East Quay Arts Centre, Watchet, Somerset, TA23 0AQ

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Two Rivers Paper

Dedicated to maintaining the English tradition of producing the finest handmade cotton and linen papers for artists.

PAPER FAQs

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No, Two Rivers is more than just watercolour paper.

We are proud of making one of the finest watercolour papers available today. It is an extremely durable and forgiving surface to make art upon. Our heavier weight sheets are used by oil painters and mixed media artists. Printmakers often use our lighter weight sheets with beautiful results, but it will require longer damping than usual for intaglio processes because it is so hard sized.

Yes.

Both cotton and linen are non-acidic and will last far longer than wood pulp. We add a size, generally known as ‘Aquapel’, which only works in alkaline conditions. An addition of 4% chalk acts to soak up acidity from the atmosphere or artists materials that might affect the paper.

No.

You can use both sides with equal confidence. The absorbency and surface strength will be exactly the same, just as the surface texture almost always is. However, you may notice a slightly raised pattern on one side of our ‘Heritage’ laid papers.

Not entirely.

All our paper is a mixture of cotton and linen fibre. It is impossible now to obtain used rag that is 100% free of synthetic fibres. Most of our cotton is industrial fibre that has never been spun or woven. That said, we frequently use denim and other shredded textiles sourced from clothing manufacturers. It is imperative that we use the purest and most durable raw materials to make such an outstanding product.

The largest that we can make is a Full Imperial 56cm x 76cm. The opening on our press doesn’t allow us to make anything larger.

We are able to produce a smoothed finish, equivalent to hot pressed if asked. This is a service that we can only offer on sizes 16 x 20” and 11 x 15”.  All our paper is wet pressed onto a random textured woven ‘felt’. This process imparts a slight tooth, traditionally known as ‘NOT’ which becomes increasingly pronounced in heavier weights.

Yes.

We are able to produce paper and board from 90gsm to 1500gsm. Two Rivers standard paper is sold as 140lb (310gsm), 200lb (410gsm), and 300lb (640gsm).

There is no yes or no answer.

We are sure that most of our paper is used unstretched, allowing the deckle edge to be retained to enhance the work. As with other brands of paper, the heavier weights will prove more stable when copious amounts of water or pigments are used. If you choose to stretch, we recommend prolonged wetting because the sheet is so well sized.

Yes.

We do make a standard range of coloured papers and these are listed in our web shop when we have stock available.

Yes.

We often take bespoke orders for nonstandard colours and sheet dimensions. The minimum order would depend upon a customer’s requirement, so please get in touch for a firm quotation if you have a project in mind.

No.

To give you the best possible surface for watercolour we traditionally hand-coat each sheet with rabbit skin glue. The consolidation and receptivity to paint is not matched by any of the non-animal alternatives we have tried. We may be able to supply you with the uncoated paper but it won’t perform as well.

All paper made before the mid-18th Century was formed on a grid-like mesh of wires laid side by side and held together by lines of stitching approximately one inch apart. This linear ‘laid’ pattern can be clearly seen when the paper is looked through against a light source. After that date, and today, most paper is formed on finely woven wire cloth or fabric and no pattern is discernible. Such paper is known as ‘wove’.