What brand of watercolour paper do you like?

[tinkertrain]

Same as the paint brand thread, but paper. Paper is what plays the most significant part in watercolour painting in my opinion, there are a lot excellent paint brands but without good paper you'll never achieve a good result.

Since sourcing paper (and the price) depends on where you are located, please state it so other people close to you know they can get it too.

I haven't tried many brands myself, I'm in Spain and I got a pack of 10 sheets of 100% cotton, 300g (140lb I think), rough texture from Winsor & Newton for about €40. Good texture, takes water well (if your technique uses a lot of water you might want to stretch it) and it's nicely sized (perhaps a bit on the heavy sizing side), it's a nice paper to paint on. I don't know about the USA or other parts of the world but getting this paper anywhere in Europe should be easy and not too expensive.

For sketchbooks, I have some from Etchr (international shipping is free), I ordered a couple of hot press (never tried the smooth surface before, it's nice but not for me) and some cold, they're pretty nice sketchbooks with 100% cotton paper.

 

[Artyczar]

I'm an Arches fan, hot press. I also like Fabriano, both 300g. Both the smooth finish (hot press). I also like those deckled edges.

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

Saunders-Waterford #200 (425 gsm) Rough. Unfortunately, this particular paper/weight/texture is not available in the USA.

 

[HaroldRoth]

I have been using Strathmore Gemini 500 CP 300#. I got it from Jerry's at 10 full sheets for $115 plus $3 shipping with a promo code for the shipping. This stuff is so tough. You can scrub and scrub without harming it. Also, it doesn't have the character at 300# of being like blotter, which some other heavy papers do. It is very heavily sized; the paint stays on top. You don't get the toweling I've gotten with Saunders Waterford or Fabriano, where the paint sinks in and little white fibers of paper stick up like a towel. It doesn't have a smell like Arches sometimes does or give off any fumes. Prior to this, I was using Magnani Aquarello 275# CP, also from Jerry's, but I like the Strathmore Gemini 500 more.

 

[Marksmomagain]

Moulin du Roy is being clearanced at Hobby Lobby for $2.75 per sheet 300lb.