Firstly, I am sometimes in the mood for a lot splashy washes with splatter and drips… say for a sky, perhaps? It is easiest to do this when you have taped your paper to a board so that you can tip the board to make the paint run.
Secondly, taping the paper to the board is the easiest way to ensure a clean border around the painting. One of the most satisfying things to watch is the peeling off of the tape to reveal the crisp white edge when the painting is done! Have a look below and see what I mean. This looks like masking tape but is low tack so it should in theory remove easily from the paper without damaging the painting.
Always remove the tape by pulling away from the painting rather than in towards the painting just to be cautious. The kind of wide packing tape that you would use to seal those big boxes you need when you move house is surprisingly effective.
I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it. It really does remove cleanly without damaging the paper. However, lighter paper is a bit cheaper. I have succumbed to the charms of such paper myself and bought Fabriano gsm paper in the past. The only way I am prepared to use this weight of paper though, is if it comes in a block rather than a pad. Pads are gummed only on one of the 4 sides, but blocks are gummed on all sides.
This effectively stretches the paper for you. Paint on the top sheet of the block and let the finished painting dry completely before removing it. There will be a little notch - one small space usually about an inch wide that is not gummed. You slip a letter opener or palette knife into the notch and then slide it around the edge of the painting to slice it off the block.
Perhaps you might find yourself with a finished painting that is a bit buckled. So is it too late to stretch the paper after painting? To stretch it, yes, it is too late, but there are a few things that you can try which may help flatten a buckled painting.
If you are going to frame a painting it will be pressed under glass and that flattens it out a bit too. If not - poor quality paper in my opinion! Just to be clear - when I say pressed under glass I really mean that it will be pressed under the mount, since the glass should not rest directly on the surface of the framed painting.
There are a few other things that you can try if you find your finished painting is buckled. I have never had the experience of an intolerably warped painting myself, so please bear in mind that this conventional wisdom rather than something I have tested myself!
Some artists recommend turning the finished painting over and painting the whole of the back with clear water. You can use a sponge or a brush, but you would want to take care that no water gets round the sides and spoils the finished painting with a watermark. Other artists suggest painting a big cross with water on the reverse of the painting is enough to level it up. Alternatively, you can wet the Paper with a Sponge. Using a wet clean Sponge, gently dab the Watercolour Paper repeatedly for about 15 — 25 minutes, ensuring that the paper is wet all over.
Do this on both sides of the paper. Do not be too rough with the sponge or it will damage the paper surface. You can do this by gently sponging off the excess or if the paper is strong enough and not too big, you can hold the paper vertically over the sink.
STEP 3: Now you can attach the paper to the board. Lay the wet Watercolour Paper on top of the board the paper may not be flat at this point. Using Gumstrip, tape down all four edges of the paper. Cut 4 pieces of Gumstrip off the roll to the required length.
Wet the Gumstrip with a moist sponge so that it feels sticky do not wet it too much. STEP 4: Stick the paper to the board with half of the Gumstrip covering the paper edge and the other half covering the wooden board. Press the tape down firmly, being careful not to touch or rub the wet paper as this could damage it.
Make sure that all four edges are completely sealed. If there is still an excess of water this will need to be dabbed away with a clean sponge or absorbant paper towel. STEP 5: Leave the paper to dry flat on the board. It will dry naturally in about 4 — 12 hours depending on the thickness of the paper. Once the paper is fully dry, it is ready to paint. Keep the Watercolour Paper attached to the board whilst you paint on it.
Once you have finished your Watercolour Painting you can remove it from the board. Use this method to Stretch Watercolour Paper and it will give you a lovely flat watercolour painting! The tension built up in paper bigger than this tends to split the paper.
If you want to use Watercolour Paints on wet paper, follow the step by step instructions to Stretch Watercolour Paper first. Let the paper dry fully to ensure that it has stretched. This way the paper will not buckle. As seen in the video demonstration above, it is quite easy to remove your finshed painting from the board. If the painting is going to be framed, just run a sharp scalpel along the edge of the paper, over the Gumstrip, leaving some of the Gumstrip still on the paper as in the video.
Using a Sponge, soak the remaining Gumstrip on the board in water for about 20 minutes longer for heavier watercolour paper. It will then lift off easily with a paint scraper or metal palette knife.
This is typically done on lighter-weight watercolor sheets to stop the paper from buckling when wet media is applied to the surface. When watercolor is added, the moisture causes the surface to expand slightly on the wet side.
The other side remains dry, causing bowing and buckling. This can be difficult for the artist to work with because the paint pools in valleys on the paper. Typically lighter weight sheets are more susceptible to buckling with heavy applications of water. Use a spray bottle with clean water to fully soak both sides of the sheet.
Then follow steps above. Method 2 — Stretching paper to use immediately. Sign up for the Artist Newsletter Enter your email below to never miss an issue! Method 1 — Stretching paper to use later Supplies: Watercolor paper Large clean tray for water: tray should have one dimension slightly longer than the smallest dimension of your sheet.
If your entire sheet does not fit inside the tray, hold the sheet at both ends and dip one end into the water.
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