Aquarius II Watercolour Paper

Watercolour and ink sketch on Aquarius II

Above is a watercolour sketch I made on Aquarius II one summer afternoon. I was driving along the edge of town when I noticed a storm approaching. Luckily I had my sketching stuff with me so I pulled off the road and started painting the ominous sky. I managed to get a fair bit done before the rain started pouring down on the car windows, blocking my view of this amazing scene.

This paper was found by chance when I purchased a Strathmore Watercolor Paper Sampler. Aquarius II is made from natural and synthetic materials, and is only 80lbs in weight. The surface texture lies somewhere between cold and hot pressed. Aquarius II is whiter that some other watercolour papers.

Although Aquarius II is supposed to stay flat when washes are applied, I found that it buckled if the edges were fastened down with masking tape. However, once the tape was removed, the paper dried flat. Masking fluid will slightly disturb the surface when it is removed so this material should be used with care.

I love painting and sketching on Aquarius II. It will take many washes without breaking down. It is quite suitable for drawing and glazing techniques and works nicely with not only watercolour but also watercolour pencils, gouache and thinned acrylics.

It is possible to remove colours–depending upon their staining quality–by scrubbing gently with a brush. It was interesting to note that even though masking fluid disturbed the surface, the paper withstood gentle scrubbing. Colours dry bright on this surface.

Aquarius II is available in 22" x 30" sheets, and in spiral bound pads. The pads don't have many pages so I like to buy the sheets and make my own sketchbooks in a size I prefer. Because the paper is only 80lb it works well for this purpose. It is also suitable to use for painting greeting cards.