Playing with Paper

I love the stencils of branches I have made – and I have made quite a few!  It is interesting to see how different stencils in different colours combine with each other.  I felt that I was in a place to start to create some work that I could potentially send to shows.  Because of my art school background, this meant that I needed to be sure that my materials were permanent and archival.

The cardstock I have been using is both acid-free and lignin-free but it is still a wood pulp product and buckles whenever any water or water-based products are used.  I decided to try out some printmaking paper I had used in the past – Rives BFK, and some Arches 90 lb Hot Pressed watercolour paper.  The Hot Pressed is much smoother than the standard Cold Pressed watercolour paper and I hoped that the 90 lb would be light enough to get a good impression from the Gelli plate.  I purchased the paper from my local OPUS store and cut it up into pieces that would work for my 8x10 plate.

The result surprised me.  I really thought the printmaking paper would win!  After all, that was what I was doing, right?  Printmaking?  I printed up a few sheets of both.

BFK:
The paint is lighter on this paper. This may be because it is more absorbent. It gives a good crisp image.  It works okay with water-based techniques such as water-soluble graphite and watercolour pencils but it won’t take a lot of water.
 
Arches:
This paper produces a richer colour than the printmaking paper, similar to what I was getting on the cardstock. I am thinking that the paint stays more on the surface because of the sizing. This is good for prints that need a bit more colour. It produces a nice crisp image. And, of course, it is made for water-based techniques and can deal with a fair bit of water.

So, my conclusions for what types of paper are best for me, for various uses are: 

• Arches Hot Pressed 90 lb Watercolour Paper is best for my final prints.  The colour is brighter on this paper and it will take various processes to enhance the birds or other subject matter.
• Cardstock is good for test runs.  Similar to Arches in colour take up, it is a cheaper alternative for testing different combinations of stencils and colours.  It does not standup to any process which requires the addition of water and it is not as "archival" as the Arches which is made from 100% cotton fibres.
• Copy paper is good for removing paint from negative spaces, essentially preparing the way to print a ghost.  It is also good for testing although the colour take up is quite different. Many of my cleanup sheets have become catalysts for ideas.

 
Here are some examples of my new bird mixed media work: