How do you stretch watercolor paper before painting?
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.
Do you need to prepare Watercolour paper?
Most watercolor paper needs to be stretched before it can be used as a good painting surface and to ensure that it won’t crinkle when your paints dry. You can stretch the paper a day in advance for a perfect, smooth finish, or if you’re in a hurry, wet the paper a few minutes before you start painting.
How do you flatten watercolor paper after painting?
Here are the basic steps:
- Find a clean flat/even surface.
- Put your painting face-down.
- Spritz the back with a spray bottle so it’s evenly wet.
- Lay down something flat (like a board) that is larger than the size of the painting.
- Put something heavy on top (like books or a box)
- Leave for 24 hours.
How do you make watercolor paper lay flat?
How To Flatten Watercolor Paintings
- Find a clean flat/even surface.
- Put your painting face-down.
- Spritz the back with a spray bottle so it’s evenly wet.
- Lay down something flat (like a board) that is larger than the size of the painting.
- Put something heavy on top (like books or a box)
- Leave for 24 hours.
Why is my watercolor paper warping?
When paper gets wet, it expands. Apply wet watercolour to only part of the paper, and only part of the paper will expand, causing the paper to buckle. If there are no constraints on the paper, the paper will dry buckled. (This effect will be less noticeable the thicker the paper is.)
Why do you stretch watercolor paper?
If you intend to use a lot of water in your watercolour painting, then it’s important to stretch your paper before starting to avoid cockling. This is where the sheet wrinkles and forms ridges that are almost impossible to remove.
How do you stretch watercolor paper?
How to stretch watercolor paper Whichever method you choose to stretch your paper, the basic approach is the same: first you soak the paper, then you stretch it. When you soak the paper it expands. You then fix the edges of the paper so that when it dries and contracts the surface is pulled tight like a drum.
Why is stretching your watercolor paper so important?
That’s how important I feel stretching your watercolor paper is. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE STUDENT GRADE PAPER – which can’t handle tones of water. So why is stretching your paper so important – well let’s be frank and honest – painting on warping paper isn’t fun nor easy. So, the best way to stop this from happening is to stretch your paper.
How should I store my watercolor paper?
Some watercolor artists stretch their papers in advance and store them on stretching boards, so they are ready for use. Make sure you leave the board flat while drying, and not upright.
Should you use thicker paper for watercolor painting?
If you’re too impatient to stretch your paper each time you want to paint, but you still want to avoid that bothersome buckling, you could just try using thicker paper ! Like a lot of watercolorists, I use Arches watercolor paper for a lot of my work. But did you know they make thick watercolor paper with a weight of 300 lb / 640 gsm?