Art Spectrum Colourfix | An hardwearing surface for Pastels, Paints, Pencils and Inks

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Sizes/formats Available:
Single sheets
23cm x 30cm (9" x 12")
A3 - 29cm x 42cm (11.7" x 16.5")
50cm x 70cm (20" x 28")

20 Colour Tones:
Clear, White, Sand, Rich Beige, Australian Grey, Soft Umber
Raw Sienna, Terracotta, Burnt Umber, Rose Grey, Burgundy,
Aubergine, Deep Ultra, Storm Blue, Blue Haze, Fresh Grey
Leaf Green Dark, Olive Green, Elephant, Deep Black

​Pads - 340gsm
Available sizes:
24cm x 30cm (9.5" x 12")
​30cm x 40cm (12" x 15.5")     (12 sheets)
Colours Available:
12 sheets of white
12 sheets of black
Cool - 12 sheets - 4 assorted colours, 3 of each​
Warm - 12 sheets - 4 assorted colours, 3 of each
​All interleaved with Glassine paper

Ideal for: Acrylics, inks, silverpoint, oil pastels, gouache, watercolours and dry media such as soft pastels, charcoal and pencils

Printed on 300gsm hot press watercolour paper and with its dense, lightfast colours and fine deep tooth. ​

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GSM: 300

ACID FREE:  YES

LIGHTFAST: YES

 costs: RRP: From £5.00 (full sheet)

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Colours available:

CLEAR

WHITE

SAND

AUSTRALIAN GREY

SOFT UMBER

RICH BEIGE

RAW SIENNA

TERRACOTTA

BURGUNDY

BURNT UMBER

ROSE GREY

AUBERGINE

BLUE HAZE

DEEP ULTRA

STORM BLUE

OLIVE GREEN

LEAF GREEN DARK

FRESH GREY

ELEPHANT

DEEP BLACK

read about the 'smooth' version

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Other related articles that may be of interest

Unison soft pastels article

Help for the new commission art business

Comparing Coloured pencil brands

Working with the textured Colourfix paper

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A good choice for coloured pencils

​A fellow artist from New Zealand introduced me to Colourfix paper for soft pastel work and sent me a couple of sheets to try. Although I found it a little heavy for my soft pastels, I tried it with my coloured pencils and enjoyed it. I used heavy paper weighing around 220gsm for my coloured pencil pieces because it allowed for more layers and supported heavy applications. Since I prefer working on coloured paper, it is the perfect option, especially for larger pieces. I have included two rough images of a Tiger's eye below, both drawn with the same pencils. However, the one on the right was completed on a cream card weighing 220gsm, while the one on the left was done on 'Sand' toned Colourfix paper.

COLOURFIX SAMPLE

220gsm SMOOTH PAPER

You can see that the details on the Tiger's eye on the right appears smoother than the colourfix one, this is an effect I like to recreate and is the reason I have always used this weight of paper, however, the Tigers eye on the colourfix paper to the left, allows multiple applications of colours onto the paper, allowing whites to work into blacks, an impossible task with coloured pencils on most papers, but very important when you are creating a beautiful animal such as the Tiger which has a lot of whites,blacks and terracotta tones very close together.

The downside of the Colourfix, due to the coarseness of the surface, it wears pencils down a little quicker than normal, in my opinion, this is a negative I can live with as the vibrancy of colours you get from coloured pencils are made even more vibrant by working on the Colourfix paper, which I have found is lacking on some highly recommended papers such as the USA's CP Artists favourite paper 'Stonehenge' - personally, for me, I just found it far too soft.

GRAMMARLY EDIT
​When comparing the tiger's eye drawn on two different types of paper, it is evident that the one on the right appears smoother. This effect is something I aim to achieve and why I prefer using this weight of paper. However, the tiger's eye, seen to the left, called Colourfix, allows for multiple applications of colours, making it possible to blend whites into blacks. This is particularly important when drawing animals like the tiger, which have whites, blacks, and terracotta tones close together. 

One downside of the Colourfix paper is its coarseness, which wears down the pencils faster than average. Nevertheless, I am willing to overlook this negative aspect because the vibrancy of colours it produces makes the coloured pencils even more vibrant. In comparison, highly recommended papers like the USA's coloured pencil artists' favourite paper, Stonehenge, are too soft for my liking and produce a different vibrancy.

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Below is another Tiger I begun a while back in coloured pencils on white Colourfix.  The right side shows the first layers of colour that all my pencil portraits begin with. The left side shows progress after multiple layers. I also used fixative in between layers, as it extends the application, allowing far layers than would be possible without it, and as an added bonus, it can create a textured surface at the end.

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The effectiveness of dark paper

This Snow Leopard was produced on black Colourfix. Using a dark base for light coloured subjects such as this Snow Leopard, cuts down the amount of layers required to create the realism in your work. Although coloured pencils are usually applied light to dark, with a dark base, you will work mostly with the lighter tones as the base creates ready made shading. The first image below has only been covered with one or two colours, and the effects are immediate. The black of the paper can still be seen in tiny amounts on the final portrait, which allows the pale tones to appear far brighter than they would on a lighter, base paper. 

Updated: September 2020