I need some advice on a couple of subjects-
1)I have used cold press illustration board for years to do my colored pencil work because I like its heft and rigidity- it saves me from hauling around a drawing board when I'm out of my studio. I am a little worried about its archival quality, though I do mat and frame archivally. Any suggestions for a heavy paper with gentle tooth that will take a lot of handling?
2) What do any of you suggest for fixing colored pencil work- I generally use Krylon's Workable Fixative and then Crystal Clear, but I wonder if there is a product that will spray on and really pop the color and be archival. I find that Workable Fixative can chip if the drawing is reworked in any way after spraying and then I have repairs to do. Any advice?

Many colored pencil artists, myself included, use Rising Stonehenge a great deal. It has a nice tooth and takes a fair amount of abuse. It comes in individual sheets as well as pads (pads in sizes 5x7 to 18x24). I believe it's a 90lb weight so you might prefer to use the pads when you travel. I know of some colored pencil artists who are beginning to use Ampersand's clayboard, which has a smooth surface, and pastelboard which has a fine sandpaper-like surface. I just bought a few 9x12 sheets of clayboard to experiment with - I do highly detailed work and it will allow me to do that. Clayboard is often used for scratchboard work and gives you an added dimension to work with. You might also consider something like Arches 300lb hot press or cold press watercolor paper.

Are you familiar with with Wet Canvas online (http://www.wetcanvas.com)? There's a lot of archived technical information on colored pencil as well as an excellent forum.

As far as fixative goes, I've only used Krylon Workable, but am going to look into a fixative by Grumbacher (can't remember the name) which many people prefer to Krylon.

Hope this has been of some help.

Thank you, Asher- great advice. I will look into clayboard and the Grumbacher fixative as well as Wet Canvas.

Glad I could be of help.

By the way, I just got a can of Winsor & Newton's Artists Fixative Spray from Dick Blick, and I like it. It's a workable fixative for pencil, pastel, charcoal.

I neglected to mention that Scribble Talk is also a great web site for colored pencil artists. Scribble Talk

Hi Moonart,
I've been a colored pencil artist for over twenty years now and have been using cold press papers the entire time. I prefer a heavier board to work on because I burnish alot when I'm working. The heavier board allows me to burnish many layers. I always use Strathmore 500 series 4 ply cold press illustration board and yes, it is very archival. For a final fixative (if I use one at all) I use Prismacolor final fixative. Hope this helps,
Scott
www.scottdtillett.com