Strathmore Watercolor Travel Pad

Strathmore Watercolor Travel Pad is a 100% cotton paper that is completely under the radar. When it comes to 100% cotton paper, you think of Arches, Etchr Lab, but this watercolor travel pad is seriously underrated and I am baffled why I’ve never heard of it.

The Deets:

Strathmore Watercolor Travel Pad is part of a series. It also comes in 8″ x 5.5″ journal format, and both are created with plein air and urban sketchers in mind. Besides being 100% cotton, this paper pad has 12 sheets, measures 8×10″ and is cold press, acid free, 140lb. The paper is made in the USA with materials from France. I have the texture of the paper enhanced a bit below:

This paper, by the way, is less textured than the Winsor & Newton watercolour pad that I previously reviewed. I also prefer this Strathmore paper as well.

In addition, the price is more than reasonable for 100% cotton paper. I paid CAD$19 at Amazon.ca and I thought it was quite the bargain.

Strathmore watercolor travel pad has a soft silicone glue binding and even when I flipped a page the paper did not detach itself. The paper is pleasantly textured, medium grain and can take in a heavy wash. It does buckle a bit but doesn’t pill. Scrubbing and lifting are easy without destroying the paper. I used Meiliang paint for both of the paintings and it worked well with the paper. I am not sure about any sizing on the paper but it does stay reasonably wet for a while, enough time for me to blend and rewet the paint with no issue.

Urban Sketching…From Home

Since the pad was meant for urban sketchers, I did an ink and wash painting, though I did that in the comfort of my home with a reference photo from unsplash.

Reference photo credit: Bennet Robin Fabian

The original photo does not have a cat in it but I added one in. I had a cat named Noodles, a female ginger tabby who lived 19 years and passed away in 2018, and I always pictured her being free to roam around somewhere.

And here’s my finished painting. I titled it “Noodles in Greece”, since the reference photo is in Greece and I have been to Greece. Somehow, Noodles seems to fit perfectly in this painting!

Summary

Strathmore Watercolor Travel Pad impresses me with the quality of its 100% cotton paper. I have tried Strathmore 400 series watercolor paper (wood pulp) and hated it, but this travel pad redeemed Strathmore to me. The paper is heavyweight, strong and stays wet for a reasonable amount of time. There is no mention of sizing and I don’t feel that it is sized like Arches, but I am impressed how well this paper works.

If I have to rank this paper, I’d rank it behind Arches and Craftamo, respectively. All in all, a great find and very affordable.