The other day I grabbed a piece of watercolour paper out of my drawer to start a portrait. I did my drawing (not noticing anything different or unusual) and then started painting. Panic stations - for some reason I couldn't get the paint to move around like normal and the paint seemed to dry instantly it hit the paper and the colours also seemed dulled as they dried. What was going on I thought? Then the penny dropped. After a lot of experimenting with different papers, I hit on Langton 200lbs and that is the paper I always work with now. What I had done with the portrait was to reach into the drawer and pull out a of sheet of Saunders Waterford High White by mistake. I bought some Saunders a while back and tried it and hated it and it has languished in my drawer ever since. The difference between the Langton and the Saunders is legend. The Saunders, to me, is like blotting paper which the paints sticks to with a tenacity that defies any attempts to get it to move and mingle on the paper. I have tried Arches (pretty much the same as the Saunders), Fabriano Artistico (rather nasty cream colour and also dulls colours), Two Rivers (feted as one of the best but in my opinion dreadful stuff - dull colours and blotting paper feel), Bockingford (the nearest to Langton, but a bit unremarkable). Now that I have destroyed most of the well know watercolour papers in one fell swoop of my pen, I will say in their defence that it is very much horses for courses and some people will hate Langton with a vengence or won't even care what they paint on. Probably the most important thing is to experiment with lots of papers and hit on the one that positively enhances your work. There are enough things working against you as an artist without your paper (or equipment) turning on you and biting you!