Tuesday 26 April 2016

Watercolour Paper Review- Botanical Ultra Smooth


A review of the new Botanical Ultra Smooth paper from St Cuthberts Mill

Artist's hand painting Spanish lavender in watercolour using a sable brush on Botanical Ultra Smooth Paper

In recent months, watercolour paper has been a hot topic across social media. 

Many botanical artists, like myself, use the Fabriano Artistico Hot Press paper, and recent changes to the manufacturing process have left lots of artists feeling less than satisfied.  St. Cuthberts Mill, a British company, recently brought out two new papers, which they are marketing as an alternative- Saunders Waterford HP and the Botanical Ultra Smooth. 

So, when Jackson’s Art contacted me and asked me to try out the new Botanical Ultra Smooth for them, I immediately said yes. I haven't had any problems with the Fabriano Artistico myself, as I still have a reasonable stock of it, but like many, have been wondering what paper to get when I need to order more. There have been mixed reports about the Botanical Ultra Smooth (some good, some bad), so I was curious to see for myself just how this new paper performed.


The paper arrived and true to its name, it is very smooth … deliciously, enticingly smooth. It’s also very white, much whiter than any of the other papers that I have here. It is branded as being quite similar to Fabriano Classico, which is the paper that SBA Diploma students are given, and one with which I am quite familiar. Although the Fabriano Classico is okay, it is only 50% cotton, and so the paper surface can’t take a lot of abuse. Fabriano Artistico on the other hand is 100% cotton, and so stands up well to wet washes, lifting and the occasional scrubbing. 
The Botanical Ultra Smooth Paper is 50% cotton.... how will it fare?


With an open mind, I decided to paint a sprig of Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas on the Botanical Ultra Smooth. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The paint went on well, the colours were very crisp and clear, and I found that I could lift the paint quite easily. There was almost no bleed (as happens with softer papers), so it was easy to paint really fine details. That’s just as well, because Spanish lavender is covered with lots of really tiny dark purple flowers. The showy purple sepals on the top of the lavender needed wet washes and smooth blending in order to achieve the translucency, but again I had no problem.

Andrena fulva, Tawny Mining Bee illustration with Spanish lavender being painted in watercolour on Botanical Ultra Smooth Paper by Shevaun Doherty


I don’t know whether it was the warm sunshine and soothing scent of lavender in my studio, or simply the pleasant experience of painting on the silky smooth surface of the paper, but I decided to keep going. As it was Earth Day, I added a rare bee to my painting, the Tawny Mining Bee, Andrena fulva  (it's common to the UK, but rare in Ireland so if you spot one, take a photograph). Again, I had absolutely no difficulty rendering the fine details on the paper, which made me appreciate the paper even more.

Watercolour painting of Spanish lavender and a Tawny mining Bee on Botanical Ultra Smooth paper by Shevaun Doherty
Fine details were easy to render- no paper bleed and crisp, clean colours.

Soon one lavender sprig soon turned into a dozen. In fact, I would have kept painting, but ran out of space! 

Artist Shevaun Doherty's hand with brush and a watercolour painting of Spanish lavender

Just to compare, I decided to see how the lavender fared on my favourite Fabriano Artistico paper. The biggest difference really was the colour of the paper. I actually prefer the softer creamier colour of Fabriano, but really that’s a personal choice. Still, I think that the Botanical Ultra Smooth stood up well as a comparative paper for artists.

Spanish Lavender, Lavandula stoechas, watercolou painting on Fabriano Artistico paper

Finally, I decided that to be really fair, I should do a non-scientific test on all four HP papers- the Fabriano Classico, Saunders Waterford, Fabriano Artistico and Botanical Ultra Smooth. All of the papers are 300gsm.


I began with a wash of Cobalt Violet, which I often use in my first washes. It’s a great colour (ideal for reflected lights) but can be a bit difficult to handle because it granulates. The Botanical Ultra Smooth took the washes really well and gave the cleanest brightest results, which is unsurprising given the whiteness of the paper.

I then did washes of Winsor Violet (Dioxine), and tried lifting and scrubbing with a stiff brush and finally using the magic eraser. Winsor Violet is a wonderful pigment, but has a tendency to stain. Woe betide the artist who drops their brush loaded with this paint on their paper! The magic eraser is a great help, but really abrasive to the paper surface. 

