How to Stretch Paper for Watercolour Painting

This article is a guide to stretching paper for watercolour painting, using the traditional 'gummed tape method'. If you are using paper 356 gsm (260 lb) or less, it is normally considered essential to do this, otherwise the paper is likely to cockle after you paint on it. As an alternative to this method, you can buy commercial paper stretchers, that work in much the same way. However, two advantages the commercial paper stretchers have, is that they don't take as much getting used to as the gummed tape method, and they allow you to dry the paper with a hair drier, meaning the whole stretching and drying process could take minutes instead of hours. But for this article, we will use the gummed tape method.

Leave the paper to soak in a tray of cold water for one minute. This causes the paper fibres to expand. Don't use hot water or soak the paper for too long, as this can cause the paper to lose some of its sizing. It is important that the paper is equally wet, front and back, and is evenly soaked throughout.

Lift the paper out the water, shaking off any excess, and place on a towel. Gently pat the paper with a towel to finish removing excess water. Don't over dry it. We need to keep the paper damp for now.

Place the damp paper on a clean wooden board, at least 12mm thick. Thin board, such as hard-board, may be too weak to keep straight during the stretching process.

Gently rub a sponge over the paper to smooth it over, and remove further excess patches of water.

Stick a moistened strip of gummed tape along each edge of the paper. Try to use tape at least a couple of inches wide, so that it can withstand the stretching process. For very large sheets of paper, over 18 inches square, at least 3 inches wide would be better. Another thing to note: Keep the reel of tape dry. If the reel gets wet, it becomes useless, and has to be thrown away. Use a different sponge for moistening the strips of tape, to the one you use to smooth the paper over. You don't want to be smoothing over sheets of watercolour paper with a sponge that has glue in it. Also, don't over moisten the tape, or you could remove the gum.

Have roughly a third of the tapes width on the paper, and two thirds holding it to the board. Each of the four strips should be at least a couple of inches longer than the edge of the paper they are holding. Wipe off any excess water and gum from the edges of the paper, and run your finger along the edge, to ensure the paper is properly held down along each edge, and that any air bubbles are squashed flat.

As an additional measure, you may want to stick some drawing pins along the edge of the paper, where the tape overlaps the papers edge. This helps the tape hold on to the paper, and prevents the paper pulling away from the tape as it dries.

Leave in normal room conditions to dry overnight, keeping the board lying down flat, and away from sunlight and heat sources such as radiators. As the water evaporates, the paper will be unable to shrink due to the tape holding it in place, and therefore the paper fibres will stretch, meaning that when you start painting on it with watery watercolours, the paper should retain its flatness.

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Buying Supplies For Watercolour Paintings

Buying watercolour art supplies is often the next step for an aspiring artist once they have started to develop their skills. Watercolours are notoriously thin paints so there are certain skills and a number of art supplies that a person must own in order to ensure that they create the desired painting of their dreams.

Using watercolours requires more precision than when you use typically thick paints as the faintest brush stroke can have a significant impact on the rest of the painting if done incorrectly.

When you know what type of painting you want to create, the first step is to choose the correct watercolour paint and there are a few things to consider when selecting these art supplies.

High quality art supplies are essential if you want to create your own masterpiece so you must take into consideration the standard of the watercolour paints, the size of the paint and the brand of the materials.

Artists on a budget may benefit from creating smaller paintings as they will be better off purchasing smaller amounts of high quality art materials compared to buying bigger quantities of substandard art supplies.

The next thing to consider is the variety of paintbrush you want to use as it does not matter how good your paint is if you have an incorrect brush to use as inappropriate art materials will result in poor quality art.

Painters must have both a small round and medium round brush before embarking on a painting as well as a very fine brush for intricate details and finishing touches. Watercolour paintings need brushes which are specific to watercolour paints and these are identified by their natural fibres and shorter handles but if you are unsure then you should undertake research.

Now that you have the correct paint and brush you must find the right surface to create on as there are only a limited number of surfaces that are appropriate for watercolours.

Artists that use watercolours will usually use special watercolour paper and sheets of these art supplies can be located in the majority of online art material stores once you have done the necessary research.

Another item to get is a dish for mixing the paints you have chosen to use and in my experience porcelain dishes are the best for watercolours as they allow the paints to mix more effectively.

Finally you will need to purchase a palette and an easel and once these have been bought you will be ready to commence your watercolour creation.

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A Few Tips on Watercolour Papers

Probably one of the most important aspects of choosing Watercolour paper is the surface texture as this will either help you or hinder you with your watercolour painting. Watercolour paper is divided into three categories according to the surface of the paper: Rough, Hot-Pressed (HP), and Cold-Pressed (NOT).

Rough watercolor paper, as you'd expect from the name has the most textured surface, or most prominent tooth. It's described as having a pebbly surface with a series of irregular rounded shapes just like a pebbled beach. When using rough paper the paint from a very watery wash tends to collect in the indentations in the paper, creating a grainy effect when the paint dries. Alternately if you dry brush lightly across the surface, you'll apply paint only to the raised parts of the paper, the paint will only touch the tops of the ridges and not in the indentations. Rough paper is generally not a good paper for painting fine detail, but is excellent for a loose, more expressive style of painting.

HP stands for "Hot Pressed" and is the smoothest paper and is suitable for high detail work. Hot-pressed watercolour paper has a smooth surface with almost no tooth. Its smooth surface is ideal for painting fine detail and for even washes of colour. HP is not an ideal surface for beginners as they sometimes have problems with the paint sliding around on the smooth surface.

