Arches Watercolor Paper Block, Hot Press, 5.9" x 11.8", 140 pound

Best watercolor paper! Hot and cold pressed are excellent. It's a good investment.

Not much NOT to love about this paper. For me, it’s top of the line. The texture of the hot pressed is very fine, which is my preference, as I like to do mixed media and use pen, marker, pencils etc etc in my artwork, and the fine texture allows me to do that with good results as opposed to the cold pressed - which is nice too, but for just plain watercolor. I have both, but prefer the hot pressed. It seems like I used to remember the price point being much higher than the others, which isn’t so much the case anymore. If you’re a serious artist, it’s pretty much a prerequisite that you have this paper in your stash. Arches has little buckling or warping (which sets it apart), and paint reacts well with the paper, allowing lots of different effects - blending, granulating, gradient washes, whatever. It’s a great paper. Zero complaints.

I've been painting since the 1970s and using Arches Watercolor Blocks since the 1980s. The paper they use is reliably high quality and not yet found it's equal in other brands. The glue they use at the edges to hold the paper flat and taught is strong, yet easy to cut through with a palette knife. Still, although the glue is strong I have to be careful to keep the larger blocks flat and not stress the pad to avoid breaking the bond between the paper and backing board. Treat the block with care and you will have a wonderful product to the last page.

I definitely pressed the cold press but it does make for smooth lines if you have a veryyyy steady hand.

Hard press is by far the best to start with watercolor.

Arches the best paper, no other water color paper compares. Never ordering from Amazon again tho, product shipped in such bad shape and the block is already coming apart. Must’ve been sitting in some mad heat cause the wax holding the block together is disintegrating. It’s salvageable but I’m giving my money to an art store next time instead of Amazon for real.

Really enjoyed using the hot press version of Arches for the first time. I’m working on expanding my skills with watercolors, having started painting only a year and half ago. I do recommend that others with my level of inexperience do some reading about the different ways that washes will react with hot press paper compared to cold press paper. I did find that there was less time to apply large multiple colored washes wet into wet, but it didn’t prevent me from creating a final product that I liked. As always, Arches paper quality was impeccable. Very satisfied!

Perfect. No better water color paper exists in this world!!! The sizing is even and on every inch of the paper, no surprises or disappointments. The pigments spread totally evenly in every direction. Even in the dry desert climate here in Santa Fe, the time it takes before the color dries is decent. Except for some very staining colors, like bright pinks, the lift-off is great. You’ll definitely will feel like a better artist using this paper!

I’ve used it for many of my paintings, but compared to the much cheaper Arches green notebook, the quality doesn’t justify the price. I wouldn’t buy it again.

Amazing quality of papers and works beautifully with markers

折れ曲がりビニールが破れていたので、売れ残りの傷ありで紙質の劣化と金額を考えると 失敗したと⋯⋯直ぐに新しい保管用ビニール袋に乾燥剤を入れました。 ビニールが破れて湿気にふれた部分はどこまで紙に影響してるか一枚描いてみたら カゼ引きはセーフ？ちょっと水の吸い込みが良すぎる部分がやっぱりありました。 安いので旧パッケージを買ってみたのですが、紙は高額でも新しい方が安心します。

... etwas teuer, daher ein Stern Abzug.

Aquarelle