Here are my results rated 1 (best performing) to 4 (least performing)


Fabriano Classico HP
Saunders Waterford HP
Fabriano Artistico HP
Botanical Ultra Smooth

50% cotton, 300gsm
100% cotton, 300 gsm
100% cotton, 300gsm
50% cotton, 300gsm
Whiteness
2
3
4
1
Smoothness to touch
4
3
2
1
Washes
4
1
2
3
Clarity of colour
4
2
3
1
Lifting
4
3
1
2
Scrubbing
3
4
1
2
                                                                                                                                                                                   
Conclusion:

The Botanical Ultra Smooth was actually quite a surprise to me. I had a lot of reservations about trying this paper out, particularly because of the 50% cotton content and the whiteness of the paper. However, it was really nice to paint on and gave great results. It is considerably smoother than the other papers, which makes it an ideal paper for rendering fine details. I noticed too that writing in ink on it was a lot nicer than on the other papers, and so I imagine that it would be ideal for scientific illustration. The paper surface stood up quite well to scrubbing. 

 

Although I still love my Fabriano Artistico (and am smug in the knowledge that I still have a good stock of it), I would recommend the Botanical Ultra Smooth paper, particularly for illustration work.  

Lavandula stoechas, Spanish lavender watercolour paintings by Shevaun Doherty on different watercolour paper (Fabriano Artistico and Botanical Ultra Smooth)
Both these paintings will be for sale in the exhibition 'Flora Botanica' at Ranelagh Arts Centre, 5th-17th May
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

9 comments:

  1. Hi Shevaun
    Thank you for the evaluation on the papers it is a really an in depth analysis of the main papers used in Botanical Painting which is sorely needed at the moment as confidence in the paper one uses is critical. I am a beginner in Botanical Painting but not a beginner artist so I appreciate all the feed back on the papers. Keep up the good work.
    Best regards
    Brian Fromant

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Brian. I think it is always a personal choice, because some papers work really well for some artists, and yet are terrible for others. I paint quite dryly anyway,so never really have a problem with paper buckling or lifting. I did try my best to put all the papers through their paces though, especially with the washes and the scrubbing. All I can say is that the smoothness of the Botanical Ultra Smooth make painting a real pleasure, although it might well have been the soothing scent of lavender that made me keep painting!! I am glad that you found it useful though.

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    2. Excellent trials Shevaun so thank you for posting. Great that you could post the images as well. I have been able to distribute some small samples of the two new papers from RK Burt to students at RBGE so I am getting back similar results and responses to your tests. Some students have tried the Botanical Ultra smooth using Faber Castel coloured pencils so the comments seem to be it is good but perhaps cannot do as many layers of colour like on the Classico, before it starts to look quite waxy.
      I have just received Fabriano Classico 5 blocks from Curtisward.com and am delighted with them. I cannot see any problems with them at all. I shall order some more in a larger size. The big art shop in Edinburgh has sold out of Classico paper as one customer came in and bought all their stock. I am sure there must still be lots of Classico and Artistico in back shops somewhere if not I know you have a supply. Ha Ha!
      Thank you again
      Sharon Bradley

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    3. Thanks for that feedback, Sharon. It's so good to know about coloured pencils and Botanical Ultra Smooth, although I can already see that there's not much tooth on it.. I like the Classico for coloured pencil too. I actually bought a roll of the Artistico a few years ago, which is why I have plenty here. I am fairly certain that the rolls would not have sold out yet, even though they are much more economical in the long run. You just need eight arms to unroll them and cut them! Really looking forward to coming to Edinburgh to meet you all!! Not long now, woohoo!!

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  2. Great post Shevaun! I'm still waiting for my ultra smooth as the first one got lost in the post. We've not had much luck with the post and paper have we?!! Lovely to see you painting.

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    Replies
    1. I need to paint for a bit of sanity!! Jacksons Art kindly sent me two new pieces of BUS safely wedged between cardboard and with FRAGILE written on the envelope. I hope you get your piece soon... you'll enjoy playing on it. The smooth surface is fantastic , very moreish!

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  3. I tried to write a comment but it disappeared. Probably pressed the wrong button! This is a good report Shevaun and a very interesting read. Initially I too liked the paper for both watercolour and coloured pencil, but revised my view although I too use mostly dry brush work. I agree with Sharon about the coloured pencil. It won't take many layers no matter how gentle one is and definitely won't tolerate a polish at the end.
    As you say, it is the individual artist that needs to find out if this is right for them and their style, or not.

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  4. Great review, thanks. I was using Fabriano Artistico hot pressed, but I think I'll try this after your review.

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  5. Hi Shevaun
    Interesting posts that you have in answering the question about Botanical paper but there hasn't been a definite answer as yet that I can see. I suppose ultimately it has to be a personal choice as well and which one can be confident with. I have been 'playing with' the Canson Moulin du Roy, 100% cotton, HP, 140lb paper and have found that it is the one for me. Smooth surface, not as white as the BUS, can take washes (water colour),lifting OK, the surface is good and doesn't 'ball up' when scrubbed.
    If you have time, I know its a busy time of the year (spring time) would you be willing to put the Canson Moulin du Roy through its paces the same as you have done for the other papers? I can supply you with a sample.

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I love the feedback so please feel free to comment. Thank you!