Watercolour Paper - What Side Do I Paint On?

Which side of watercolour paper do I paint on?
As I pulled out a huge sheet of watercolour paper (size A2) I wondered what side do I paint on? Is there a right and wrong side? 

I looked at the paper and the answer wasn't obvious. I knew that my cold pressed watercolour paper had a rough side and a smoother side but what about hot pressed watercolour paper?

So off to google I went.

First, I wondered about watermarks on paper. Using my light box I discovered that 1 of my 3 pieces of paper had a watermark. Then as I read more I found out that this is not necessarily an indicator of the 'right' side. 

Secondly, I discovered that sometimes the page that is on the top of a pad or block of watercolour paper is not necessarily the 'right' side either.

In fact what I discovered was very freeing. It does not matter what side you paint on. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' side of watercolour paper. 

The Inspiration of a New Calendar

The festive season is over, I've opened a new calendar and January 2020 is here. 

Questions and thoughts begin to flow around the topic of goals, the word of the year, what my calling is and most importantly what marks will I make on that blank page.

The first week or two of January have been about planning.

• Participating in the Woman Unleashed (Amber Kuileimaijai Bonnici) online retreat Solstice and the Schulman Art (Miriam Schulman) workshop about The Art of Art Journaling. 
• Brainstorming goals of 2020.
• Refining the goals list into actionable, bite sized goals.
• Selection of my word of the year. MOTIVATED
• Reading and journaling about My Dream Life with the kikki.K (Kristina Karlsson) book Your Dream Life Starts Here. 

Now I'm feeling more focused and ready to paint with watercolour again. But as always after a break in creating with a specific medium (I'd been using acrylic paint in my art journal not watercolours) the fear of the blank page hits me.