Etchr Watercolour Paper Block Review

I know, I know, I know, what is there to say about a watercolour paper block? Well, I have been testing and demonstrating both the Etchr Signature Watercolour Sketchbook and in this article, the Etchr Watercolour Paper Block and for the past few weeks, I have come to understand and appreciate the value of paper more than I could have ever realised.

I have always known that the surface we artists use to create on, has a huge impact on the art we create, right do to its longevity. However the past few weeks has really opened my eyes to paper and in particular watercolour paper.

Etchr Watercolour Paper Block Characteristics

I understand that some of us will look at a block of watercolour paper and just think, what is the difference, aren’t they all just the same? Well over the past few weeks, I have 13 different watercolour paper blocks, from Arches, St Cuthberts Mill, Winsor and Newton, Daler Rowney, Baohong, Fabriano, Hahnemühle, Canson, Castle Arts, Arteza, Arrtx etc. I have tested and compared them all with this new Etchr Watercolour Paper Block and tried to distinguish any similarities or differences.

There are obviously huge differences between 100% cotton and pulp watercolour papers, the difference is night and day. When I first received the Etchr Watercolour Paper Block, I sincerely did not expect to get a lot from it. I have been a huge fan of Etchr from the beginning, but for some reason I simply thought the watercolour block was going to be a token gesture to artists alongside their incredible watercolour sketchbooks. Boy was I so far off the mark, I actually considered my ability to review art supplies at that moment.

There are two paper formats that the Etchr Watercolour Paper Block is available in, Cold Pressed and Hot Pressed. As with the Etchr Signature Sketchbook that I reviewed, the block is also Cold Pressed. I personally love the cold pressed format, however I will definitely be buying the Hot Pressed formats in both the blocks and sketchbook to try with different mediums and art genres.

As I conduct this review, Etchr only sell the Portrait format watercolour block. There are 20 sheets in each block, every sheet is 100% cotton and I will talk about this further into the review. The paper is all acid free which lends itself to the archivability factor, no yellowing of the paper as we find in our artwork from being kids in the 70’s, crawling through our parents attics. The over all dimensions of both the Hot and Cold Pressed blocks are 9 x 12 inches or 23 x 31 cm.

The paper weight is 350gsm, a fantastic weight for watercolour paper and again this is what helps prevent buckling of the paper when copious amounts of water is applied. Every aspect of the Etchr Watercolour Paper block is vegan friendly, one of the many things I love about Etchr is their continuous eco friendly and animal friendly approach to every product they manufacture.

Etchr Watercolour Paper Block Performance

As soon as Etchr contacted me about reviewing their Watercolour Paper Block and their Signature Watercolour Sketchbook, I knew exactly what artwork I was going to try on the paper in order to help test and demonstrate it.

Our son Jude, who is now 23 and graduating his Masters in Aerospace Engineering this July 2026, has just bought an apartment with his girlfriend. They have both been dating since the first few weeks in their first year at University and now that they have their own place, my son asked if I could do a watercolour painting, of a particular area, which holds many wonderful memories for our family.

My wife and I used to take all three of our kids on holiday, every year, to the Lake District. We wanted to instil in them an understanding and respect for nature. We didn’t want to go abroad and expect our kids to sit on a beach every summer, in stead we would walk in the forests, allow the kids to swim in the lakes, climb the trees, get close to the wildlife without disturbing it. One place we would visit is Grange, a cluster of houses, a church, café and pub, situated across an ancient humpback bridge and along the river.

The painting you see in this post is Grange and when my Son asked me to paint it, I was both over the moon and terrified. I picked up a lot of helpful tips and techniques from the amazing watercolour artist Geoff Kersey. Nevertheless this painting was going to help me really understand the paper and put it through its paces. I also completed a few extra tests which you can watch on my YouTube review of the Etchr Watercolour Paper Block.

As I mentioned, Etchr sent me the cold pressed version of their watercolour paper block which was perfect for the techniques I knew I would be using. The 100% cotton content of the paper also provided so many advantages to painting, such as, immense durability when needing to lift pigment, when scrubbing the paper was required, yet no ripping or tearing of the paper occurred.

Perfomring wet on wet techniques were equally perfect, the cotton content allowed the paper to take large amounts of water, never buckling the paper. The cotton content also provides working time for the artist, rather the paper absorbing the water super fast, as most lower quality papers will, the water sits a little longer providing more time to perform wet on wet technique etc.

When it came to the large mountain in the background of my Grange painting, I needed to conduct a little bit of dry brush work and this is technique yields the best results on a textured paper surface such as Rough, however the cold pressed texture was enough on this occasion. Both on the back ground and shingle area of the foreground, yielded lovely dry brush work results.

I then wanted to show how well the Etchr watercolour paper block allowed the pigment to be lifted, so on the YouTube video review, I conducted two real time tests, applying a heavy application of water and showcasing no buckling. This was followed by a bit of wet on wet and finally after the paper dried, lifting of the pigment. I conducted this test with both a watercolour brush and clean water as well as a small natural sponge soaked in clean water. You can see the results below as well as the YouTube video, but the paper was not damaged in anyway from the scrubbing.

Etchr Watercolour Paper Block Pricing

For artists here in the UK, to purchase the Hot Pressed Etchr Watercolour Paper Block, 350gsm, 20 100% Cotton sheets, Portrait and 9 x 12 inches, you can expect to pay approximately £32 and the same price for the Cold Pressed Etchr Watercolour Paper Block.

I was unable to find either the Cold or Hot Pressed Etchr Watercolour Paper Blocks on the US Amazon store, so I have added a link directly to the Etchr store and they will sort out pricing and shipping. As soon as I am able to find pricing on the US Amazon store I will of course provide information and links.

Etchr Watercolour Paper Block Conclusion

I absolutely loved using the Etchr Watercolour Paper Block and I was genuinely pleasantly surprised with the quality of this paper. Etchr have other watercolour paper block pads, despite them being decent quality, they are only 50% cotton and not even close to the quality of this new watercolour paper block. I may have perhaps put a little too much testing and research into this product review, but I really wanted to get it right.

Etchr have always gone the extra mile to provide quality products for artists and whilst I am a huge fan of Etchr, for any new comer to The Art Gear Guide, I am not paid by any company to review their products, I only get sent the product to review, my words are my own and all the testing and research I conduct is my own. Every single review on The Art Gear Guide website and YouTube channel is 100% my own.

I would absolutely love to see Etchr release this paper in Rough format and a couple of other sizes, perhaps a smaller more compact block and then a much large block, A3 size. With the paper at this exceptional quality, a larger format would be perfect for watercolour artists. When a company release a new product, they take it slow to get their customers feed back and hopefully this is exactly what Etchr are doing, with a view to releasing larger blocks and a rough textured format.

Etchr Watercolour Paper Block GIVEAWAY

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Etchr Watercolour Paper Block GIVEAWAY 〰️

I you would like to win a brand new Etchr Watercolour Paper Block, Cold Pressed of course, click the scrolling text and it will take you to the youTube video review were the details are in the description box. No matter where you live in the world, if you win, I will ship this item out to you and you will get the chance to test this wonderful watercolour paper block from Etchr, completely free.