Watercolour paper

Amanda Hyatt shares her experience of choosing and using watercolour paper and advises on how to choose the right surface for your work

The six papers I am using are, from left to right: Rough grain (Rough), Medium grain (Hot Pressed), Fine grain (Smooth, Cold Pressed, Not), Asian, Yupo and tinted hand-made paper

My 40-year career as a watercolour artist has taught me a few things about the medium. That seems like an understatement, but I’m still learning and experimenting. When it comes to choosing which watercolour paper to paint on, experience comes into play. No one really tells you what to use or what is available, so this article is about what I have learned over the years.

Much of the process of watercolour painting depends on your enthusiasm, mood, motivation, energy, subject, time availability and inspiration. Choosing the paper to go with what you expect your outcome to be will help you get there. This article does not discuss brands or how each paper is made and named – Cold Pressed, Hot Pressed etc, as this information can easily be found online.

I have chosen six different types of paper to demonstrate the same Venetian scene. Many artists have painted Venice so many times that they can paint it from memory. It’s an artist’s dream location. The view of the Santa Maria Della Salute from the front of the Doges Palace is a popular favourite, and I’ve chosen that very recognisable scene to paint. I apologise for the overlarge sun but it is only there to indicate the ‘lifting off’ capability of the paper. Each painting is the same size, except for the painting on Yupo paper, and all papers are 300gsm, except for the Asian paper. As always, my mantra is to ‘make every brushstroke matter and don’t over fiddle’ and that applies to the painting on each of the different papers.