Which side of arches is the right side

I have one instructor is very particular. She insists there is a difference even with Arches. I can feel a difference. Only painted on the wrong side once so far! I never found much of a difference on Arches Cold Pressed lb paper, but out of habit I start with the side with the watermark. I think there is texture difference on Arches. Lorraine Thanks for inspiring me! I often paint both sides of the same piece of arches paper. Managing your WetCanvas! This topic has 14 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by muvs Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 of 15 total.

October 15, at am Barbara WC Default. And my next question, does it matter? Char -- CharMing Art -- "Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. Made on a cylinder mould traditional process : quality close to that of paper made by craft methods. The slow turning of the cylinder enables the fibres to be deposited evenly and spread in all directions over the wire.

The fibres are distributed evenly, the paper slackens uniformly when wet, giving the artist more control. This process can produce papers with a high grammage and exceptional resistance to scratching and erasing, when they are gelatin sized to the core. Only papermaking on a cylinder mould can produce paper with deckle edges. It allows superposing of washes and gives it added strength to resist erasing and scratching without tearing or linting.

It also allows paints to be removed, either wet or dry, easily revealing the whiteness of the paper. Ideal for watercolour painting, as for all wet techniques such as ink , gouache and acrylic.

The cotton gives the paper beauty, a natural, lasting whiteness and an inimitable touch as well as strength and longevity. The choice of texture will depend on the medium used by the artist. As a general rule, though, texture is a matter of personal choice for the artist, part of the process of artistic creation and expression. Exceptional bulk. It may help to test out the back of paper by painting a few color swatches to it.

This will give you the feel for how the paint will behave before committing to completing an entire painting on it. Manufacturers apply a coat of sizing, which is usually gelatin, to the surface of the paper. Keep in mind that the back of the painting may not contain sizing.

Some manufacturers list this information on their websites or marketing materials. Internal sizing is when the manufacturer adds the sizing to the pulp before they make the paper.

The sizing is found throughout the entire piece of paper. Some papers have both internal and external sizing. The sizing prevents the water from soaking into the paper too quickly. This will allow you to manipulate the paint before it has a chance to dry. The paint sits more on the surface of the paper which will make the colors appear brighter than if they were to absorb into the paper.

You can lighten or even remove a color by scrubbing it with a wet brush. The sizing creates a coating that makes it easier to remove the pigment. If this is a concern, then one option is to paint smaller than a full sheet so you can trim off the watermark.

I often take this approach because I often find the watermark distracting in a finished painting. You may want to read my post about watercolor blocks for more tips about using them.

Do you need special paper for watercolor? While you can use different types of paper for watercolor painting, you will get the best results if you use high quality watercolor paper. Some drawing paper will accept light washes of watercolor, but it will probably buckle. Which paper is best for watercolor? Choosing a quality paper will have more impact upon your results than any other variables. Some of the more popular brands are Arches, Saunders, and Fabriano.

There are many others that will produce good results.