Surfaces and Silly Shackles

I'm at the point in my (visual) art journey where I could say paper really makes a difference. And I'm not saying this in the sense of expensive paper = good, but the kind of surface you're working on affects the final result just as much, if not more, as the medium. Different paper works for different mediums and working styles, so knowing what you can get out of it is important. Newsprints work great in collages, sandpapers make great textures, and watercolor papers... make it so much easier doing traditional watercolor techniques. When I was younger paper was just paper and I had the false belief that an artist could make everything out of anything, and being picky was simply an excuse. But you don't build a house with lego bricks, they're great for different purposes, and you don't use a hammer to saw. Anyway, this is a long-winded prelude to say I just tried my 13-year-old watercolor pencil set on this wonderful watercolor pad I'm working on and it blew my mind that the colors…