My name is Celia Drummond. I’m 41, I’m a part-time librarian and full-time amateur artist from Inverness. I’ve been drawing seriously for about three years — life drawing classes on Tuesday evenings, sketchbook work most mornings before the house wakes up, the occasional larger piece when I have the time and the nerve. I’m not a professional. I’m not trying to be. But I take it seriously, and I’ve been getting better, and I’ve started to care about the quality of what I produce.
For most of those three years, I’d been buying whatever cartridge paper was cheapest. Thin, slightly shiny, the kind that pills when you erase and buckles when you apply anything with moisture. I told myself it didn’t matter because I was still learning. Then I tried a sheet of proper paper and realised I’d been making things harder for myself than they needed to be.
The Problem With Cheap Paper
It’s easy to dismiss paper as a minor variable when you’re learning to draw. The skill is in the hand, not the surface — or so I’d told myself. But cheap cartridge paper has specific problems that compound over time.
The tooth — the texture that allows dry media like pencil, charcoal, and pastel to grip the surface — is inconsistent on low-quality paper. You get patches that take the medium well and patches that don’t, which means your marks are unpredictable in a way that’s hard to diagnose if you don’t know what you’re looking for. I’d been blaming my technique for results that were partly the paper’s fault.
The weight was also an issue. Thin paper buckles under pressure, tears when you erase firmly, and doesn’t hold layered work well. For quick sketches it’s fine. For anything more considered, it’s a constant source of small frustrations.
And then there’s the yellowing. I’d gone back to look at some of my earlier work and found pieces that had already started to discolour. Not dramatically, but noticeably. Work I’d been pleased with at the time, ageing in a way that felt premature and preventable.
Finding the Artway Studio Paper
I’d been looking for a proper upgrade for a while — something substantial enough for serious work, in A2 for the larger pieces I’d been wanting to attempt, and in a quantity that made the cost per sheet reasonable. I found the Artway Studio A2 Cartridge Drawing Paper — 170gsm, acid-free, 100 sheets and the specification answered every concern I’d had about my previous paper.
170gsm is a professional weight — substantial enough to handle firm pencil work, layered charcoal, and soft pastels without buckling or tearing. The acid-free processing — using oxygenation rather than harsh bleaching — means the paper won’t yellow over time, which matters enormously if you want your work to last. The off-white tone is warmer and more forgiving than stark white, which suits the kind of tonal work I do. And 100 loose A2 sheets meant I could work at scale without rationing.
Why This Paper Specifically
- 170gsm professional weight — enough tooth for pencils, pens, markers, charcoal, and soft pastels. Substantial enough to handle layering and erasing without degrading. This is the weight serious artists use for a reason.
- Acid-free, archival quality — processed with oxygenation rather than bleaching, which preserves the paper’s integrity over time. Work done on this paper won’t yellow or deteriorate the way work on cheap paper does.
- Off-white tone — warmer than bright white, which reduces eye strain over long sessions and suits tonal and charcoal work particularly well. It’s a small detail that makes a real difference to how finished work looks.
- 100 loose A2 sheets — loose sheets rather than a pad, which means you can work flat, pin to a board, or store flat without curl. A2 gives you genuine scale for ambitious pieces.
- Artway’s reputation — a brand that supplies art schools and professional studios. Not a consumer brand that happens to sell paper — a specialist.
The First Session on Proper Paper
I used the Artway paper for the first time on a Tuesday evening life drawing session. I’d been working in charcoal, which is where the difference between good and bad paper is most immediately obvious.
The tooth was consistent across the entire sheet. Every mark landed the way I intended it to. When I blended with my finger, the charcoal moved smoothly rather than dragging or resisting. When I erased, the surface held — no pilling, no tearing, no ghost marks that wouldn’t shift. I could layer, lift, and rework in a way I simply hadn’t been able to on my previous paper.
The piece I produced that evening was the best life drawing I’d done. Not because I’d suddenly improved — but because the surface was finally letting me do what I’d been trying to do. The gap between what I was attempting and what was appearing on the page closed in a way that felt almost unfair.
I drove home thinking about all the sessions where I’d blamed my hand for problems that were partly the paper’s fault.
Six Months of Serious Work
I’m about sixty sheets in. I’ve used the paper for life drawing, portrait studies, large-scale charcoal landscapes, and some experimental pastel work I’d been putting off because I didn’t trust my previous paper to handle it. The pastel work in particular has been a revelation — the tooth holds the pigment beautifully and allows for the kind of layering that pastel demands.
None of the sheets I’ve used have shown any sign of yellowing or deterioration. The work I’ve done on this paper looks as fresh as the day I made it, which is exactly what acid-free archival paper is supposed to do and exactly what my previous paper wasn’t doing.
I’ve also started framing pieces, which I hadn’t done before — partly because I’m happier with the results, and partly because I trust the paper to last. Three pieces are now on the walls of my studio. That’s new.
What Changed
The work is better. Not because I’ve improved dramatically in six months — though I have improved — but because the surface is no longer working against me. Good paper doesn’t make you a better artist. It removes the obstacles that were preventing you from being as good as you already are. That’s a meaningful distinction, and it’s one I wish I’d understood sooner.
I’ve also stopped feeling like I’m practising and started feeling like I’m making work. That shift in how I think about what I’m doing has changed how I approach each session. I take more time. I’m more deliberate. The paper feels worth the effort, so I give it more effort.
Who I’d Recommend This To
Any artist — amateur or professional — who has been buying cheap paper and wondering why their results feel inconsistent. Anyone working in charcoal, pastel, pencil, or marker who wants a surface that responds predictably and holds up to serious work. And anyone who has ever looked back at old pieces and been disappointed by how they’ve aged — because acid-free paper is the straightforward solution to that problem.
Where to Get It
The Artway Studio A2 Cartridge Drawing Paper — 170gsm, 100 Sheets is available from ALTOE. If you’re stocking up on art materials more broadly, these collections are worth exploring:
- Drawing & Painting Paper — quality surfaces for every medium and scale
- Art & Craft Paper — paper for drawing, painting, printing and making
- Art & Crafting Materials — everything you need for serious creative work
- Arts & Crafts — materials and tools for artists at every level
- Hobbies & Creative Arts — supplies for the things that make life richer
Celia Drummond is a librarian and artist from Inverness. She draws most mornings before the house wakes up and has three pieces on the walls of her studio that she’s genuinely proud of. She is currently sixty sheets into her first pack of Artway paper and has already ordered a second.
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