Review on Premium PHOENIX Watercolor Painting Canvas Panels - 8x10 Inch/6 Pack - Triple Primed Cotton Canvas Boards for Vibrant Watercolor Art by Summer Hendricks

These canvases are advertised by Phoenix Art as "watercolor canvases". If you're a watercolor painter, you know that most canvases don't absorb the watery properties of watercolors. This is because the canvases are coated with a composition that contains gesso, which is waterproof. Gessoed canvases work great with acrylics and oils, but not watercolors. For the manufacture of watercolor absorbent canvases, a special combination of compositions is required. The coating on these types of canvases is called a watercolor primer. Primer is the compound that coats canvas and makes it receptive to watercolor. This brand claims to have a triple coating on a cotton stretch board. It is said to be excellent for watercolor surfaces. However, you can see in my photos and videos that this is not the case. I found it resistant to water colors and even has droplets on the surface with very little absorbency. I make my own watercolor primer because I haven't found a commercial product that works as well as the one I make myself. Having had experience painting on canvas and alternating paper surfaces, I have found that a good watercolor primer absorbs paint and moves like watercolor on paper, with good flow and absorption. Unfortunately, these pictures did not keep what they promised. The water simply spread over the surface and collected in beads.