out the colors from the flowers.  Once the background and flowers were dry, I painted the leaves and stems. This card was the most fun to make. Love seeing the paint expand in the water.  There was very little warping even with all that water.  Very nice paper to work with. 

 This Happy Birthday card is my favorite.  This is the Strathmore 400 Series paper. I added minimal amount of water to the flowers, dropped the color in and painted it in.  Once the flowers were dry, on to the leaves.  For the background wash, I combined all four colors and made this beautiful sage color.  This paper had no warping, but then again I didn't use much water.  This card is my favorite.  I like the crispness of it even for a watercolor.

This final card, I used Hobby Lobby brand watercolor paper.  It was very inexpensive and is absolutely terrible.  The only thing I like about it is that it's white.  The other two is off white, even though it's hard to tell.  The card peeled up while applying my tape runner, YUCK!  I used the same sage color and did the background first, not being too careful with staying out of the lines.  It looked terrible, even after adding the other colors.  So I added this Heidi Swapp Mint spray.   Added some sequins and the sentiment to salvage it.


If I could leave you with this, if you are going to watercolor, use watercolor paper.  Using cardstock, even the heavy duty (110 lbs weight) is not suited to be used with water.  I have only used the ones mentioned as well as Tim Holtz watercolor paper.  I am certain Canson and Arches paper are fantastic, but I am very happy with Strathmore.

I am very excited and pleased to present my first video on this topic.  I would be tickled pink if you would subscribe to my channel. If you found it helpful, a thumbs up would be great.