I kept some of my favorite paintings from the beginning of my painting education. The supports use are watercolor paper, canvas, bristol board, Yupo and canvas board. Some with black gesso as the ground.
The watercolor paper that were not gessoed, the colors are vibrant because of the light being able to shine through. The ones that were gessoed look great and are very strong and stiff… highly durable and are in great condition.
Inexpensive cotton canvas are in horrible condition. Gessoed yes, but they are cracking and not even a year old. Do not buy cheap no-name canvas!
Normal canvas are in great condition, even after 12 years. I use brand names like Fredrix, Monet, Vincent or even Dick Blick.
Canvas Board are horrible due to warping from humidity (every once in a blue moon). These were the Fredrix brand.
Bristol board I’m debating. The paint looks good, but it leaves the paint more shiny than on watercolor paper. Plus it is harder to maneuver the paint on bristol board.
Yupo, is actually easier to paint on. If you get the right amount of paint, you can over throw the smooth palette-like consistency of the paper. I’ve only had that for several months, so the durability and deterioration are still up for debate.
My favorite support out of all the choices is definitely watercolor paper. Watercolor paper 140lbs. is resilient, and easy to store, manage and frame. It is great also to have 8 to 10 well-made paintings to put in a portable portfolio to show people. It is next to impossible to get the machine of a printing service to get the colors correct! Same with cameras.
Stretched canvas is my second choice. Yes, ready-made canvas is more expensive than home-made stretched canvas, however, I still recommend paying the extra dollar and having a canvas stretched by the professionals. The canvas just looks better than artist made (unless of course you, are talented in this area, as well as have the room to do this). The reason I like ready made canvas is it looks professional and they are ready to hang as soon as you completed the painting. No framing, no fuss, no muss, just hang and you’re done!