Arches Watercolor Pad 9x12-inch Natural White 100% Cotton Paper - 12 Sheet Arches Watercolor Paper 140 lb Cold Press Pad - Arches Art Paper for Watercolor Gouache Ink Acrylic and More

Often arrives with the corners crushed due to inadequate packing materials. Excellent product!

Don’t even think about using a cheap paper. Cotton paper makes all the difference.

Want to improve your watercolor paintings? The BEST thing you can do for yourself is to start with good cotton paper. Expensive brushes wont do it neither will expensive paints yes they help but quality paper is your springboard. Buy this paper and you will see an improvement in paint control and flow. Happy painting !

Arches is the only watercolor paper I use. I love it.

This is the best price that I’ve seen on Arches paper so far. I thought I would try this paper because I’ve heard people say it’s the best. I’ve also heard it’s very expensive but it’s the most important thing in watercolors. They say if you’re just starting out with watercolor and want to invest in one good quality item, the best quality paper you can afford is the first thing you should buy. Then they say Arches is the brand of that high quality paper, always followed by, “it’s expensive but worth it”. I find that If you buy it from an art store at full price it is much more expensive. I have been able to find it on Amazon for a much better value. The paper is great and I do get better results when I paint on it. I feel like the paint behaves differently than on cheaper, cellulose paper. I buy this 9x12 paper pad then I cut the sheets down in halves or quarters. This stretches the value a bit further. I find that if I paint on an entire sheet of 9x12 I end up with a lot of empty space around the outside edges of the page anyway. I’m new to watercolor and have been working on composition but a lot of my practice focuses on single subjects. I do a lot of practice on cheaper paper and then bring out this Arches paper for the “higher quality” practice. The “practice” pieces that I don’t mind showing to other people. The cheaper, cellulose paper is a place for me to determine which colors work well for the subject I’m painting, to practice how to hold the brush or even the correct size of brush for the subject I want to paint. Like I said, I’m new to watercolor so I have to start from square one. Once I’ve figured that out I am able to bring out the cotton paper to practice my blending techniques, how much water to use, the different behaviors of all the colors on my palette, etc…. Arches paper is very forgiving for beginners like me because I find that the paper can stand up to the scrubbing and lifting of mistakes. If I accidentally use too much water the paper dries nicely (eventually) enough that the whole piece isn’t ruined. In the event that the piece doesn’t turn out well on the front of the paper I can still use the less textured back side of the paper so that it doesn’t go to waste. The paper is very durable since it’s so thick and made of cotton and it can handle being painted on the front and the back.

As somewhat of a beginner at watercolor painting, the Arches paper made a huge difference. The most important investment, in my experience, is in the paper. You have some control over the paint and the brushes, but theres nothing you can change about the paper to improve your watercolor. Worth the money for sure.

My favorite go to paper

Ive never found any watercolor paper comparable to Arches brand paper. So dont even try anything but.

This seems like lovely paper for my amateur artistry, but I’m tired of everything I receive from Amazon—especially paper products like this—smelling heavily if air freshener or cleaning products. Might think about buying it elsewhere if you have a preference for appropriately unscented items! Lol

I really like this watercolor paper but its hard on the budget.