Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Paper Review

If you’re a watercolorist then you’ll understand the hunt for great paper to work on. I’ve been working with watercolors for just over two years now and I’ve tried quite a few papers. Recently, I was given the chance to try Legion Paper’s Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Blocks. After trying all different brands and quality of papers, I’ve found one thing to matter the most: quality. I can work with cheap watercolor paints, but cheap paper is a deal breaker. Because paper is the literal foundation of your artwork, it matters that it is amazingly good. Paper that falls apart, pills, tears or doesn’t hold up to water is worthless to me.

Recently I was introduced to Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Paper by Legion Paper, and it totally exceeded all my expectations. I tried out both the hot press and cold press watercolor blocks to see if it would hold a match to my all-time favourite paper by Arches.

It did not disappoint! Over a couple weeks, I used the Stonehenge Aqua in different projects to get a feel for the papers. Let’s find out if they worked for me!

Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Hot Press Block

I tried out the Stonehenge Aqua Hot Press block first because I was about to paint my latest set of watercolor flower graphics (!!) I usually use high-quality hot press papers for my graphics. This is because the smooth finish of the paper makes it easier to digitalize my work when it’s complete. Painting on the hot press paper was a dream, and I loved using a watercolor block. In the past, I have used loose sheets of paper, and have to either stretch the paper or flatten it after painting. All that water makes the paper buckle, but using the block eliminated all of that.  The paper was a nice clean shade of white, rather than a cream, which I thought helped the paints maintain more of their vibrancy in the finished works. I also liked the absorbancy of the paper, as it didn’t wick away water too quickly or have any bleeding occur.

All in all, I loved using the Stonehenge Aqua Hot Press Block. My work turned out gorgeous on the paper and it made it easier to scan my work. I can safely say I’ll be using it again for future graphics.  Now on to that fantastic cold press block…

Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Cold Press Block

I tried to get a photograph of the texture of the cold press, but my camera wasn’t quite up to the job. I wanted to share the texture because it was the key factor between the Stonehenge Aqua and other papers. Sometimes the texture of cold press paper can be a bit aggressive from the pressing process. This can make it a bit trickier to paint fine details on and to control the paint. The texture on the Stonehenge Aqua was present, but it didn’t feel overly aggressively. I really enjoyed working with it, and felt it had enough texture that cold press typically does but without being overwhelming. The absorbancy and color were just as fantastic as the hot press, so overall I was very pleased. I used it to create this wall art using Sumi ink, and loved the final results!

Overall, the Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Paper totally exceeded my expectations! I loved working with them, and I’m excited about the next project involving these papers. If you want to grab Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor block for yourself, be sure to grab the Hot Press Block or the Cold Press Block.

What’s your favourite watercolor paper? I’d love to hear in the comments!

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