Canson Montval Watercolor Paper

Comments about Canson Montval Watercolor Paper:

I discovered this paper 30 years ago, and then every art supply store in my area couldn't or wouldn't carry it. I really needed it to get the re wet effect I liked painting, so when I discovered Dick Blick and the variety of papers they offered I was delighted to discover they carried it

Comments about Canson Montval Watercolor Paper:

I use gouache and watercolors and have tried many different brands of papers. I prefer Canson, but they recently discontinued my preferred paper so I opted for this pad. While this paper is affordable, I would only consider it good for experiments or tests and NOT for final works as it seems to be a very fickle paper. I use light gouache washes and thicker applications however the paper seems to dull the colors so much and it is also difficult to apply layers on layers of light washes to get a translucent effect in the paint as the layering gets muddled and creates a fuzzy paper look. I didn't have any problems using painters tape and removing it from the paper as another reviewer did.

I would recommend passing on this and trying another Canson paper instead.

Comments about Canson Montval Watercolor Paper:

I'm not a watercolorist but am experimenting with washes, abstract backgrounds, and layers of lettering under calligraphy. I bought a sheet of this to test. I planned a block of gouache atop a previous block of gouache--thick, not washes--and then lettering over both.

The paper cockled under the first layer of gouache but then dried flat. The second block caused less cockling/buckling, and again, the paper did dry flat.

My planned piece didn't, er, come out as I hoped, so I used the other side of the sheet for straight calligraphy practice and found myself very, VERY pleased. The surface is nice & smooth for lettering, and I was able to produce sharp thins with Dr. Martin's acrylic, gouache, Chinese stick ink, Ziller calligraphy ink, and even W&N calligraphy ink. I was quite pleased.

I'm about to buy a pad to use for calligraphy...I hope the pads are the same quality as the large sheets. I'm sure I'll buy more sheets in the future.

So, bottom line: I can recommend this for calligraphy, but the paper appears to buckle under wet paint.

(Note: I wanted to leave the star ratings blank so my positive review of the paper for calligraphy didn't muck up the ratings for watercolor use, but the form wouldn't let me. So...sorry. I hope no one is misled.)

Comments about Canson Montval Watercolor Paper:

I am doing alternative photographic processes, specifically Cyanotype prints. For these, the paper is excellent. I am using it to make 8.5x11 inch stab bound books, with one image per page. The Cyanotype colors and saturation are superb on this paper, and it also is very easy to coat with the sensitizer, and it washes and dries very nicely. I highly recommend it for any photographer wanting to make Cyanotype prints.

Comments about Canson Montval Watercolor Paper:

I bought this paper (300gsm) due to its reasonable price. But then, the absorbency and wet strength of the paper is not good enough.

I'd stretch it before painting. Still, the surface is badly damaged when I applied two or three layers of wet paints. Wet-on-wet cannot be practised perfectly on this paper.

Comments about Canson Montval Watercolor Paper:

I used Canson 300lb coldpress paper for a watercolor painting I did recently was was rather disappointed. It seems that the paper itself would be fine under normal conditions, yet it is extremely fragile. I typically mask off areas with tape that I want to remain white (ie: borders), but even after I had removed some of the stickiness from the tape (by running it over my jeans and then laying it down on the paper), the paper still ripped severely as I tried to gently remove the tape. NOT GOOD. Furthermore, I tried using some masking fluid on the surface, only to find that it still took off the surface fibers of the paper--the change in surface looks different under paints compared to the regular surface, therefore creating disturbances on the surface.

If you do not intend to use any adhesive material on your paper, Canson would probably work for you. However, I recommend Arches as a more professional and durable kind of watercolor paper.

Comments about Canson Montval Watercolor Paper:

An "OK" paper, but just "OK". Fine for student use or for experimenting with techniques, new equipment, etc., but I wouldn't use it for anything important. Shrinks a lot and unevenly. Stretching absolutely required.