Extra-fine grain, hot-pressed watercolor paper anyone?

[lillithium]

The kind of watercolor paper I've been using (Sennelier Watercolor Blocks - hot-pressed, 140lbs, extra fine grain) is no longer being imported to Japan. *sighs* Which left me with only two choices:

1. Fabriano 300g extra fine grain

2. Arches 300g extra fine grainThere isn't much choice about hot-pressed watercolor paper, and both are equally

Comments

[potteresque_ire]

Lils,

Are these the same paper?
http://www.cheapjoes.com/store/navigation.asp?cat=6851&page=1&view=all

This company ships international using the USPS priority international rate, which is listed here; it should be cheaper than Fedex :) :
http://www.usps.com/prices/priority-mail-international-prices.htm
(Your country is in Price Group 3)

*Hugs you*

[lillithium]

Thanks SO much for the info! Yes they are the same paper. I'm going to email them about the exact shipping charge and see if I should just switch brand. 'cuz the reason I'm using Sennelier is because it's relatively cheaper than the other options.

*hugs back*

Thanks for the lovely comments on the arts. Will reply shortly ♥

[karadin]

I've always been very happy with Arches.

[lillithium]

Thanks! If only they weren't so expensive... (T_T)

[leochi]

What about Canson? It's usually much cheaper than Arches, at least here. But if I had to choose between Fabriano and Arches I'd definitely favour Arches. And Dutch papers are quite good, too. Though I have no idea whether they sell them in Japan. Hahnemühle could be an optione, too. It's a German paper that's quite nice to work with.

[lillithium]

Canson does not carry 300lb, and I don't think they have hot pressed. :-(

But thank you VERY much for your input regarding Fabriano and Arches. I might want to take Arches if the oversea shipping negates the price difference.

Thank you ♥

[leochi]

You're welcome, and good luck with your purchases. :-)))
♡♡♡

[leochi]

You're very welcome! :-)))

[lillithium]

Yeah. I have very limited experience with watercolor paper. I always use extra-fine grain because the texture of cold-pressed paper always show when scanned, which annoys me.
But hot-pressed is much harder to use than cold-pressed. I found that once I got use to hot-pressed paper using cold-pressed ones becomes very easy.

I don't know why there're so few choices on hot-pressed watercolor paper and that they're all so annoying expensive. :-(

But yeah, you're right. The imported stuff is always expensive, and you can't really find many places that carries a bigger variety of art supplies.

[lillithium]

Lemon Gazai
Yeah I went there once. Didn't get anything, though, because they sell their items in regular price. There are stores that list their stocks 20% off their listed price, e.g. Sekkaido. I recommend their main branch in Shinjuku. :-)

[bird_or_whale]

I have always found Arches to be so very much superior to any other watercolor brand, regardless of the hot/cold press. Even though it is very expensive in comparison, the ability to utilize so many different wet techniques without compromising the structural integrity of the paper and maintaining a fluid painting cannot be beat. I don't know about many different online art stores though that ship overseas. I hope that you have luck in finding a great paper to use for your lovely art. :)

[lillithium]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I've always wanted to try Arches, but have always been scared away by its price. I mean, ~$50USD for, like, 20 pieces of 18cmx26cm paper? Two pieces of paper costs more than my lunch. But I guess the price makes up the quality. :-)

I always use extra-fine grain because the texture of medium or fine grain shows when scanned, even though extra-fine grain paper is harder to handle.

Thank you very much! I think I might need to reduce my spending on food for paper, but I guess it's worth it.

[bird_or_whale]

Goodness I think eating is more necessary for survival than painting but trying Arches once would be a good way to figure out what your options are for when you can afford to both eat and paint comfortably!

I prefer Arches Fine Grain 300 g for practice work. The pad is a lot cheaper than the block (err but maybe not in Japan... oh and now that I look, only 12 sheets so maybe not that much of a money saver) and gives a good idea of what you can expect. But as you mentioned, the texture shows when scanned.

How much paper do you go through a week?

[lillithium]

The pad is a lot cheaper than the block
Yeah, but like you said, it only has 12 sheets. :-/

How much paper do you go through a week?
I don't draw regularly, but when I do watercolor I normally go through two per picture. One for practice, one for real. But recently I've been getting worse due to lack of practice, and wasted a few more paper, which is why I need to replenish my stock soon. :-(

How about you?