Arches Oil Paper, 9" x 12"

For oil painters who need a high-quality surface without the fuss and space requirements of a stretched canvas, we recommend Arches Oil Paper. Made from 100% cotton and prepared with a unique sizing and oil-barrier coat, Arches Oil Paper is ready to use without additional primer. That means you can start painting without clearing the room, setting up your easel, and committing to a large canvas.

As convenient as it is, Arches Oil Paper is still a luxurious and resilient surface. We tested it with a variety of oil colors, mediums, and mixed media techniques, and the paper didn't pill, tear, bleed, or buckle. In fact, you may find that the surface texture (similar to cold press watercolor paper) is more pleasant to paint on than the rougher surface of a canvas.

Twelve sheets per pad. Made in France.

About Arches

The history of Arches is remarkable and very long — the Arches mill was first consolidated in eastern France in the late 15th century. From the very beginning, Arches was a high-end mill. Some of its earliest clients were the world's first publishers. The proto-books of this period are called 'incunabla,' a type of manuscript printed only until about 1500. Many of them were printed on Arches paper.

In the late eighteenth century, the Arches mill was part of the preservation of Voltaire's literary works. The celebrated French playwright Caron de Beaumarchais, a close confidant of Voltaire, purchased Arches and two other mills after Voltaire's death as part of a grand scheme to publish, promote, and preserve Voltaire's many literary works. (He sold the mills again after 13 years, having preserved his friend's legacy but lost money.)

In the early nineteenth century, Arches was commissioned by Napoleon I to create a specially watermarked paper to commemorate the emperor's return from Egypt. By the late 19th century, Arches was modernizing and industrializing, using its growing reputation to invest in more high-end production techniques. Its main businesses in 1900 were watercolor paper, fine-art printing paper, and banknote paper, just as they would be through the modern era.