Here I’m testing out a sample of Stonehenge Aqua, kindly provided for me by Michael Ginsburg of Legion Paper in New York. Stonehenge Aqua is a European made paper that was introduced in 2012; it balances out the Stonehenge Print & Drawing range that was first introduced in 1971, produced primarily for printmakers. The Stonehenge Aqua is available with a cold press and hot press surface, specifically for watercolorists. It’s a very bright white paper, subtly textured paper with a stiff, flat feel. This paper, while having some truly excellent qualities, did present me with some challenges. Having said that, paint ad paper is a truly subjective field, and I was asking things of and using techniques for which this paper wasn’t designed. Many artists will adore the very qualities that irk me. The first thing I noticed is that paint pools in a slightly oily sheen on the surface, it doesn’t absorb into the paper as immediately as Arches or Heritage. This has an upside and a downside. The upside is that artists will have a far greater amount of time to lay in and work with wet-on-wet.

The downside is that it is not as intuitive (for me at least) to blend pigments using the actual paper texture as a vehicle. Another fantastic quality of this paper is that it lifts exceptionally well, either while damp or after completely dry. Colors can be reactivated and worked into one another almost ad infinitum, although there is a tendency for some pigments to stain, leaving clear brush strokes. Again, many artist adore this feature. Me, not so much. The last downside, for me, which, once again, won’t be an issue for most artists, is that the paper does not take glazing very well. Paper either, (in my experience) lifts, or stains and glazes. Clearly this paper focuses on its lifting qualities, rather than staining and glazing. Lifting is, ultimately more important to me but I had to conclude that I would keep looking for an Arches replacement, as I need both lifting and glazing qualities.