Amazon Basics Watercolor Pad, 9"x12", 140 lb / 300 gsm, 30 Sheets, White

Look...I bought this just to prove it isn't good which sounds awful but I have bought every brand of 100% cotton watercolor paper on Amazon to find MY PERSONAL FAVORITE. I think arches is lovely and in the beginning it certainly taught me the importance of 100% cotton and so did the not cotton brands like Canson and Strathmore . (shocked by how terrible they were). If you go to Michael's for watercolor paper, it's like you get the best, arches or you get the next level and it's Canson and Strathmore which are enough to make you want to give up. Watercolor is a challenging medium and unfortunately if you really want to give a fair shot you can't cheap out on certain things... like paper. Now I'm not a real artist but I watercolor every single day so I go thorough a ton of paper. I just buy a ton of supplies in general so I may not be a professional but I know whats good and what's not. When it comes to paper, I love arches but unless you're buying the heavier options they offer that arent offered by all the brands, there's lots of great paper out there. Personally, I really like a WHITE paper (Winsor & Newton, New York Central, Hahnemhle, and Meeden are where I'm happy) but believe me a lot of 100% cotton isn't great but it's personal i think. What I can honestly say is that I've never tried a paper that's NOT ALL COTTON that's worth buying again. I was consistently disappointed with the way the pigment dried unevenly on the paper. Now that could be my lame artistic skills but it's just another reason why you need nice cotton paper to learn watercolor or you may give up thinking you are the problem when it's the paper. Also not a fan of the way some of them have a strange "faux" cotton texture to them. If it's not cotton, it's just weird (arteza). This does have a HOT PRESS kind of finish but hot press doesn't always dry as nice as this does. I'm just impressed and I'm about to save a ton of money because I'm gonna save a ton of money with this paper. I do love a block over a pad but not that much more. If you like hot press or Hahnemhle cold press paper (its the priciest of my top 3 brands), I think you'll be pleased with this, honestly. Oh ..I ordered this morning and I got it by 3pm. Nice!

This is a fantastic paper for it's price. I used this as a sketching paper with gouache, and it holds up nicely. It does warp with heavy water use, which I feel is expected, but it maintains integrity just fine. I even coated it in an acrylic matte medium and used oil paint on top, and its working great. Great value.

Very nice paper for doing watercolors, it holds up well with no issues, allowing you to create your own masterpieces. I gave this to a family member and she's very pleased with the paper quality, and has given me 3 of her art works so far.

nice thick watercolor paper!

One big problem with people disappointed with their WC paper is they are buying the wrong paper for the technique they are trying to use. For instance, if you are trying to do a big juicy wet on wet painting with lots of water and pigment and slop--don't buy this paper. It won't work. It will buckle, not absorb the way you want, you will be an unhappy camper. On the other hand, I use this paper a LOT for pen and ink with watercolor washes over. I use it for mixed media. I even use it for acrylic paintings. For these purposes I know the limits of what I can get away with and don't expect this paper to compete with 100% pure cotton paper that costs 4-8x times more ! This is good weight paper, it is cellulose and so I don't know how permanent a finished piece would last but I'm not creating work that is selling for $1000 a watercolor. I like this for what it is. The pricing is very competitive, I pull single sheets out and tape it to a board and paint away. No complaints for what it is. When I need thicker paper I go up to 300 vs 140 lb weight, when I need real absorbency I suck it up and spend big $$ for 100% cotton. So yes, I'd rec this for practice on works not needing cotton, for pen and ink or even drawing where some water will be use. For non fluid acrylic works as well.

This was a gift for my granddaughter. She said it was a nice art pad and good for watercolor painting and drawing.

I'm working on various watercolor projects, so I ordered several different pads of watercolor paper to see which works best.When they arrived, I was surprised. I'll admit that I expected this pad to be... well... just "basic." I'd planned to use it to test a few watercolor techniques and mixed media ideas.However, this paper is nicer than expected, and heavy, too. Oh, it doesn't have as much "tooth" (texture) as some of the other pads, but for my artwork plans, the relative smoothness of the paper is a plus. I can draw on it with an art marker, and the ink doesn't skip or - at the other extreme - blob in spots.Compared with pads of watercolor paper I'd bought at a local art supply store and some of the other pads I've ordered online, the Amazon Basics pad is a clear winner for versatility and value. I'll order it again in the future.

Thick good quality watercolor paper for artists.