Hi there!
Are there any long-term users of Bockingford (or any other wood-pulp based watercolour paper) who can give me some advice? Has the paper you used for your paintings discoloured at all over the years, and if so how long did this take to happen?
I use Fabriano Artistico for painting on, but for drawing I used to use Daler-Rowney’s Heavyweight Cartridge (drawing) paper, which makes the usual claims of being ‘acid free’. However recently I took a drawing I did 8 years ago out of its frame where it had been displayed in a shady room and compared it to unused sheets in my current pad. I was really shocked at how much the shade had changed….I know any chemically treated wood pulp will eventually yellow but I just didn’t expect it to be so quick! I thought it would take well over a decade, maybe two. I feel slightly bad for having used this paper to draw on for my customers.
I’ve been trying to find a cotton watercolour paper to draw on instead but so far nothing has been smooth enough as I draw very lightly, and it seems like the wood pulp papers are closer to the texture of my old cartridge. I don’t know if wood pulp paper varies in its archival quality depending on how it has been treated and whether Bockingford might be better than Cartridge paper if it’s had Calcium Carbonate added to buffer it or more of the lignin removed, or something like that.
Any advice welcome!
Thanks,
Anna
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