I don’t like a lot of tooth on a canvas and tend to get the Winsor & Newton Professional Cotton Smooth canvas so painting on paper really appeals to me — the smoother the better.

I have used acrylic inks on paper but generally I paint from tube, not impasto but quite thick initially and then thinner layers and glazes with mediums as needed.

I have never used acrylic paper as most paper I see to buy tends to be watercolour or mixed media. I keep a pad of thinner mixed media sheets for quicker work, tests and my more illustrative works that I do in ink and then opacify with polychromos pencils.

For my more fine art work which I guess is realism with a touch of impressionism — where my goal is to make it look more like an oil painting once varnished — I either use a canvas as above or hot-pressed watercolour paper for a really smooth surface (the pad I currently have is 140 lbs and haven’t really tried the really heavy stuff). I just blocked the colour on a new piece last night and the paper does start to bend so after that first layer dried I used a book to flatten it and then masking taped it to my drawing board.

The bend in the paper never used to bother me until I started varnishing my pieces — where it becomes a problem as the varnish runs from the edges into the middle.

I have never wet the paper beforehand as some watercolours artists do as I just flatten it after the first layer of acrylic has gone down.

I have never used absorbent ground so can’t comment on that.

I like watercolor paper. I try to save the best watercolor paper for watercolor. Anything will do for acrylic.

I like the way I can start a painting in watercolor and finish in acrylic, or go straight on with acrylic. With acrylic, I don’t wet the paper. I don’t try to paint watercolor style with acrylic paints. However, if I start in watercolor, I might wet the paper to do watercolor effects.

I paint a variety of subjects in a variety of styles.

I don’t like acrylic paper… too plasticy and slippery.

I don’t much like acrylic paper, I prefer the ones that have been made for oils.

I like watercolour paper, preferably cold press at 140lb as I find the hot press of that weight too slippery after a couple of paint layers. I’ve tried heavier hot press in the past and have enjoyed them (they were very absorbent) and plan to try them again sometime.

I don’t bother stretching for acrylics as I don’t use them too fluid nor do I gesso.

I do lifeclass portrait painting on heavy drawing paper using regular Acrylics (at home I paint on panels as I prefer a hard and slick surface like a panel or paper instead of the springy textured canvasses that I use only now and again these days).

It is smooth Drawing paper of 360 grams/square meter …. so the heaviest drawing paper that is available I reckon (I find that the more readily available 200 grams/square meter weight is not good because it buckles too much for my liking).

I work on dry paper starting with acrylics thinned with a little water and when progressing using acrylics that are not much thinned with water but just with a brush that is damp from cleaning.By the way I do all the lifecalls paintings with (cheap) hog hair brushes (at home I use synthetics only).

I do not wet the paper and I attach it with just 2 big clamps on the top to a drawing board so I let it hang loose ….. in my experience with this approach and with this tickness of the paper and letting the paper hang loose/free on the easel there is no buckling (hardly I shoud say) of the paper.

I love the combination of paper and fluid acrylics. The great advantage of using paper is the level of detail you can achieve since the absorption helps a lot. I used many paper types and have experimented a lot, they all have advantages and disadvantages. I will just name the main ones:

Bristol paper: 180g/m2
Adv: The soft flat surface really enhances the colors and gives a brilliance of colors in low light conditions. Light shines far better because of flatness of the surface.
Really resistant, I mean is very strong, so does not damage easily when masking or adding layers , even wet in wet.
Disadv: Paper wrinkles. There in no higher weight papers.

Acrylic/Oil paper: 300g/m2
Adv: Absorbs very well. Details are easier to be achieved.
Does not wrinkle
Disadv: You require more paint, specially if you use liquid inks.
Neutral: Has texture, sometimes is good, like for textures fur or other stuff, sometimes is not that good like for female skin portraits.

Watercolor Paper: >360g/m2
Adv: Absorbs very well. Details are easy to be achieved.
Does not wrinkle. Thickest paper you can get without being a cardboard.
Disadv: You require a lot of paint, specially if you use liquid inks. Has a “hairy” surface and is textured. Varnish gets absorbed, so is very difficult to make a very flat finish.
Neutral: Has texture, sometimes is good, sometimes is not that good as with Acrylic paper.

Canvas Paper: 180g/m2
Adv: Canvas-like texture if you like it.
Disadv: very easy to damage surface, if you paint and the paper is wet the surface is just ripped off. Can’t paint wet over wet.

Strathmore drawing paper: 260g/m2
Adv: You can draw in graphite/charcoal and use glazing techniques over them. Paper is very resistant but you need to use fixative before you use acrylics.
Disadv: requires processing the paper.

Yupo Paper: 100g/m2
Adv:Really shiny background and enhances colors. You’ll get the shiniest or more brilliant colors using it.
Is plastic, so will have the longest longevity of all other materials.
Wet in wet easily applied.
Most resistant than anything else, is really difficult to damage even trying to break it.
You can scratch the surface to regain the white surface. Highlights or scratch board type of work is possible.
Perfect for fluid painting.
Is completely non absorbent.
You can erase acrylic with Isopropanol or ethylic alcohol>85%. (Leaves a light stain)
Disadv: You need to perfectly let dry the paint before layering.
Fat on fingers can stain it. Is very sensitive to stains or dirt or fat.. so you have to be careful when handling it.
Neutral: Paint is like glued on the surface so you can peel it off.

Enjoy

I just recovered a pad of Yupo I bought about a decade ago- I know! That time went by fast!

Anyway, I had bought some Yupo thinking it would be great for inks and, well, it’s not. The inks smudge and often smudge right off the page. I’d found it difficult to make anything to stick to this paper! I’d even bought the tiny 2.5″ by 3.75″ 10 sheet pad so I could try all kinds of substances on it… something must stick!

My question based on your description, Fedtony, is there anything that does definitely adhere to this paper? I don’t like the idea that a paint can be “peeled off”! I feel like I must conquer this paper!

RoadLessTaken aka Sheila

Yupo Paper: 100g/m2
Adv:Really shiny background and enhances colors. You’ll get the shiniest or more brilliant colors using it.
Is plastic, so will have the longest longevity of all other materials.
Wet in wet easily applied.
Most resistant than anything else, is really difficult to damage even trying to break it.
You can scratch the surface to regain the white surface. Highlights or scratch board type of work is possible.
Perfect for fluid painting.
Is completely non absorbent.
You can erase acrylic with Isopropanol or ethylic alcohol>85%. (Leaves a light stain)
Disadv: You need to perfectly let dry the paint before layering.
Fat on fingers can stain it. Is very sensitive to stains or dirt or fat.. so you have to be careful when handling it.
Neutral: Paint is like glued on the surface so you can peel it off.

Enjoy