ArtBeek Watercolor Pad 9x12 Inch, 32 Sheets (140lb/300gsm), 100% Cotton Watercolor Paper,Cold Pressed,Acid-Free, Art Sketchbook Pad for Painting & Drawing, Wet, Mixed Media

Very much LOVE this ArtBeek 100% cotton watercolor paper! I'm still a beginner learning watercolor, but it is so much more enjoyable to learning to paint on 100% cotton than compared to even the top brands of wood pulp paper. Have bought several pads of this now, since my first purchase last spring, and the spiral bound format makes it a perfect practice journal. It may not be as good as Arches, but then again Arches is also way far more expensive too. Lowest price I've seen for Arches' 12 sheets is $18, compared to ArtBeek's 32 sheets for $18. So best case scenario is Arches is nearly 3 times more expensive. As a beginner, Arches is just too expensive for me to be doing lots of practice painting on, but this ArtBeek paper makes it possible to achieve the expected results seen in video and book tutorials (because it is cotton) while having the freedom to "just paint" and fill up the whole pad of paper with practice drills, doodles and whatever.

I started watercolor painting as a hobby this year - just learning by YouTube videos. I’ve been using cellulose watercolor paper and since I prefer wet on wet techniques, it just turns into a mushy mess. I can’t afford premium like Arches right now, especially for how few sheets you get. This paper held up beautifully under washes so far! No pilled paper, no mush. Definitely recommend for beginners that want to practice wet on wet.

I purchased this as a practice pad. I’m taking a class in watercolor so plenty of practice required.

I haven't used this paper enough yet to know it's full potential but based on seeing and touching it and the few paintings that I've done on the paper, my first impression is that it is very similar to the strathmore 100% cotton watercolor paper. I do doubt if it is in fact cotton because it has a very wood pulp paper effect with the paint but I know that some cotton watercolor paper is like that. I do like it. I know that there would be certain paintings that I will want to do specifically on this paper but I doubt that I will buy it again. Possibly, because it is so similar to the strathmore paper, I might buy this one instead of the strathmore but not sure. The paper is in a pad with a spiral binding on top but it doesn't have a tear section so if you want to remove the paper from the pad, you would have to tear it from the rings or cut it. I do find that slightly aggravating but at the same time, other pads that are made like this I have to end up cutting anyway because the dotted line where you tear the paper always leaves a jagged edge anyway. I wouldn't recommend this for beginners, I would say this is a good paper for people who have a decent foundation with painting already as a cheaper alternative for scrap paper or practice paper. I wouldn't use this paper for professional paintings that you intend to sell or give away. It did take liquid watercolor pretty well. There was only some slight blurring/fuzziness when the liquid watercolor was being used in high concentration with very little water. If you mix water with the liquid watercolor, it seemed to work pretty well. Other than that, my tube paints and pan paints had similar effects on this paper to wood pulp paper with uneven drying time, creating hard lines, blooms, and general uneven washes. It's not horrible but I am mentioning this so you know what to expect with this paper. I will continue to use it for practice or certain paintings when I was that slight messiness in the painting. I will still continue to use my bachmore watercolor paper as my main practice paper though.

Just what I wanted

ArtBeek cold pressed cotton watercolor paper is really a good watercolor paper, it doesn't bead up when you have to correct or add layers of color. I'm happy with my purchase!!Great product!

The paper if fine, but the reason I got 100% cotton watercolor paper was the durability. When adding too much water (as you do in watercolors), it does not hold together as well as I expected. It works fine, just don’t put too much water on it.

Ok for the price but I don’t think it is 100% cotton.

Muy buen precio pero parece que No es 100% algodon. El gramaje es adecuado, pero no absorve el agua ni la pintura. Parece que tuviera una capa de algo que repele la pintura. No funciona como cualquier papel para acuarela 100% algodón. Lo devolví y estoy esperandoel reembolso. Y compré Strathmore, prensa fría y caliente, los dos son muy buenos.