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Drawing on Arches Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper.


Years ago I found a sample pack of Arches watercolour paper and loved it. I forgot about Arches paper until I was in a shop called Blank Canvas in Ossett near Wakefield.  I saw some Arches watercolour pads and blocks and obviously, I had to buy some. I bought a pad, a block and an expensive A1 sheet of 600g/m2  hot pressed paper. 

The Arches hot pressed paper has become one of my favourite papers to draw on. It is 100% cotton, cylinder mould made paper with great archival qualities. It is gelatine sized to the core which makes it a very tough paper. This means that it erases well without causing any damage to the paper. It also means that it is not vegan. It is a lovely natural cream colour, which I like a lot, but if you prefer white paper, this may not be for you.

There is a very slight texture that the pencil picks out when drawing, but I quite like this aspect of the paper. The texture becomes part of the drawing. I also find it to be quite a forgiving paper in that it doesn't show every pencil stroke, everything blends together well on it so it suits the way I draw. The hot pressed watercolour paper is available in single A1 sheets with lovely deckled edges, pads glued on one side and blocks glued on four sides. These do not have the deckled edges. 


Arches is expensive, but for me it is worth it, especially if you want a lovely drawing surface, clean erasure and paper that is archival, if that is important to you. It is also great for the watercolours it is designed for and is one of the few papers that doesn't buckle or curl as it dries.

Arches also make three different drawing papers: Velin BFK Rives extra white, Velin d'Arches cream, Ingres d'Arches laid paper and Arches Lavis Fidelis for mixed media. I haven't tried any of these yet but if I do, I will post a review.

Below are some of the drawings I have done on the Arches hot pressed watercolour paper.








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