Blistering paper
I bought some (really) cheap paper that is labelled as Watercolour paper, just to do some colour swatches and practice on, as I’ve not done any painting for around 30-40 years (apart from walls, ceilings, and window frames, that is - done plenty of those!). When wetting the paper to do wet in wet work, I noticed that the paper almost looked like it is blistering… is this something that all papers do, or only the horribly cheap stuff I’ve bought?
It has a pretty nasty texture on it, and I’m wondering if it’s creating spots that are more or less absorbent, and thus the appearance of blisters. They seem to reduce in obviousness (made that word up as my brain is struggling to find the right one) as the paper dries, but they don’t go away completely. Any thoughts - other than to stop being a cheapskate and invest in better quality paper?
TIA
Graham
Hello, Graham! I think you are having strictly a paper problem. Most of us go through the same conflict of trying to “save” on materials vs. buying the “good stuff” until we improve our work. The problem is the cheap materials actually prevent improvement. You might as well put that paper in for recycling or give it to your kids (or grandies) to play with.
In regard to color swatches, I eventually noticed that there was a color difference between my swatches on wood pulp paper (student grade) and the same paints on good cotton paper. I finally “bit the bullet” and redid my swatches on the same type of paper that I want to do my paintings on. It’s not really a waste because those swatches will be important references for quite a while to come. (I do, however, still practice different things on my student grade paper before tackling the same thing on the better quality.)
Also, there is more involved than just the quality of the paper. The sizing on the paper surface also affects the paint you put down. To make it worse, I recently discovered that every manufacturer has its own formula for sizing so they are all different!
It would be so helpful if we could get sampler packs with a couple of sheets from a variety of manufacturers. As you said, paper has become very expensive so we all hate to buy sheets, pads or blocks that we quickly find just don’t work for us.
Good luck with your painting! Don’t give up!