Saunders Waterford Rough Press Watercolor Paper Review
Saunders Waterford paper is definitely artist grade paper. It's lovely to paint on, with a nicely sized surface so the paper holds paint correctly. No blotting paper effects here!
St Cuthberts Mill, where the paper has been made since the 1700's, is known for its high quality papers. The sheets are mould made on a traditional cylinder moulding machine. Not too many of these machines still exist and they definitely produce superior paper. They use old fashioned wool felts for blotting the paper and you can see their texture imprinted on the paper.
It's like painting on a piece of history!
Sheets of paper have four deckle edges. Two of the sides are true deckles, and two cut deckles. The result looks beautiful.
The blocks of paper are glued on four edges. I'm almost at the end of my block and I haven't noticed any pulling up around the edges. It's holding up beautifully to some extremely rough treatment.
Note: I have only tried the rough press block of paper. Sometimes blocks and sheet paper have different textures, so I can't comment on the sheets of paper.
Positives
Saunders Waterford paper is the most textured rough press paper I've painted on.
I absolutely love the extreme roughness of the texture. It makes dry brush the easiest stroke you can do. Hit and miss strokes with a wet brush are a piece of cake. A little less pressure on the brush and you're there!
The paper holds washes well. It dries reasonably quickly and keeps pigment to the area painted.
While this sounds simple, so many papers can't do this little thing. They bleed and feather unexpectedly. You're so busy compensating for the poor sizing that you can't concentrate on the painting. Saunders Waterford watercolor paper does a really good job of letting paint stay where you want it!
The block I'm using is well glued. Nice and neat and holding up to terrible treatment in a backpack beautifully.
This is also less common than you'd think. I've had Arches blocks come completely unglued three sheets in.
Negatives
The sizing could be slightly better. It isn't perfect at pulling pigment off of. In my YouTube review, I show you the difference in lifting pigments between Arches rough and Saunders Waterford rough. This paper is definitely inferior in lifting to Arches, but it's still completely usable. Just know not to expect quite as much lifting as Arches. This is especially noticeable on staining pigments, of course.
I think the slightly poorer lifting ability is just something to plan around, not a reason not to use the paper. This is definitely not the poor performance in lifting of pretty much all student papers. There's no question this is a professional paper.
I've been painting on blocks a lot lately. Most of my paintings are on Twinrocker handmade paper or on a block. One reason is no stretching is easier. The other is I paint plein aire frequently and again, it's easier juggling a block with a dog and kids. I can just pop the cover sheet over it and go, while a loose sheet can get damaged more easily.
In the United States, Saunders Waterford paper is not available in as many places as Arches paper. The range of block sizes are decidedly inferior, with larger sizes simply not made.
To me, the reason I probably won't be using Saunders Waterford watercolor paper much is the grain of the paper. The grain pattern is too regular and perfect for my style. I think it's more suited to painting buildings and city scenes, not landscapes.
I paint more natural subjects than manmade subjects, so an irregular pattern suits me better, especially when it is so noticeable.
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Value
Nice quality artist paper, fair price.
| Paper Finish Type | Weight | Durability | Saturation | Finish | Color | Overall Feel | Value Full Sheet (22" x 30") |
Sample with Pthalo Blue, Cadmium Red, Quinacridone Gold or Nickel Azo Yellow |
Overall Rating |
| Rough | 140 | B | A | A | Warm White | Very rough texture | $ 8.15 |
|
A |
