Arches watercolour paper is a 100% cotton paper. Arches Watercolor Paper is a professional grade watercolor paper of the highest quality. Manufactured in the same French mill since 1492, Arches watercolor papers are produced on a cylinder mould with pure French stream water. Made with natural gelatin sizing; naturally white containing no optical brightners offers optimal longevity. Each sheet of Arches watercolor paper is hand inspected to ensure consistency and durability. Arches is strong enough to handle multiple washes of color, masking fluid, scrubbing and artist tape without damage to the surface. Each sheet is permeated with sizing to give each fiber a consistent feel and absorbency. It is an ideal paper for watercolor and other wet media, and can also be used for drawing and printmaking. Acid-free.
Arches is available in ROUGH, COLD PRESSED (NOT) and HOT PRESSED (HP).
The rough is the roughest paper, NOT is a medium texture and HP is smooth.
Each pack contains 5 full imperial sheets of paper, which can be cut into 1/2 or 1/4 imperial at no extra charge.
Please note that if the paper is cut then there will no longer be deckled edges on all four sides. When the paper is cut, in half, there will be 3 deckle edges and when the paper is cut, in quarter, there will be 2 deckle edges.
Prices reduced when you buy two packs or more of the same weight of paper in any surface.
All packs of paper* are supplied in the following options as regards size:
Pack Size | Inches | CM | No. Sheets |
Full Imperial | 30"x22" | 76.2x55.9cm | 5 |
Half Imperial | 22"x15" | 55.9x38.1cm | 10 |
Quarter Imperial | 15"x11" | 38.1x27.9cm | 20 |
Switching to painting watercolour on 100% cotton rather than paper is a revelation. The way paint and water moves on this surface is so different and makes for excellent pictures. Karen Alexander (Gosport, United Kingdom) on 17 Aug 2012
This is the only paper that I use and I can thoroughly recommend it's qualities.
I prefer half sheet 300gsm rough and don't stretch the paper. It takes very wet to dry applications very well and has the correct tone of whiteness for highlights to shine through. It's tough and great for Plien air work. Jeffrey Monaghan (Belfast, United Kingdom) on 18 Jun 2012
The only problem is the amount of space taken up by the embosed water mark. I cut it out to make practice pieces. sylviawardley@talktalk.net (Poulton-le-Fylde, United Kingdom) on 19 Jul 2013