Testing paints, paper and brushes was part of my life over the last few years and I try to improve my reviews to make them reliable and informative as well.
So today I want to share how I test papers and what my intentions are and why I decided to do what I do.
Chapters
- Why I Think Testing Is Important
- My Considerations When Testing Watercolor Paper
- My Criteria for Watercolor Paper Tests
- The Testing Process
- A List of My Supplies
- Transparent Testing Leads To Transparent Results
Why I Think Testing Is Important
First I find reviews incredibly important myself. Before every big purchase, be it art supplies or other things in life, I look up, read and watch lots of reviews. I want to be sure that what I spend my money on is not trash, but will indeed suit me and my needs. Oftentimes I’m already aware what I need and want from my purchases, especially the bigger ones. It can be a certain aesthetic, but it also can be functionality. With those information I feel safe to make educated decisions whether to buy a product or leave it be and look for a better solution. It makes me feel good, when I know the things I buy fill a need and will be enjoyable to use.
It reminds me of the early days of my personal YouTube channel where I was finding myself in terms of presenting my art. Challenges were in just as they are now and I was intrigued by the “cheap art supplies challenge”. I knew my skill was enough to tackle this, because oftentimes you can compensate supplies that aren’t working ideally with skill. The watercolors that I chose for this challenge were cheap indeed and I tried painting with them. It was horrible.
I felt like all the way through the painting I was fighting the supplies. The colors were dull and chalky. It was difficult to achieve a dark value and in the end, after they dried, the paints crumbled off the paper. It was a mess from beginning to end.
It’s also when I chose to use only supplies I would enjoy. Because art is a passion and I want to have fun painting. And I want others to have fun too. It’s why I decided to do reviews to share my findings and opinion. I imagine it will help prevent others from feeling the same disappointment as I do, in case something really just won’t work.
Even on small paintings I can see how paint and paper behave.
My Considerations When Testing Watercolor Paper
As a painter I know, that paper is incredibly important for success when it comes to using watercolors. Paper influences the brush strokes but also how colors lay down, spread and show themselves. With the many papers that I have tried until now, I tested some of the properties but was never as consistent with the criteria as I was with watercolors.
The criteria have also developed over time and my testing became more thorough. I am aware, and was from the beginning, that simple swatches may give awesome first impressions, but will never show the true abilities or weaknesses of both paints and paper. Therefore because of my goal to create reliable content and tests, the list of criteria to test grew.
My Criteria for Watercolor Paper Tests
Especially for the last tests I made a list of criteria to pay attention to. Which I think is pretty complete. But if you feel like something is needed, please let me know. I truly want to improve the tests for the benefit of us all.
The Hahnemühle The Collection Watercolour 300 review was the first, where I used this list. Even if most of the criteria are found in the previous reviews, this one actually shows them as a list.
Here it is:
| Criteria | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| haptics/feel | ||
| blooms/painting wet in wet | ||
| buckling | ||
| paint flow | ||
| granulation | ||
| glazing | ||
| lifting | ||
| glow of the colors | ||
| masking tape | ||
| masking fluid | ||
| erasing/surface damage |
The rating will show 1 to 5 stars, kind of like a personal grading system. It is accompanied by notes that I take during testing and my personal impressions.
Simple landscapes are great to test flow, mixing on the surface, buckling, granulation but also lifting and how the paper deals with all of these techniques.
The Testing Process
In addition I do not only swatch on the paper, but create four paintings to properly observe the paper’s behavior. To do that reliably, I use my custom Schmincke Horadam palette on the frond and back of the paper, to be able to see how the back of the paper handles water and paint. One I paint with Lukas 1862 Aquarell and the last using QoR watercolors.
I chose these brands, because I know them well and know how they should behave and look. By using the same supplies each time, I can be more objective about the paper. While if I used different paints every time, I might confuse behavior of the paints with behavior of the paper. Vice versa I do the same for watercolor paint reviews, where I use the same paper for all the swatches and testing to be able to compare the paints better.
A List of My Supplies
- Schmincke Horadam watercolors on amazon
- Lukas 1862 Aquarell on amazon
- Golden QoR watercolors (High Chroma) on amazon
Affiliate links to Amazon and Jackson’s were used where possible to help support the site and database. I will receive a small commission when these are used for purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Transparent Testing Leads To Transparent Results
Of course I leave myself room to take other notes too, when I notice something worth mentioning and add properties to my reviews, which everyone could look up. The goal is to create a little collection of reviews to be able to quickly look up and decide whether the supplies would suit the next project or not.
I was not paid to create any of the reviews (so far) and will always mention when I receive products for free. I want my reviews be as unbiased as possible, although I know, that this is not possible.
By making all the criteria for the tests transparent, I want to make the ratings reliable to you. In the end your supplies must suit you more than me. And it’s important that you can make educated decisions on your purchases. So please read and watch other reviews as well to make your decision!
Have a wonderful and creative day!
Lana