Arches Watercolor Pad 9x12-inch Natural White 100% Cotton Paper - 12 Sheet Arches Watercolor Paper 140 lb Cold Press Pad - Arches Art Paper for Watercolor Gouache Ink Acrylic and More

my craft hobby

I love to paint in watercolor, but have only used canson paper, which has served me well and I will absolutely still be using even for cards and things. I never thought Id be able to buy this paper and did ONLY because a wonderful friend gave me a gift card to specifically buy art supplies. But I had to get a little gift for my son and husband :) Then I splurged on a few pads of this paper since everyone says the paper is most important. But paying $20 for only 12 sheets of paper definitely made my stomach hurt and broke out in hives from nerves :) even as a gift it was hard to do. But, I did and was excited to get them....until I got them. 2 of the 3 pads were damaged. It was shipped loose, in a thin bubble envelope :/ 1 of them had the 2 bottom corners totally smashed and a spot in the center bottom was gouged. The 2nd had it corners smashed downward. The 3rd was fine, probably in the middle. I was in tears. It was hard to buy this for myself already, I felt super guilty or selfish I guess, but then to have them messed up was a bummer. They were supposed to be something cool to look forward to using after a major surgery in a few days, so anxiety is high in general. O contacted the seller who said it wasnt their problem. So after an hour or so on the phone with Amazon and sending pictures as proof, they will supposedly be refunding or return for new ones...though theres no time before surgery to deal with this. But, theyll work it out. I wish Amazon would package things accordingly as to what the item is...paper in plastic wrap needs protection from getting its corners or edges smashed. Yet a toothbrush could be in a 10x10 box rattling around. Makes no sense. Better packaging would be awesome :) I need the edges to be straight, full length, because I make cards for friends and family and I buy this size paper so I can cut it perfectly to make a few cards...so when sides are crunched, then I have to cut edges off on 3 of the side, hopefully straight, but that completely throws off my card size, which throws off the size of the envelopes I make too. So...when you need to be frugal, knowing this is all Ill ever have of this paper, you need every bit. But, Ill figure that out. But the paper is awesome paper for watercolor!!! I feel super fancy...even though Im definitely not :) ;)

Perfect for for watercolor excellent

This seems like lovely paper for my amateur artistry, but I’m tired of everything I receive from Amazon—especially paper products like this—smelling heavily if air freshener or cleaning products. Might think about buying it elsewhere if you have a preference for appropriately unscented items! Lol

My favorite go to paper

First time purchasing Arches watercolor paper. I am thrilled with the high quality paper and using it for my artwork that has changed the whole dynamic of my watercolor work. I will be ordering more of this fabulous paper soon! Thank you Arches for offering the best paper that is affordable. I’ve been painting Cards and this works absolutely perfect for creating as it keeps the colors in depth and brightness like never before.

When I started watercolor I used student grade paper, and found it very difficult to get the results I wanted. Using 100% cotton paper has made all the difference. The teachers I have followed all say the paper you use is the most important of your watercolor supplies. I still use cheaper paper to practice strokes or make color swatches, but if I plan to actually paint a picture, Arches is the way to go!

This is the best price that I’ve seen on Arches paper so far. I thought I would try this paper because I’ve heard people say it’s the best. I’ve also heard it’s very expensive but it’s the most important thing in watercolors. They say if you’re just starting out with watercolor and want to invest in one good quality item, the best quality paper you can afford is the first thing you should buy. Then they say Arches is the brand of that high quality paper, always followed by, “it’s expensive but worth it”. I find that If you buy it from an art store at full price it is much more expensive. I have been able to find it on Amazon for a much better value. The paper is great and I do get better results when I paint on it. I feel like the paint behaves differently than on cheaper, cellulose paper. I buy this 9x12 paper pad then I cut the sheets down in halves or quarters. This stretches the value a bit further. I find that if I paint on an entire sheet of 9x12 I end up with a lot of empty space around the outside edges of the page anyway. I’m new to watercolor and have been working on composition but a lot of my practice focuses on single subjects. I do a lot of practice on cheaper paper and then bring out this Arches paper for the “higher quality” practice. The “practice” pieces that I don’t mind showing to other people. The cheaper, cellulose paper is a place for me to determine which colors work well for the subject I’m painting, to practice how to hold the brush or even the correct size of brush for the subject I want to paint. Like I said, I’m new to watercolor so I have to start from square one. Once I’ve figured that out I am able to bring out the cotton paper to practice my blending techniques, how much water to use, the different behaviors of all the colors on my palette, etc…. Arches paper is very forgiving for beginners like me because I find that the paper can stand up to the scrubbing and lifting of mistakes. If I accidentally use too much water the paper dries nicely (eventually) enough that the whole piece isn’t ruined. In the event that the piece doesn’t turn out well on the front of the paper I can still use the less textured back side of the paper so that it doesn’t go to waste. The paper is very durable since it’s so thick and made of cotton and it can handle being painted on the front and the back.

Ive never found any watercolor paper comparable to Arches brand paper. So dont even try anything but.

Ive been doing water color, using watercolor pencils and recently water color markers, for 5 or 6 years now. I always bought fairly good paper - Strathmore 400 series and other decent stuff, but frankly I dismissed Arches as snob appeal, I mean, its more than double the best quality competitors & I always figured it wouldnt really make that much difference. Unfortunately, however, it does. I say unfortunately because this stuff is pricey! If you dont flood your paper with water (I dont, I generally do ink drawings & I control the paint fairly carefully) - if thats how you paint, then save some $ and buy Arches pads instead of the blocks (the blocks are sealed down on all 4 sides, except for a small section on 1 side - that way you can really wet the paper & it wont buckle or curl...and you are less likely to pollute the page underneath). But wow - oh - wow, water a difference top quality paper makes. Im not a good enough artist to describe it well, but the paint just handles better on this paper...regardless of wet on dry, wet on wet, the color just moves better, blends better. And if youre like me & sometimes overflow your black ink lines, its surprisingly easy to clean up edges, even though this paper seems to take paint better than other papers. And if you like to layer, like to scrub in color, or do over-washes. - this paper can take it. Im lucky enough that my budget allows me to buy Arches for most of my work (it helps that Im not doing anything over 12 - 14) but I still use the other papers for practice & test layouts, it does cause me pain when I ruin a 5 x 7 piece of paper that cost $3.00 by doing something stupid! But when you can afford to treat yourself - buy some Arches paper - all the hype is true, in this case!