Continuing with my rekindled love for watercolors, I set out to test two different qualities of paper to determine if it’s actually worth investing in the more expensive material. In one corner we have FABRIANO 200gr paper made out of 25% cotton. It’s OK, but heavier washes tend to settle unevenly and provoke back-runs; lifting out breaks the paper and leaves a bit rag-like appearance.
In the other, a DALER ROWNEY watercolor postcard, 300gr Langton Not. It’s a heavier paper with better sizing that lays smoother washes and allows for smoother lifting and glazing. The difference might not be really visible in the scanned results, but the feel while working definitely is. The latter allows more control; I only need to learn to profit from it:-)
As a side note, both images were sketched with SCABIOSA before painting. On both of these papers of more quality the ink performs even better than in the initial testing, setting deep in fibers, bleeding mildly under only the heaviest washes and providing a beautiful subdued shade, not as dominant as pure black.