Full disclosure: I love every single Stonehenge paper product I’ve tried. They are perfection, plain and simple. The Aqua Cold Press is no exception.
In Part 1 of my search for the best colored pencil paper, I described the differences between the 4 brands of colored pencil I’m using in my test: Caran d’Ache Luminance, Caran d’Ache Pablo, Faber-Castell Polychromos, and Prismacolor Premier Soft Core. The differences between the properties of pencils affect the way they will perform on the paper, so it’s worth a quick read if you aren’t familiar with the pencils.
Before I did a more methodical test, I just wanted to play a bit with gradients of my two favorite pencils: Luminance (wax-based) and Polychromos (oil-based). They both preformed exceptionally well, however Luminance applied more smoothly. It’s worth noting that the scraps I used were trimmed from the edges of a watercolor I was working on and, despite being banged up, they still easily accepted thick layers of color.
Then I moved on to test all four of the brands I mentioned above. From left to right, the colors I used are as follows:
- Polychromos – Rose Madder Lake
- Polychromos – Skyblue
- Prismacolor – Lilac
- Luminance – Spring Green
- Pablo – Orange *
- Luminance –Anthraquinoid Pink
- Luminance – Light Malachite Green
- Pablo – Lemon Yellow
- Prismacolor – Non-Photo Blue
- Polychromos – Dark Cadmium Yellow
The Verdict
Stonehenge Aqua Cold Press is an excellent choice for both oil and wax based colored pencils. I slightly preferred the wax-based pencils to the oil-based pencils, because they allowed a couple more layers of coverage. The application is velvety-smooth even after several layers of color have been added. There was virtually no wax bloom to speak of. This paper is at the top of my list for both watercolor AND colored pencil projects.
Here is a 🟢 BONUS DOT 🟢 showing 1) light, 2) medium, 3) heavy, and 4) burnished Polychromos application.
The Color Chronicles 