Barbara on Hot Pressed Paper

Trying out more things with water colors – in this case a bit different paper.

It is “Hot Pressed” – which means it is much smoother than the “Cold Pressed” I used the last times. It dries faster and doesn’t create as many of those little hard edges where the water dries, making it easier to create even surfaces. Practical for female portraits I suppose – and maybe technical paintings.
On the other hand – the color stays in the paper more, which makes later corrections harder.

Barbara, water color on 23x31cm paper

Barbara, water color on 23x31cm paper

From the look of the fine grain I think this is the paper Votsmush is using for his works (see also here). I can imagine that he his using toned paper – something I will search for too, for more experimentation.

Alexander Votsmush - Postcard From Memory (2006)

Alexander Votsmush - "Postcard From Memory" (2006)

William Trost Richards, also a great watercolorist (from the 19th century), used “moderately textured wove paper”. Not sure how it compares to today’s papers. But it’s also toned, which allowed him to easily create focus points like the highlighted boat.

William Trost Richards - Calm Before the Storm (ca. 1874)

William Trost Richards - "Calm Before the Storm" (ca. 1874)