Drawing on Saunders Waterford Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper.

Another of my favourite papers to draw on is Saunders Waterford hot pressed watercolour paper. It is cylinder mould made, 100% cotton paper made by St. Cuthbert's Mill. It is gelatine surface sized which means it is not vegan. It is also buffered with calcium carbonate to defend work from discolouration caused by acids in pollution. This makes it archival.

Saunders Waterford HP is a softer paper than the Arches Aquarelle HP watercolour paper. It also provides a smooth drawing surface. That is the only issue I have with this paper, that my drawings often turn out ghostly. This is probably because there is not much tooth to catch the graphite particles.

If you like high contrast in your drawings or deep blacks, then this may not be the paper for you. A better option could be Langton Prestige hot pressed watercolour paper as this has a bit more texture. It is also 100% cotton. My solution to this issue is to use darker pencils than my favourite Faber-Castell 9000's. I find the Conte a Paris graphite pencils work well on this paper as they run darker.

Saunders Waterford is available in A1 sheets, 11 by 15 inch black cover pads with one deckled edge in different paper weights, and gummed blocks in various sizes. Jackson's Art Supplies keeps a good range of Saunders Waterford papers. Saunders Waterford | Jackson's Art

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