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Crescent Watercolour Board - My Thoughts (Patreon)

Published:
2020-02-08 03:56:16
Edited:
2020-02-08 04:00:45
Imported:
2026-10
Tags:

Content

Hi everyone,

I love using Arches watercolour board but unfortunately they are no longer manufacturing it. I have some here at home that I'm working my way through but once I've used it all .....well that's the end of it. I've been looking for an alternative so I don't have to keep stretching my paper and I found these Crescent watercolour boards.

They are packaged in sets of three - 8" by 10", 9" by 12" and 11" by 14". I bought a pack of 11" by 14" to try them out. They are 100% rag, acid free paper mounted on an extra heavy core.

You'll see me paint the leaves above on one of the boards in a tutorial that is coming up for the beginner painters.

The tutorial is all about glazing colors over the top of one another so I worked mainly wet on dry. The paint went on the surface quite well but there were a few areas where the paint showed up some little flaws in the paper. I've circled the little dark spots in the photo below. It was nothing major and it didn't ruin my finished painting but had I been painting a different subject it may have.

I also tried to use my scrubber brush in an area to remove some paint to create a highlight.

Big mistake! It tore the paper even though I was very gentle with the brush. I stopped using it quickly when I saw what was happening.

I also tried to remove highlights with my damp brush when the paint was damp and I found that to be fairly ineffective.

One of the patrons here has also used the boards recently and she found that her washes went on the paper unevenly. It seemed to sink into the paper in some areas and stay wet in others. I didn't do a lot of wet on wet work with this leaf painting so my final painting is ok.

My packet of 3 boards cost me $50.98 (with delivery). Will I be buying them again? No I won't be. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have used this board. If you have used it, let us know in the comments if you had any success or not.

Louise

💕

Files

Comments

Christine Carr

I have no tried these yet but have a couple small ones that I ordered from Jerry’s Artarama and did not know if you were familiar with them. You can have these panels mounted with arches, fabriano artistico and New York central and one other I can’t think of off top of my head. Here is the listing as described on Jerry’s website Hand-mounted 100% Cotton Acid-Free Watercolor Paper Your favorite watercolor paper mounted to the finest Birch wood panel with acid-free and waterproof adhesive. The mounted paper won't buckle or warp when wet because it's glued to the panel. New York Central Professional Watercolor Panels provide a fresh, modern way to present your artwork without a frame. Each panel is hand-mounted with your choice of paper! Choose from these 100% cotton watercolor papers: New York Central Bright White: Hot Press, Cold Press or Rough Arches Natural White: Hot Press, Cold Press or Rough Arches Bright White: Hot Press, Cold Press or Rough Fabriano Artistico Bright White: Hot Press, Cold Press, Soft Press or Rough Stonehenge Aqua: Hot Press or Cold Press

Christine Carr

I have never gotten this to work and to get the paper to come out completely flat. I tend to use a lot of water when I paint as Louise has mentioned and her method for stretching watercolor paper may seem tedious but truly the only way I’ve ever had paintings remain 100% completely flat esp larger paintings. When I’m just practicing or doing small paintings here and there I will tape my paper to a gator board and overall it works but if it’s going to be a serious larger painting I feel for myself there’s no replacement for a properly stretched paper. I have found having several stretched ahead of time and set aside for when I want to do a painting beneficial to have them ready to go bc it does take at least 24 hours once prepared before you should paint on them. Louise has a great video on the process of the way she stretches paper and I’ve found her method most beneficial

Noemi

Have you ever tried the Canson Plein Air Watercolor Art Board Pad? I just saw them on Amazon $24.00 for 10 12x16”.

Michele Miller

Thank you for saving us the money AND headaches!

Gina Squitieri

Hi Louise, I buy the arches watercolor pads and I have good luck putting tape around the loose edges of the paper, binding them together, thereby effectively making a "board." It's so effective I don't ever have to stretch the paper, it never buckles. Please try it sometime and see if you don't agree. 🙂

Gina Squitieri

By the way, what's the difference between a watercolor board and a watercolor block? I have no problem finding the arches blocks. If that is what you mean, they are selling them on Amazon by Jerry's Artarama (sp?) And Blick Art here in America. Gee, it'd be a shame if you couldn't get them to ship to Australia!

Louise De Masi

Thank you for the suggestion Gina. A watercolour block is a pad of sheets that have been gummed together. You paint on them, like you suggested and then remove the top sheet that you painted on from the block. That reveals a new clean sheet of paper underneath to paint on. Gumming the sheets together is supposed to prevent the paper from puckering but I have no success with blocks. I find the paper still buckles and puckers when I paint on it. I use a fair amount of water. A watercolour board is a single sheet of watercolour paper that is attached to a thick backing board. It eliminates the need for stretching the paper.

Robyn

Hi Louise. What about the ampersand aquaboard? Have you tried it? What do you think? I found it a bit too grainie (is that a word?). Cheers Robyn

Louise De Masi

Hi Robyn, Yes I have used the aquaboard. It's quite a lot different to painting on paper. It takes a bit of getting used to. You have to adjust the way you paint. I've got some boards here at home. I want to make a tutorial on using it but I have to do a few practice paintings first just to remind myself how to use it.

