Clairefontaine - Ref 421/1021Z - Goldline Watercolour Studio Glued Pad (Pack of 100 Sheets) - 24 x 32cm in Size, 200gsm mix of cotton and cellulose, High Absorbency

The quality of the paper is pretty good, not far off the best water colour paper that is available. Medium texture, which can give an impressive watercolour effect, but not smooth type.We have been using this for a mixed ability class and some of the painting have been excellent.At the same time, the cost of this paper makes it great for students or practice pieces.I can’t recommend this paper enough, excellent quality at a price that can’t be beaten. It certainly gives my top watercolour paper (which is around £3 a sheet) a real “can you see a difference”.Recommended for watercolour and line and wash, a bit too course for fine colour pencil work, or any smooth airbrush work as the paper has some texture (obviously it is only presenting itself as watercolour paper).

In this review, let me start by saying that I don't consider this professional watercolour paper for finished works, but it is MUCH better than something like Canson XL or the terrible student grade Winsor & Newton pads. I bought this specifically for practice and color studies, and it does the job (for the most part). Let me explain thoroughly:It's very important that before you buy, you understand a few things. First, this pad is only secured on one side, so you cannot use it like a normal watercolor pad (where you paint on it, let it dry, then cut it off the pad). Second, it is pretty lightweight (200gsm), so it will buckle if you do not stretch or tape the page flat. Third, because it is internally and externally sized, the paint may remain wet for a little longer period of time. I also wonder exactly how archival the paper is (considering it is half cotton and half non-lignin cellulose), as I cannot seem to find any information about how this paper was tested. I did an acid test of my own, and it came out at the proper PH level for watercolor, so there is at least that.In fact, it's worth noting that I can't find any manufacturer information whatsoever about this pad on either the ExaClair website, or the Clairefontaine website. Which makes me wonder if this particular product is discontinued, and the seller is just getting rid of an excess of backstock. Be wary of getting attached! I wouldn't be surprised if one day this just silently disappeared into the abyss of formerly beloved art supplies.All that being disclosed... Lets talk about what I like:This behaves very closely to a high quality full cotton paper in many ways. I would say it's even closer to acting like a full cotton paper, than the St. Cuthbert's Mill Bockingford 300gsm cold press paper. It's easy to lift color (even phthalo greens!), the color actually looks crisp and bright, you can get decent edges, and you can blend. I have done some hard lifting on the paper, and it's never pilled. You can get beautiful dispersion, blooms, and interesting wet-in-wet patterns from the paper. I was able to achieve decent glazing, as long as the layer below was completely dry, and I wasn't working super wet. My only concern is that the paper is so thin, you have to be cautious with multiple wet layers (I would even go so far as to say maybe 3-4 super wet washes, max... and let it dry between). You can draw lightly and erase lines without damaging the paper.In a lot of ways this paper acts more like hot press--decent level of detail can be achieved, lots of time to work the page before it dries, an extremely low level of tooth. I was very pleased with what I could do with dry brush texturing. Since I'm studying botanical painting, this is a nice affordable option to practicing on hot press paper.I have not yet stretched the paper (I prefer to just tape it down tightly and patiently wait for each layer to dry)... In fact, I would be a little wary of that, since there is a considerable amount of sizing in the paper. I'd even be hesitant to do stretching of the paper after a work is finished (a la Billy Showell). Maybe in the future I'll attempt it but take far less time to allow it to soak and see how it does.As for other uses... It's got decent enough tooth for some drawing materials, but you'd probably have to use a fixative if you did many layers of conte, charcoal, or pastel.If any of the terms I'm using here are foreign to you, I suggest you take a look at handprint.com and really get to know your art materials and options, and how to test them for your specified uses.You can't really beat the value of the pad. Just know you get what you pay for, and use it accordingly. Great practice or student paper, not great for multiple super wet washes or a professional work (please don't screw your customers over--buy a high quality and well-documented archival 100% cotton paper for works you plan to sell).

I wanted lots of inexpensive archival cold pressed paper to make reference swatches from that didn't have too intrusive a texture and was about the same colour as Bockingford. This fitted the bill perfectly.The stamp made a clear impression on it, the pigment ink didnt run when painted over and the paints dried the same colour as on standard Bockingford and Saunders Waterford paper. Since I was only using small pieces its light weight and inevitable cockling weren't an issue and I was pleased to find pen with pigment ink didn't feather either.I like to see how paper performs so I've spent a happy evening messing around with this and was pleasantly surprised. The surface is good - lightly textured - which makes it easy to get a clean line with ink or pencil. It is tough enough to stand erasing with a polymer eraser without the surface being damaged. Watercolours do not dry dull, granulating colours show to advantage and it copes with wet on wet techniques surprisingly well. The surface is resilient enough to allow lifting of paint and softening unwanted hard edges without pilling or abrading.This said it is a 90lb practice paper. Each sheet has to be detached from the pad before use and attached to a board. It will and does buckle, but not that much more than many cheap cellulose140 lb papers I've used. I feel that it is definitely one of the better quality practice papers I've tried. The sizing and cotton content make a big difference. (Most of the economy100% cellulose papers tend to fall apart if you try to scrub or lift and colours dry dull.) I am sure that it is too lightweight to withstand a lot of soaking or scrubbing but it is good quality and excellent value. This paper will allow you the freedom to try out many techniques, mixes and brush handling before attempting a finished piece using your best and more expensive paper.

This is a great pad, especially for beginners and those of us who like to practise and not use the expensive stuff. I converted the pad to a block, using PVA adhesive on the sides, leaving a gap or two for palette knife to separate the sheets. Very substantial. I like to mix my colours, predominately, on the paper, so Arches, with its hard size, works well for me. This paper has more of a soft sizing, which alters the effect. It's early days, but if you want to paint and paint and paint, without breaking the bank, this pad will do nicely.

Muito boa relação preço/qualidade. Vou comprar mais.

Cercavo una carta a buon prezzo per fare prove colore e schizzi veloci ad acquarello, se attaccata a una tavoletta regge benino l’acqua, si imbarca poco, meglio di altre carte cellulosa da 300g che ho provato. Si riesce anche a lavorare a più strati (senza esagerare) se si lascia asciugare lo strato precedente perfettamente, a patto di fare pennellate veloci. Non paragonabile a una carta cotone 100%, ma comunque davvero un buon acquisto.

Hoe aantrekkelijk het ook is om een blok met honderd vellen papier te bestellen voor een goede prijs je hebt er niks aan omdat het te dun is het bubbelt zodra het nat wordt jammer!

CE BLOC À 9 EUROS ET DES POUSSIÈRESÉTAIT UNE AUBAINE MALHEUREUSEMENTLA SEMAINE SUIVANTE LE PRIX AVAIT DOUBLÉ.TRÈS BONNE QUALITÉ DE PAPIERUN CÔTÉ GRAINÉET LE VERSO, LISSE.:DONC DES TECHNIQUES HUMIDES ET SÈCHES.FORMAT LÉGÈREMENT PLUS GRAND QUE LE A4 !100 FEUILLES.POUR TOUTES CES RAISONS,CLAIREFONTAINEÉTAIT DEVANT LECANSONQUE JE PRENDS HABITUELLEMENT.MERCI DE M'AVOIR LU !PAM.

I’m satisfied with the quality, I do children book illustrations and it’s enough for me, sure you can have more fun with heavier papers but think about the number of papers you get with that money, 100 :)