Then wet your paper with a large 2in soft brush and allow it to dry before painting directly onto the board. To stretch your board this way simple placing your watercolor paper flat against a wooden board and taping all the edges down with masking tape.

Two Alternatives To Stretching Watercolor Paper Watercolor Paper Watercolor Paper

First you soak the paper then you stretch it.

Stretching watercolor paper. Stretching your watercolor paper is an important step because it keeps the paper from wrinkling when you paint. Then try to stretch the paper into place using your fingers on the paper. In this video Steve shows the process of cutting paper off the roll soaking it in a tub and then stapling it to his new watercolor boards.

When watercolor is added the moisture causes the surface to expand slightly on the wet side. Many artists soak or stretch their watercolor paper prior to painting. When you soak the paper it expands.

This is the most common way of stretching paper and spruce drawing boards draughtsmens boards are the best because they are hard wearing and durable. How to Stretch your Watercolor Paper. When dry the stretched paper should not cockle when water is applied.

You then fix the edges of the paper so that when it dries and contracts the surface is pulled tight like a drum. There are two ways to stretch watercolour paper. The main reason people stretch their watercolor paper is because when it gets wet as you paint it expands creating cockles or wrinkles.

By stretching your paper the cockles are greatly reduced or removed completely. Whether or not you stretch your paper depends a lot on your skill level. These can make painting difficult for some people.

Place the soaked paper on your stretching support this can be a stretching board gator board a kind of foam board or a medium-density fibreboard MDF. The Otto System to Stretch Watercolor Paper without creating tack or staple holes in the deckle otto watercolor paper stretching system the ORIGINAL clamp system The Otto System is a unique frustration-free artists tool that allows paper of all weights to be securely stretched in preparation for watercolor use. Hilary will show you how to eliminate this prob.

For larger sheets increase the thickness of the board to. This is typically done on lighter-weight watercolor sheets to stop the paper from buckling when wet media is applied to the surface. However they are not easy to find.

Alternatively you can use a canvas stretcher to stretch out the paper. NOTE this is called. PLEASE READBefore you comment on how odd or how this is not the traditional method etc.

For paper under 24 square a 12mm board thickness is suitable. This video reviews the goals of stretching watercolor paper the drawbacks and how to achieve even washes and flat paintings without stretchingMy bad- PDF. Whatever support you use it needs to be acid-free and solid enough to stay flat when the paper dries and shrinks.

One of these methods involves you letting the paint dry overnight whereas the other method allows you to start painting immediately. MDF board can also be used but it should be sealed beforehand so that water doesnt penetrate. Stretching Watercolor Paper to Prevent Wrapping Here we will illustrate two methods of stretching that should ensure your paper does not warp.

The process involves soaking the paper to expand the fibres attaching it to a rigid board and allowing it to dry and shrink to become taut. Stretching on a flat board. There may be ripples or raised places in parts of the paper but dont sweat them as they will smooth out as the paper dries.

The first step in paper stretching is soaking the paper. The dampened paper is laid on the glued frame and pressed into the glue. How to stretch watercolor paper Whichever method you choose to stretch your paper the basic approach is the same.

Then you can staple or glue the paper to a board. If youve ever painted on paper youve likely experienced it warping or buckling during the drying process. Stretching is a simple process that ensures the perfect painting surface for watercolour and gouache and involves soaking the paper taping it down whilst wet and as it dries shrinking it only to the extent that the tape will allow so that it has no movement at all when further layers of water are applied.

If you wish to avoid stretching watercolour paper but you wish your surface to remain flat you can use heavyweight paper over 200lb or watercolour board watercolour paper laminated to board similar to mountboard. Stretching you watercolour paper means that it will remain flat for the time that you are painting on it. If your style of painting uses very little water you will have less cockling and might get away without stretching your paper.

Remove Excess Water and Secure.