Okay gang, help me out here. Let’s talk a little about paper and the difference between tooth and texture. I’m working on my new edition of the workbook, and I found myself in a conundrum. What is the difference to you? Let me share what I’m thinking to get the ball rolling. I really need some help thinking this through!!!!

[I]PAPERS WITH TOOTH
Tooth is not the same as texture. Tooth is generally gritty and usually refers to the coating added as a surface treatment. Under a magnifying glass you’ll see little fissures and holes where the bits of pastel settle, but the best test is the hand. You need to feel the surface to see if it is fine-grained and machine smooth, rough and scumbled, or deep, soft and velvety. Sandpapers are usually made on a backing sheet of some kind, covered with a coating that contains pumice, sand, marble dust or other silicates that provide the irregularity needed to hold pastel in place, the ‘tooth.’

For instance, sanded papers such as Wallis, Art Spectrum, UART or Sabretooth are generally fine-textured and rather smooth to the touch but have deep tooth. Richeson Premium Pastel paper, on the other hand, is slightly grittier, with a somewhat rougher hand.

PAPERS WITH TEXTURE
Texture is generally patterned into the paper itself. It usually refers to the weave or other regular marks left on the surface of the paper that will show up more clearly when pastel is stroked across it. The pulp of the paper may be apparent, resulting in a slightly striated, bumpy or screened surface. Some of these papers have a laid surface, which is a patterned texture of parallel lines impressed in each sheet.

Texture does not have as much depth as tooth and does not hold as much pastel in place, sometimes requiring a fixative or other finish to stabilize the pastel.

Textural papers include all of the watercolor papers such as Lanaquarelle, and printmaking papers such as Arches and Rives BFK. The most commonly used textured paper is Canson Mi Tientes, which is quite textured on the front side, bearing the dimples caused by the screen on which it’s made. [/I]

I guess I’m still reeling from reading somewhere that an artist thought Brenda Mattson paper was quite toothy–when in my estimation it’s very soft!

Is tooth and texture relative? Can I begin to explain all this effectively to people, or must I rely on photographs of paintings to show texture and tooth–or will that even work? Oy–help me out here.

Tell me what tooth is.
Give me examples of toothy paper.

Tell me what texture is.
Give me examples of textured paper.

Thanks for your opinions!!!

Deborah