how to stretch watercolor paper

Lay the soaked paper onto your chosen support and if needed, make sure it’s flat by chasing out any air pockets using a clean sponge. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. The answer is, you don't. Each method has its own advantages and drawbacks. Soaking with a spray bottle, sponge, or large brush. How-To Stretch Paper. I started this website to share everything I've learned about watercolors in the hopes that it might help & inspire others to pursue the same creative voyage. It’s a technique I first learned from the artist Ewa Karpinska. I like to just tape the dry paper right down to my work table. When the paper fibers absorb water they expand lengthwise, and they take on a more random alignment. It’s good to use a board which is at least 1” larger on all sides than your sheet of paper. Why, you ask, do I need to stretch my watercolor paper? 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 ! Commercial watercolor paper is also treated to alter its absorbency and improve its handling. Tape the paper down on all four sides, starting with two opposite sides. Stretching your watercolor paper is an important step because it keeps the paper from wrinkling when you paint. This method also has some advantages for artists who like wet on wet techniques. But in my tests this method does not work ! The dampened paper is laid on the glued frame and pressed into the glue. 640 gsm paper is thick enough to resist warping even for wet on wet techniques. Dissolving the sizing is an incidental result of soaking the paper during the stretching process, but it's also common for some artists to brush their watercolor paper with clear water before working to eliminate the problem of blotchy sizing. If you’re using single sheets you can tell which is the front side by looking at the watermark. You can read more about my favorite watercolor paper here). Last Updated: December 16, 2020 Just make sure your board is clean and won’t transfer color to the paper and is rigid. There are so many opinions and tutorials on how to stretch watercolor paper. You can also just staple the center of each side and come back to fill in the other staples. The first step in paper stretching is soaking the paper. Before you prep your palette and grab your brush, you may have to stretch it. I often use this method with a sheet of plexiglass. Some people use an iron to flatten buckled paintings. Every day at wikiHow, we work hard to give you access to instructions and information that will help you live a better life, whether it's keeping you safer, healthier, or improving your well-being. If you’re a perfectionist you can draw some pencil guidelines about a ¼” around the inside edges of your paper. By sticking down all four paper edges with Gumstrip, it restrains the paper in its expanded state. But did you know they make thick watercolor paper with a weight of 300 lb / 640 gsm? The whole process is done directly on the board and with less water, so it’s a bit less messy. But if you can get very thick handmade paper this is an excellent surface which needs no stretching. I suppose it could be argued that it's all just a … Many artists soak or stretch their watercolor paper prior to painting. Let the paper dry overnight. There are a lot of tutorials and videos on the subject, but I want to take you through my many, many mistakes—ones that you can avoid—as well as teaching you how to stretch your watercolour paper. Try to leave the paper in a warm dry place to dry overnight. There are ways that you can try to recover a painting which has buckled after a painting session. This is my favorite way to stretch paper – and I use it 80% of the time. My love affair with painting began when I was a kid. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Please consider making a contribution to wikiHow today. Can you stretch watercolor 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. Lukewarm water seems to help the paper expand more quickly. Heavier papers require more soaking time and lighter papers need less time. Some people prefer to do opposite sides first, such as the top and then the bottom. You just need to wipe the glue side of the tape with a wet sponge to activate the glue. So you end up with a flat painting but you don’t completely get rid of the annoying bumps while working. How to stretch watercolor paper. The sizing in the paper is what keeps the paint from absorbing all the way through the paper. You’ll get a feeling for when to stop soaking the paper, when it turns limp and starts to behave like cloth. 24 hours is a good average but you should test the paper to check if it still seems cold or damp before using it. So I thought I’d put together this article to show you 3 different ways for stretching your paper and 1 common example of how NOT to stretch watercolor paper. Plus as a bonus, I’ll even suggest how you can avoid stretching paper altogether ! The method used to manufacture commercial paper causes the paper fibers to align in the same direction. When you soak the paper it expands. This is done by adding a chemical known as sizing. You can find them at arts and crafts stores. I show you how to stretch watercolour paper in the traditional way and also another way to stretch a small piece of paper with one of my actual illustrations. In reality this seems to depend on the method you use for stretching, but also how well the paper is fastened down. Soak the paper using one of the methods described above. Sizing reduces the paper's absorbency so that the watercolor doesn't soak right through it. Good quality watercolor paper is made from 100% cotton fibers. Additional Tips On how to stretch watercolor paper. Handmade air dried sheets tend to cockle less and in random way which is evenly distributed over the whole sheet. But even watercolor paper expands when it becomes wet. Some watercolor artists stretch their papers in advance and store them on stretching boards, so they are ready for use. Test the “spring” by folding a corner from time to time to see if the paper is fully soaked. That whiteness just cries out for a splash of paint but unfortunately, that is where the problems can begin. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. I use 140lb. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/7a\/Stretch-Watercolor-Paper-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Stretch-Watercolor-Paper-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/7a\/Stretch-Watercolor-Paper-Step-1.jpg\/aid9443710-v4-728px-Stretch-Watercolor-Paper-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"

how to stretch watercolor paper

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