Robyn

Thanks Louise. I would appreciate some tips. Cheers

Katie Nack

I have a little sketchbook from them that doodle in with markers and works great. I'm bummed their watercolor board flopped..

Melanie Maguire

Thanks for this detailed assessment Louise. Have you tried watercolour ground? Daniel Smith, Qor and Golden all make watercolour grounds designed to be painted over canvas or any other substrate you want to use. I've only used the Qor cold pressed one, and to be honest I didn't like it - lumpy and dulls the watercolours significantly. I think using these grounds requires different techniques to normal paper, which is probably not what you're looking for... Second idea - have you tried gluing a piece of watercolour paper to a rigid surface? (foamcore, gatorboard etc). A solvent-based glue that is waterproof like spray glue for mounting stuff. I suspect the problems with the staining and tearing on the Crescent is because the paper has been stuck to the substrate using a water-based glue which has dissolved and soaked through to the front of the paper. It's probably fine with less water. A solvent based glue would be worth experimenting with I think, perhaps using a cheaper piece of paper than Arches? Thanks again for your fullsome assessment of Crescent - this is the kind of review that is so helpful. :)

Keith

Hi Louise, Firstly, your upcoming tutorial looks fantastic! Exactly the kind of, practice with purpose combined with artistic bent that I really enjoy! Looking forward to the video. Secondly, have you tried contacting Crescent, explaining/showing your results? Responses from professionals and influencers, such as yourself, go much farther than from unknown amateurs. Hers is their contact link: Send Us A Message to Crescent https://www.crescentcardboard.com/contact/

Keith

DARN! I keep hitting return for a new paragraph! Next, out of curiosity, what would have the comparable cost of Arches similar product? Recently, I purchased an item from Australia from a company called Etcher Lab. It is a product called Etchr Mirror. $49. And I too was totally disappointed with the product and the cost. Etchr Mirror: https://etchrlab.com/products/mirror It is really frustrating to put out good, hard earned money for products that do not provide the results. Thank you for the thorough test and posting the results. And for saving us all our hard earned money!

Julie Miller

I wanted to share this in case you were looking for an easier way to stretch paper. These stretchers are reusable and come in a variety of sizes (he'll customize the listing or any size you want too). https://www.etsy.com/listing/595898251/redcollie-watercolour-stretcher Its a tension based system, I have two and I LOVE them! It takes some fiddling with the first time but he has a great video on youtube about how to use them. You end up losing about the same amount of paper as you would from gum + tape stretching without the hassle and mess.

Louise De Masi

Hi Melanie, my pleasure. I have some Golden watercolour ground in my online shopping cart right now actually. I was going to do bit more reading about it before I bought it. It will require a different technique to paint on a board that has this applied to it because I've tried Ampersand's Aquaboard before. I have used Golden Gel Medium to glue paper to a board. I put the video here on Patreon where I demonstrate that. I've done it many times and it works really well but there is still that long preparation before painting that is required. The bonus of painting on the boards is that you eliminate the need of framing. I think I'll go ahead and but the watercolour ground and I'll try painting on some masonite boards.

Louise De Masi

Hi Keith, no I haven't contacted them but I will. Thank you for the suggestion.

Louise De Masi

Thanks Keith. It is frustrating because these products aren't cheap. I'll have a look at the link for Etchr mirror. Thank you.

Louise De Masi

Thanks very much Julie. I'll watch the video and see what I think.

Louise De Masi

I've done that myself Charlie with Golden Gel medium and it works really well. I had no idea that you could purchase them already mounted. That's a great idea and saves so much time. Thank you very much for the link.

Randelle McClure

Louise, I was just watching Anna Mason (English watercolour artist) and she uses Crescent illustration board from Jackson's, for her large painting, example her hollyhocks. I went to the site and they have Daler Rowney on there as well, thought it might interest you to try, they are for watercolour.

Melanie Maguire

I'm a fairly new patron, so I haven't watched the video about gluing paper to board - thanks for telling me about it I'll certainly look it up and watch it, I'm sorry to waste your time suggesting something you've already tried! I hope you'll record your experiences with Golden watercolour ground for us, it would be so helpful to see you put it through its paces. Thanks again, Louise :)

Louise De Masi

Thanks Randelle. I think I may have tried to order the Langton boards from Jacksons in the past but the shipping costs were ridiculous so I abandoned them. I've been trying to locate them here in Australia but I haven't found them yet.

Nickie

Louise I have used the boards from Jerry’sartarama and I like them. I don’t love them, but the hot press is pretty nice. I noticed it sucks up the water very quickly. And shipping is free after a 35 dollar order.

Joanie Dorsey

I painted your Gardenia on a Crescent Watercolor Board. I had the same experience. I am so glad I was given this small board to try so I didn't have to waste my money, paint and time. It is definitely a Do Not Recommend.

Essi

Hi Louise, have you found another good alternative to arches Watercolor board after trying the Crescent? I’m curious if there is one that works with Watercolor. I’ve also heard of primers that can be used to canvas to make it work with Watercolor. I wonder if they do…

Louise De Masi

Hi Essi. Daler Rowney make a board called Langton Prestige. I've tried it. I don't like it as much as Arches but it's quite ok to paint on. I painted the budgerigar on it. Check out that tutorial to see how it performed.