Colored pencils and paper

Another week has flown past and l thought l would finally get around to talking about something l have never really talked about before. Paper. Perhaps because l have at last written a page on it (l will put the link at the bottom of this blog).
I get asked a lot which paper l use? So my page will tell you which ones l use, or have tried, and my opinion of them.
There is really only one important thing about the surface you draw on with colored pencils (unless you want to sell your work or are otherwise worried about longevity, when you will need to choose acid free, archival quality paper), and that is .... it must be able to take lots of layers.
Many papers on the market either will not take all the layers you need to use or will buckle or tear as you use more pressure.
Colored pencil work is tough on paper. And some of us are harder on paper than others. I often use a very sharp pencil to emboss texture and certainly as l reach the last layers l use fairly heavy pencil pressure. Many papers simply can’t take this.

Nearly all paper, even that, that looks and feels smooth has some sort of tooth to it. Tooth is just the proper term for the tiny dents and dimples that make up the surface of the paper. To get a nice, smooth color layer all the tooth - or little dents - must be filled with color.
Strangely it is not always the case that the smoothest paper covers the most easily. It may depend on the pressure that you use, the pencils that you use, your blending techniques or the amount of layers you like to use.
Then too you have to think about the finished piece, do you like the texture of the paper to show or not?
The paper that you will like best will definitely be to your personal taste and style. But, and this is something l learned very quickly working on good quality paper makes a big difference to the ease with which you can achieve the results that you want.
l know people think that good quality paper is expensive, l used to think so too. But then l worked out the cost per piece of art, and l use one piece of paper a week - the cost is less than buying a cup of coffee! So don’t skimp on paper.
To see which ones l use click the link below.
Finally before l shut up for the week, l am absolutely delighted to have been awarded this from Feedspot!

Can’t quite believe it, but thank you so much to Feedspot and to all you lovely people who read my ramblings!

Paper reviews