Artists producing pet portraits have many painting surfaces to choose from, but if you’re using water colour the best choice has to be water colour paper. The manufacture of high quality paper for artists can be thought of an art form in itself and undertaken by skilled craftsmen. Top of the range are the ones that are hand made, and offer the artist surfaces to suit their preferred painting technique. These hand made papers are manufactured with a high linen content. Care is taken to completely remove the impurities from the paper and then treating it with a layer of size to create the perfect surface for the artists purposes. These high quality hand made papers can be differentiated by a watermark, this not only gives you the manufacturers name but tells you which is the correct side on which to paint. All papers have a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ side, the right side will be thoughtfully prepared for the artist with a size and consistent texture.
Paper Types
Hot pressed paper (sometimes referred to as HP) has a smooth hard surface. This type of paper is good for artists using pencils, pen and ink or line and wash. It is usually considered too smooth for water colour painting, though some may prefer this side effect.
Cold pressed paper is often referred to as ‘NOT’, as in not hot pressed. This is a courser paper with a semi-rough surface. It provides a good support for water colourists who wish to create smooth washes or fine detailed brush work. This sort of paper holds the centre ground as far as texture goes and is more often than not suitable for the novice painter as it is suitable for most water colour effects.
Rough paper is most textured of the water colour papers, with a very defined “tooth”. When the artist uses a thin wash on this type of paper, the finish can be speckled, this is due to the pigment in the paint collecting in the recesses of the surface. In addition, it’ll leave higher areas of paper white, giving a brighter effect. These effects are often ultilised by the artist to produce the look and feel they wish to achieve, even so, they are unpredictable, so can be difficult for the inexperienced artist to control.
