Watercolour paper is so important to the successful outcome of your painting more than the paint you use, the brushes you choose or sometimes even your skill and experience. Generally it is made of cotton or cellulose and generally we think of cotton as being better due to its strength and ability to hold water. But growing cotton is pretty intensive on water and chemicals and even if the cotton for paper is a waste product from textiles, it is still potentially a problem. Are there alternatives? How about bamboo paper, or sugar cane or agave???

Hahnemuele is a German company that has been making papers since 1584. It says it has been looking for a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way to produce paper. Now it has come up with Sugar Cane watercolour, Agave watercolour, Hemp Sketch, Bamboo Mixed Media and Bamboo Sketch. But are they any good? Join me as I take a look and compare them to Harmony and Britannia, two traditional papers.

If you want to try them for yourself you can buy them here from Amazon :https://amzn.to/3W2gpah (affiliate link)
Jackson’s don’t carry the Sugar Cane or Agave, but you can get the Bamboo here: https://tidd.ly/3VJAj8Y (affiliate)

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