I came across watercolor canvas at Hobby Lobby the other day and I just couldn’t resist. I decided to get some small 5”x7” canvases to give it a test. Today I tested the watercolor canvas side by side with watercolor paper. I wanted to see how it worked for multimedia so I did a simple watercolor and soft pastel combination.
On the left is the watercolor canvas and the right is watercolor paper. I used watercolors to create a wash for the base of the painting. I made the washes by tilting the paper to blend a lighter and darker blue together. The watercolor canvas feels a little different to use than paper. I couldn’t use as much water on the canvas or it would be too runny. I also noticed the watercolor canvas ended up with a smoother look rather than the runny texture that the paper ended up with. There were also small spots on the canvas that seemed to resist the watercolor paint a little and barely settled with any color. But It was hardly noticeable once dry. I think the smooth wash turned out nice on the canvas, but I also really love the texture that happened on the paper. I tend to be drawn to paintings with a little more grit to them.
Next I used soft pastels to draw the clouds. And I have to vote watercolor canvas board as winner on in this test. The pastel was smooth and easy to apply and blend on the watercolor canvas. The paper didn’t seem to grip the pastel as well and didn’t turn out as nice in my opinion.
I also tried a watercolor, acrylic, and ink painting on the watercolor canvas board. I found that it is a little harder to do exact details with the canvas. The texture makes the watercolor paint sit on top of the canvas and move around easier without soaking into the canvas. It made things a little messy. On paper the paint will sit still a little bit more than on the canvas.
Overall I like the watercolor canvas. The paint doesn’t bleed the same as with paper so I will have to get used to the difference. But the colors were nice and bright and I loved the combination with soft pastels. The fact that I won’t have to worry about matting or framing with a canvas is a huge plus as well.
Thank you for reading today and I hope you enjoyed this comparison. :)