The 9 Best Pastelmat papers (2023 reviews)

The strathmore pastelmat paper's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. There are different kinds of gritted and colored papers in this set, each made for different moods of paintings you want to make. It works well for oil pastels as well as pastel solids/drew pics with both products/excellent texture and weight. This way, the paper holds the chalk. It allows the mediums to stay on the paper and gives off different kinds of textures.

The pastel solid sticks are easy to make and make lighter or darker shades when used for trees and flowers and natural colors. It provides support for mobility without having to lug a drawing board around. It allows for mixing colors well and the paper is textured keeping all the color in. It is ideal for different drawings.

Why We Like This:

Great for a beginner looking to experiment
Good investment for long term

Best for Pastel painting: Clairefontaine Pastelmat Paper

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Best part: clairefontaine pastelmat paper costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. Pastelmat is really unique and excellent for both colored pencils and pastels. It takes many layers of color without becoming muddy. It is suitable for all dry techniques, lead, sanguine, charcoal and more. It is also true that it grabs the pastel in such a way that it doesn’t blend well, but it is great in holding multiple pastel layers. It allows for rich color development in both pastels and colored pencils.

It has a slightly gritty, very slight, surface but does not eat pencils like the sanded boards do. It is waterproof so if you want to use brush and pencils powder blender for your colored pencil paintings you can and it works great. It can be trimmed down so it's not a total waste.

Why We Like This:

Come in different colors and also it is more readily (quickly) available
Takes a lot of punishment and holds up without tearing
Good brand reputation

Best for charcoal: Canson High quality Paper

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Best part: canson high quality paper costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. IT's fun to have an assortment of colors to consider when you're planning a project. It works well with several mediums, and the lovely colours available makes this an attractive alternative to the more premium priced paper. There is medium blue, medium grey, light grey, light tan, beige, and white. The blending is marvelous on this paper. There is a smooth side and a rough side. The colors are really nice as well. There are 2 different pad sizes. It's handy for preplanning layouts and doing practice sketches. The paper is perfect for charcoal.

Why We Like This:

Best mid range quality pastel paper in a good range of colors
Great for colored paper and oil pastels
Wonderful selection of colors from canson's wide array of hues

Best for alcohol wash underpainting: Uart sanded Pastel Paper Pastelmat Paper

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Uart Sanded Pastel Paper makes beautiful and great paper with classic and smartly choosen materials. This is a very course, sand paper. It has a grit surface that gives it more tooth to grab the pastel particles. It can get wet which is perfect for alcohol wash underpainting. It comes in several different grits. It holds many layers of pastel. It is made for pastels specifically and you can get lots of layers on uart. The pastels adhere to the paper extremely well. It makes blending so very easy.

Why We Like This:

Watercolor, oil stains, alcohol washes etc
Great sanded paper for pastel paintings
Good sanded surface for pastel painting
Meant for soft (chalk) pastels, but you can use oils on anything

Best for flowers: Canson Pastelmat Paper

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The canson pastelmat paper's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. This pad is very nice, and you will love the texture on it. It is perfect for pastel drawings. The pastel paper is beautiful and it has a really nice tooth to it. It is made with 12 x 16 inch 98 pound/160 gram paper. The colors are a great bonus, and works as an underpainting pad. The pad is really cool by the tones, the size and the texture is awesone, but the sheets of the block are not made entirely well, and the content overflowed from the flap of the cover.

These gelatin-sized papers are 50 percent cotton, and resistant to fading. It gives you the choice for a different finish in the draw.

Why We Like This:

Great paper, earth tones are great for drawing landsapes, flowers, etc
Really high quality for excellent effects
One of the new comers and featured product

Best for dry Pastel: Clairefontaine Best Pastel Paper

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This pad of 12 sheets has a crystal paper spacer between each sheet to protect your drawings. It is a high quality paper that is smooth but has excellent abrasion to hold pastel material. The pastel adheres so well to the paper, there is no need to use a fixative between each layer. It holds many more layers of pastel than other cheaper brands and gives the ability to accept much more detail.

This surface is wonderful for wet and dry pastel work and is substantial. It is protected by a crystal paper divider. The paper is excellent, sturdy, strong and great for blending with oil pastels.

Why We Like This:

Nice colors, good texture, great results
Not quite a "board", but thicker and holds up better than heavy duty papers
Great paper for layering color and deep color

Best with either A wet or dry underpainting: Uart Pastelmat Paper

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Not everyone likes to purchase paper for their regular usage, but the uart pastelmat paper would be an anomoly. The paper works with either a wet or dry underpainting. It can accept under painting using a wide variety of media’s such as water, oil, mineral spirits, turpenoid and alcohol. It is used for a colored pencil drawing project. As far as the paper itself, it's well packaged in a nice cardboard envelope that is a convenient dispenser. It holds multiple layers of pastel.

The paper stays exposed all the way to the edges, while remaining perfectly flat throughout all the creative endeavors to come. It is ph neutral and acid free. It is great for holding multiple layers of pastels.

Why We Like This:

Great quality paper and good value
Durable versatility for mixed media art projects
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best for creating distinctive artwork with soft pastels: COLOUR BLOCK Pastelmat Paper

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The cold pressed paper has a slightly bumpy and textured surface with pronounced tooth. It doesn’t have a lot of teeth and isn’t very thick. It allows creative artists to maximize the bright colors and boost artistic creativity. The fine texture on the pages affords easy, smooth blending, mixing, and layering.

The 12 x 16 inch paperback pad contains 24 sheets of 230 gsm acid free paper. Tiny bumps and grooves shave the pigment from the pastel sticks and help the colors fix to the paper well. It’ll buckle a little first, then return to being flat once gesso dries. It is designed in glue bound paperback, so paper can be removed easily.

Why We Like This:

One of the new comers and featured product
Delivers what they promise

Best for multimedia painting: Swr Pastelmat Paper

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate paper. The swr pastelmat paper is exactly that - it's a simple paper that hits all the right notes. The high-precision sanding surface can hold a lot of pastel layers. It's water resistant and allows you to add quite a few layers of pastel. It uses a high-weight substrate board that prevents warping in wet conditions and resistant to acrylic, alcohol and oil.

It is great medium for pastels, and 500 grit holds many layers of pastels. Based on great substrate, it works well on wet or dry underpainting.

Why We Like This:

Weight substrate board that prevents warping in wet conditions
Special and meaningful gifts for your artist friends
Lot of satisfied buyers