Challenges of hot press paper

I’ve tried painting on hot press paper and find it difficult because it’s seems impossible to paint on top of any layers. A dried layer of paint gets stirred up at the slightest touch of a wet brush.

Is there some secret to painting layers on hot press? Or does hot press require that you paint each section in one sweep?

Hot press paper is indeed a whole different experience than cold press or rough paper which is my favorite. I haven't figured it out but it appears that it's preferable to paint in "one sweep"  which means less water than I normally use. It's also a good idea to let the colours mix on the paper with hot press, rather than glaze in layers.

Other tips I've read include using staining transparent pigment for the first layers and to use the more opaque non-staining paints as the final layers.

I've also heard that it might be possible to use lots and lots of water to soak the paper before applying paint. This allows the paper to soak the pigment into the fibres of the paper but you can only do this on the first layer.

The smoother the paper, the more suited it is to dry-brush and the more difficult it is to get smooth, soft effects from water-blurring, since even drying is harder to achieve. 

This weeks artist find is Anna Masson.

Have a great week

Danielle