{"id":4644540285046,"title":"Master's Choice Watercolour Block - 14.17\"x 20.07\" - Hot Press","handle":"masters-choice-watercolour-block-14-17x-20-08-hot-press","description":"\u003cp\u003e100% cotton, acid-free, internally and externally sized on both sides with traditional gelatin, The Master's Choice by Baohong weighs in at 140 lb.(300 gsm) This is a premium paper at a not-so premium price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiven China's centuries-old traditions in watercolour and papermaking, it's not surprising that the country can produce a world-class watercolour paper. What is surprising is that very few Chinese-made watercolour papers have been generally available in the north American market but that is about to change. Welcome to your new favourite watercolour paper!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKeep reading to learn more about this paper that's been a few years in the making.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis story begins around 5 years ago when during a visit to China, Australian watercolour artists Ross Patterson and David Taylor were approached by the owner of a small paper mill in northeast China that wanted to compete on the world stage with their paper. Upon their return, the artists were introduced to Luke Senior, owner of Senior Art Supply (Melbourne's largest independent art retailer) and Neef Australia, a leading importer and distributor of art supplies \"down-under\" including Michael Harding oils and Daniel Smith watercolours. Luke was intrigued by the artists' story and being frustrated by the expense and lack of choice in premium watercolour papers, he decided to track down the mill owner and open a conversation. This didn't prove to be an easy task as nobody at the mill spoke English, but eventually Luke started a dialog with the owner through an interpreter and he was soon on a plane headed for China to visit the mill. What he found was the small, family owned Baohong mill making high-end fiduciary papers and a small amount of high-quality handmade watercolour paper but unfortunately, the characteristics of the paper were not well-suited to western watercolour techniques. However, the mill owner was very passionate about bringing his product to an international audience so Luke agreed to act as go-between to a team of world-famous watercolour artists located in Melbourne that would work with Luke and the mill to perfect the paper. It was a daunting task given the distances involved and the language difficulties, but after three years hard work the team felt they had achieved their goal and the new paper, christened \"The Master's Choice by Baohong\" was finally ready for prime-time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver the years Luke and Steve Lynton, the owner of Armadillo, had become good friends as a result of both attending Creativeworld in Frankfurt every year and Luke offered to introduce Steve to the mill if he was interested in importing the paper to North America as a sort of \"joint-venture\" with Luke who was primarily interested in his home market of Australia. The rest is really history. The paper was launched in October 2019 in Australia to great acclaim and in October 2020, it was finally available in North America!\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2021-02-25T15:38:23-04:00","created_at":"2021-02-08T14:47:53-04:00","vendor":"ARM","type":"WATER PAPER","tags":["Brands_The Master's Choice","Paper_Professional Watercolour Blocks","Price_$100 to $200"],"price":11095,"price_min":11095,"price_max":11095,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":32234681008246,"title":"Default Title","option1":"Default Title","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"557801","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Master's Choice Watercolour Block - 14.17\"x 20.07\" - Hot Press","public_title":null,"options":["Default Title"],"price":11095,"weight":0,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"6932525801142","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.dnashoppe.biz\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Ross-hp-14x20.gif?v=1614281889"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.dnashoppe.biz\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Ross-hp-14x20.gif?v=1614281889","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":20166912213110,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.424,"height":597,"width":850,"src":"\/\/www.dnashoppe.biz\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Ross-hp-14x20.gif?v=1614281889"},"aspect_ratio":1.424,"height":597,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.dnashoppe.biz\/cdn\/shop\/products\/Ross-hp-14x20.gif?v=1614281889","width":850}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003e100% cotton, acid-free, internally and externally sized on both sides with traditional gelatin, The Master's Choice by Baohong weighs in at 140 lb.(300 gsm) This is a premium paper at a not-so premium price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiven China's centuries-old traditions in watercolour and papermaking, it's not surprising that the country can produce a world-class watercolour paper. What is surprising is that very few Chinese-made watercolour papers have been generally available in the north American market but that is about to change. Welcome to your new favourite watercolour paper!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKeep reading to learn more about this paper that's been a few years in the making.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis story begins around 5 years ago when during a visit to China, Australian watercolour artists Ross Patterson and David Taylor were approached by the owner of a small paper mill in northeast China that wanted to compete on the world stage with their paper. Upon their return, the artists were introduced to Luke Senior, owner of Senior Art Supply (Melbourne's largest independent art retailer) and Neef Australia, a leading importer and distributor of art supplies \"down-under\" including Michael Harding oils and Daniel Smith watercolours. Luke was intrigued by the artists' story and being frustrated by the expense and lack of choice in premium watercolour papers, he decided to track down the mill owner and open a conversation. This didn't prove to be an easy task as nobody at the mill spoke English, but eventually Luke started a dialog with the owner through an interpreter and he was soon on a plane headed for China to visit the mill. What he found was the small, family owned Baohong mill making high-end fiduciary papers and a small amount of high-quality handmade watercolour paper but unfortunately, the characteristics of the paper were not well-suited to western watercolour techniques. However, the mill owner was very passionate about bringing his product to an international audience so Luke agreed to act as go-between to a team of world-famous watercolour artists located in Melbourne that would work with Luke and the mill to perfect the paper. It was a daunting task given the distances involved and the language difficulties, but after three years hard work the team felt they had achieved their goal and the new paper, christened \"The Master's Choice by Baohong\" was finally ready for prime-time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver the years Luke and Steve Lynton, the owner of Armadillo, had become good friends as a result of both attending Creativeworld in Frankfurt every year and Luke offered to introduce Steve to the mill if he was interested in importing the paper to North America as a sort of \"joint-venture\" with Luke who was primarily interested in his home market of Australia. The rest is really history. The paper was launched in October 2019 in Australia to great acclaim and in October 2020, it was finally available in North America!\u003c\/p\u003e"}