Multi-media Paper

I recently purchased some of the new Multi Media paper from Strathmore. This is a portion of a painting I just finished and I did like the new paper very much. Some of the pros are that it took watercolor washes quite well, and colored pencil worked much better on it than on the coldpress paper I had been using. For this painting I used watercolors, watercolor crayons, and colored pencils.

Some of the cons were that the watercolor seemed to have less depth, and the washes seemed more flat. Also, I was unable to lift highlights out with clean water, like I do with regular watercolor paper. I think I will try hot press watercolor paper at some point, as it will probably have the same texture as this paper, and I can buy it in a block, which is what I prefer. Watercolor paper comes in different textures: rough, coldpress, and hotpress. Coldpress had a medium texture and is more absorbant than hotpress.

All told though, I enjoyed using this paper and playing with my new watercolor crayons, and can't wait to start a new painting tomorrow!

New and Fun

I recently bought some Caran D'Ache watercolor crayons, and I am having such fun with them. This is a portion of a painting I did using the crayons for the background. I did a crayon layer, then a thin acrylic layer, then more crayons on the top. It is such fun to color again like I did as a child! For more detailed area, you can use the crayons just like a pan watercolor, and load your wet brush directly from it. I also purchased some mixed media paper to try instead of my usual watercolor paper, so I get to play with that next!