The Best Watercolor Pads for Artists and Students
“Let it go! Let it go! Can’t hold it back any more.” Does this ring any bells? This song went viral because of the profound life lesson that Elsa conveys that we should learn to accept things that are beyond our control.
But Elsa is not the first person who had taught us this important lesson. We had in fact been practicing this since childhood- thanks to watercolors! Water colour is usually the very first thing that we get our hands on, when we want to start painting. Remember when you used to draw a little house on a grass field, take your small watercolor pads , dip that tiny brush in a glass of water and be amazed as you watched the color spread on paper?
That’s the best thing about water colors! Water colors are an untamed spirit! They react with paper and other colors spontaneously and there is little you can do to control it. They teach you the art of living in this chaotic world.
Owing to my profound love for watercolor painting, I have tried water color sketchpads from many brands and I have to admit, I absolutely love the water color sketchpads from Menorah. It is literally everything that I had been looking for. The paper, first of all, is of 300 GSM thickness. So, the paper does not bleed, no matter how light your water color is. In addition to this, the paper is 100% made of cotton. This makes it absorb the moisture and the pigment very well, enhancing the appearance of your art work.
What is even more amazing is that I tried acrylics & gouache on this watercolor pad and it worked wonderfully as well. Menorah also has watercolor bookmarks in 300gsm and they are one of my favorites. More than just getting printed bookmarks, I like to get plain ones and create my own art work on it. It makes it more special to see my work of creation inside a book that I had been reading or to gift it to my friends. I also get bigger size bookmarks from Menorah and frame it to use as wall hangings after painting on them, to make my room look elegant and sophisticated.
Here is a compilation of some of my art works that I had done with the best watercolor papers from Menorah:
The first video is where I have done an underwater painting on Menorah bookmark with several layers of watercolours. I have used what is called the wet-on-wet technique for this painting. This technique is nothing but applying wet pigment on a wet surface. I started off by dipping my paint brush on water and applying it on the paper. Then, I applied strokes of blue and green paint on the watercolour paper.
This technique gives a beautiful flowy look and it is exactly what I had in mind. As soon as I placed my paint brush on the watercolor bookmark, the pigment feathered and worked like a charm. Once the paint had dried, I drew a jelly fish with a micron pen for a contrasting effect.
The second video is where I had done landscape with gouache. This is one of my recreations of the Malgudi village with beautiful skylines, lush fields and a pretty swing for the children to play on. The third video is where I tried acrylics on the bookmark. This is also a landscape but with hints of autumn, where vibrant color leaves sway from tree tops, that are just about to fall. I have used the taping technique, where I stuck tape on the ends of the paper. The tape is resistant to water and pigments, so you can get a clear and defined border for your art work.
The final video is a watercolor painting of daffodils that is simple yet elegant. I love the contrast that the red flowers bring on the white paper and I can’t help but quote Wordsworth “.My heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils!”
Being patient and going with the flow are things that I have learnt as I kept painting on 300gsm sketchpads and bookmarks from Menorah. I look forward to creating more brilliant artworks and adding to my proud little collection.