Art Supply Review: Fluid Cold Press Watercolor Block 4” x 6”
[dc]I[/dc]f you see me at comic conventions and other events, then you know I sell watercolor cartoon paintings. These days, I’m working more with larger watercolor cartoons, offering 4” by 6” paintings for sale.
My go to watercolor paper for my cartoons I sell at shows (and through my Etsy shop) is the Fluid Cold Press block. The paper is acid free and 140 lb., making it a great choice for selling original art work.
The orange one on the left. Image via Amazon.
Watercolor Block vs. Spiral Pad
Prior to trying a block of watercolor paper, I would just buy spiral pads. I didn’t like the leftover fringe on the edges when I pulled a sheet out, so I tried a block instead. The Fluid block sheets are glued on the two long sides instead of being spiral bound. This keeps the sheets secure and protected, and can help prevent the paper from warping as the water and paint dries.
One of my watercolor cartoons using the Fluid 4×6 block.
The paper works great with the 2H lead in my mechanical SumoGrip pencil and the black ink in my Faber-Castell PITT pens.
Affordable and Portable
I can usually find Fluid cold press blocks on sale locally, and I load up when I can (I bought three the last time there was a sale). Even when not on sale, the Fluid watercolor paper blocks are still a good price.
A watercolor cartoon on my artist alley table, using a 4×6 from a Fluid block.
Plus, I love the 4” x 6” size. I can easily keep a block (or two) with my artist alley supplies and not worry about space. I went with 4” x 6” because it is a standard frame size, and an easy frame size to find. It’s a good in-between size too—large enough I can show more detail or have bigger cartoons, but not so large it will take a lot of time to finish painting.
Unstuck
The glue on the Fluid block takes getting used to at first. I usually free the sheet by pulling from one side to the other in one quick motion. This may not be the best method—the description on Amazon suggests using a dull knife to cut a sheet loose—but it works for me. I rarely paint with the sheet still glued to the block, but there is no reason you cannot.
Another cartoon I painted using the Fluid 4×6 block.
When I am painting a new batch of watercolor cartoons, I take an assembly line approach: sketch them all, ink them all, then paint them all. Keeping the sheet glued to the block won’t work with this method, and would slow the process. Painting in batches helps me go faster, especially if I am using similar colors on several different cartoons (ex: I paint all the reds at once, and so on).
A Good Investment
I’m very happy with the quality of these Fluid 140 lb. cold press sheets, and so are my fans and customers. This block is a good entry point for beginning watercolor painters too—the block isn’t expensive, and 15 sheets means you can mess up (or experiment) and still have plenty left over.
I also use these sheets for commissions, and just finished a pair of 4” x 6” watercolor paintings for a client a couple of weeks ago (no photos yet, because they are a surprise gift).
