Artist's Watercolor Paper

We have Arches, Winsor and Newton, Cotman Watercolor Paper and Bockingford Watercolor Papers at very attractive prices. Although Arches is our most popular seller, Winsor and Newton paper is making a strong showing among artists who need a very white paper. Bockingford is a heavy wood pulp paper that is used extensively by watercolor teachers because of it's forgiving nature and very reasonable price.

We understand that buying watercolor paper can be confusing. There's hot press and cold press, different brands, rough or not rough and various weights. To help get rid of the confusion we have put together some terms that come up frequently when talking about watercolor paper. Hopefully this will help you out and assist you in your search for the watercolor paper that is perfect for you!

Cold Pressed:

This term also refers to the surface of watercolor paper. Since this paper is rolled and flattened through cylinders that are hot, the fibers in the paper lay down much more which leaves the paper smooth. Hot pressed watercolor paper is the smoothest surface watercolor paper there is. It is extremely useful and popular with watercolor artists that paint detail work.

You will often come across watercolor papers that display specific weights, often in pounds. The higher the weight, the heavier the watercolor paper. For instance if the watercolor paper is 300lb it will be thick and heavy enough to resist wrinkling when wet. On the other hand if it is 140lb it will probably wrinkle up if you don't stretch it out first.