Ref 96536C - Paint'ON Multi-Technique Glued Paper Pad (40 Sheets) - A3 Size, 250gsm Heavyweight Paper, Natural Coloured Paper, Acid Free, pH Neutral

I wasn't sure that I would actually get four of these 'paint on' pads, which are high quality mixed media drawing paper, 40 sheets A5 size. There was only one review from two years ago and the reviewer had received only one pad after ordering a pack of four. But these pads seemed very similar to another pad of the same make which had good reviews and was about £11 for one pad, so I took a chance and ordered them. Now Clairefontaine has a very good reputation, this paper is a good weight of 250g/m2,acid free. Paper can be a very subjective thing, some people like it smooth, some like it with more tack. This paper is white cellulose paper with a light grain. At approx. £3 for a 40 sheet pad, I think it will prove excellent value. I ordered 4 x (4 pads) i.e. 16 pads, so I hope I am right. I think it will be alright for acrylic painting which is what I intend to use it for.

I must admit that I really like this paper. I own most of the available colours it comes in and have been really enjoying using the lovely bright white with coloured pencils, soft pastels and pastel pencils. It works really well with my inexpensive Koh - I - noor pastels that I enjoy messing around with mainly making sky studies. Its surface is grainy enough for the pastel to grip but isn't as intrusive as the more expensive laid and honeycombed patterned pastel papers that I own. I've used it with ink and many kinds of dry media where it works well but don't think it is suitable for watercolour apart from the occasional gouache highlight. It doesn't buckle badly but colours dry dull. (Although I haven't tried it out with acrylic. ) But it is sturdy, happily takes far more erasing than cartridge papers will and takes a lot of punishment before it starts looking overworked. It outperforms many of other more expensive multi media papers that I own and is the first I turn to relax and play with. It wouldn't be fair to compare its performance to my most expensive papers which are 100 % cotton but also cost as much for a single sheet than this block of 40 A3 sheets does. However I am a great believer in having a surface that is both good enough not to struggle with but also cheap enough to use freely without worrying. Otherwise cost becomes a barrier to all the necessary observations, experiments and practice that I believe is necessary to develop as an artist. This Clairfontaine Paint'on is now my preferred surface for all these and I recommend it. UPDATE: I've just bought a second pad of this as it has become my preferred paper for experimentation with my shamefully large collection of dry media that I have unearthed that I have not explored properly. Its tremendous capacity for erasure and reworking makes it excellent for this.

I've been looking for an A5 sketchbook for some time now and have struggled. I've been buying a set of cheap sketchbooks from a stationary store and Amazon for about 3/4 years now. Same brand, same size, worked every time. A big brand name. However they suddenly changed the paper quality and it left me scrambling to find a replacement! I tried 3x different sketchbooks from Amazon and none of them worked. The pages were too smooth, or they didn't blend correctly. At a loss I tried this one - the Clairefontaine pad in A5. It is, by far, the BEST paper I've ever used for watercolour and blending. I primarily use small markers and blend these together with a watercolour brush pen. It is seamless, and really holds up well. You can see in the images that the output is bright, punchy and even the saturation test really holds up. I used a pigment black marker on top and this also held nicely! In terms of bleed - even a chunky permanent marker didn't go through. The texture is spot on - a white finish with a slight grainyness to it (not overly textured like watercolour paper, but a good level of resistance). The best part? You can tear out each sheet - perfect for prepping art to sell / scan in without cutting or tearing out. I'll definitely be buying more and really hope Clairefontaine don't change the paper finish and quality!

I bought this paper to practice coloured pencil drawing with after hearing some reviews. It hasn’t dissapointed so far, it can take quite a few layers and the quality feels great. Only downside is the weight at 250gsm. I would prefer a little heavier at 300gsm. I’m have also bought the coloured version and looking forward to trying that. I would say if you are new to mixed media or indeed coloured pencils this is a great starter paper that won’t break the bank and gives a great result. I will be buying it again.

This is, as you'd expect from Clairefontaine, a top notch paper at a very reasonable price. The paper is brilliant white, with a good amount of texture on one side, slightly less on the other. Either side works well with coloured pencils, ink washes, charcoal and pastels, but it works really really well with acrylic paints or gouache. It doesn't particularly lend itself to graphite pencil (too much texture, in my opinion) or watercolour, and it certainly isn't for nib pen or liner pen drawing. It's acid free, meaning longevity of work, and each sheet is easily removed from the pad. I really like this paper, and will probably end up buying a lot more.

This is the best pastel I have found for use with soft pastels. It's expensive but worth the price as cheaper ones don't do justice to the pastels.

This is my favourite paper. Ive been using it for a few years now & Ive used it with almost every single medium due to doing a lot of mixed media projects for school. Watercolour paints, acrylic paints, graphite & charcoal, coloured pencils, oil pastels, everything. It's just great all around paper. For watercolours if you add too many layers it can buckle a little but for the price & amount you get it's worth it in my opinion. I use it for most of my art because its so handy, and doesnt have the guilt that super expensive paper does haha. I dont really have any complaints, I couldn't recommend it more

I bought this after it being recommended by a fellow colourist on Instagram. Not being a natural artist I find colouring illustrations the easiest form of art but wanted a decent paper which could be printed on. This is perfect and has no issues passing through the printer. I can't comment on how the colours work out but can't imagine there'll be any issues. I use artist quality coloured pencils and Pan Pastels. Very happy with this purchase.