Cold-pressed watercolor paper is sometimes called "NOT" (as in "not hot pressed"). It's a slightly textured paper and is the most popular as it's suitable for most types of work. Cold-pressed paper is a medium paper, in between Rough and Hot-pressed paper and having a slightly textured surface. Cold-pressed paper is the most commonly used Watercolour paper as it allows for a good amount of fine detail work while also having enough texture to allow a more loose expressive style of painting.

The thickness of a sheet of watercolour paper is measured by its weight. So the greater the weight, the thicker the paper. Watercolour paper is measured in either (lb) pounds per ream or (gsm) grams per square meter. Most papers have both weights advertised as standard. There are 4 standard weights of watercolour paper, these are 90 lb (190 gsm), 140 lb (300 gsm), 260 lb (356 gsm), and 300 lb (638 gsm).

When you use a thinner paper it needs to be stretched, this is done to prevent the paper from buckling or warping when you paint on it. How thick the paper needs to be before it will start buckling does depend on how wet you tend to make the paper as you paint. The best way to decide which is the best weight of paper for your painting style is to experiment with different weights to see, but it's likely you'll find that paper with a weight of 140 lb (300 gsm) or less needs to be pre-stretched.

How to pre-stretch Watercolour paper: If you have chosen a paper of 140lb (300gsm) or less then the chances are you will need to pre-stretch your paper. The reason for pre-stretching is with the lighter weight papers when you apply water it moves and buckles, or "Cockling". This happens when the application of water when painting, will cause one side of the paper to expand slightly, the other side will remain dry and due to the sizing contained within the sheet will not expand. To counteract the papers movement on the wetted side, the paper buckles and warps. This then causes the very unsightly effect of buckling which is not ideal for the finished painting, and is also quite difficult to work with.

1. Immerse your sheet of paper either in a bath of cold water or under a tap for approximately 1 to 2 minutes, this is to allow the fibers in the paper to expand. Take care when handling your paper, ideally before you start wash your hands thoroughly and don't touch the area you intend to paint, this is because the paper is fragile when it's wet and also your finger marks will show up in your wash due to the grease on your fingers.

2. Carefully place your soaked sheet of paper flat on a board.

3. Using gummed tape, stick down all four edges of your paper, you can also staple down your paper but don't use heavy duty staplers as it will be hard to get the staples out which may result in you damaging your paper.

4. Blot any excess water from your paper, ideally use a clean sponge and leave to dry on a flat surface, a flat surface is preferred otherwise the water will drain to one edge and the paper will dry unevenly.

5. Leave your paper to dry at least for a couple of hours, but ideally over night. When your paper is completely dry it will be stretched tightly on the board and when you apply your wash the paper will not move or buckle again.

All Watercolour paper is made with a difference between the two sides, one side is usually slightly smoother and the other side has a slight hairier texture to it. There isn't a right and wrong side because which you use would depend on what you require from your watercolor paper. The smoother side of a paper is better if you're painting a lot of detail, while the hairier side is better if you want to build up colour by using lots of glazes.

The colour of watercolor paper varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and even between the different types of paper made by the same manufacturer. Watercolour paper doesn't just come in white it can range from a warm, rich cream to a cold, blueish white. The difference in colour tones can sometimes be easy to see, but at times it can be so slight that it is hardly evident even when you have two different sheets of watercolor paper next to one another.

One thing to consider when choosing your watercolour paper is that the different colour tones of paper will affect your paintings, as basically your starting your painting with a glaze, so this will have an impact on your painting. A watercolour paper with a slight cream colour can make your colours appear muddy or dull. A watercolour paper with a blueish tint can give your yellows a greenish appearance. When you are buying your watercolor paper, take its colour tint into consideration just as much as you would its texture and weight.

For all your art supplies please consider using Paint & ART as your first port of call. We offer a wide and comprehensive range of art supplies; everything a busy artist might need. We offer products from some of the most respected and trusted manufacturers in the business. http://www.paintandart.com/ is an online source for not only quality art supplies but also information; we offer hints and tips on problems that many artists face daily, we have a regular updated blog giving ideas and advice on products and techniques.

We have just opened a retail shop in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, for details and directions take a look at the shops website http://www.artsupplieshuddersfield.co.uk/

The vision for Paint & ART is something quite different from your run of-the-mill art shop. Most art shops are quite boring places to be in, they're just shops that happen to sell art supplies; they may as well be selling table cloths or spanners. We feel that an art shop needs to be so much more; it needs to be a place of inspiration. Artists are by their nature, creative people, so they desire inspiration; they are always looking for something to inspire them, that little thing that stands out, something that gives them that spark of an idea. That's the feeling I'm hoping to create in our shop, we want an art shop where customers can buy their products from, but at the same time be totally inspired, I want them to come and hang out and just be immersed in the whole experience of the shop, look at the different things going on, look at the art on display, talk about art and ask for advice on the products they are looking to buy.

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Daniel Smith Watercolour Ground - Something New for Watercolours

I just want to tell you about a brand new product that has just come onto the market and is just fantastic if your a Watercolourist.

Like all painting mediums they all have their problems and watercolour is no exception. One of the problems with watercolours is the limited surfaces you can paint on, you are always limited to watercolur paper. Now don't get me wrong here, painting on watercolour paper isn't a massive problem, as their is some fantastic paper's out their, and it does make it quite easy, in fact that's why painting in watercolour is so popular with beginner artists, as the equipment needed to start painting is so simple, it could be as little as 1 tube of paint, 1 brush, some paper and a jar for some water, how simple is that. But as you move on and get better, well more experienced, sometimes you'd like the opportunity to paint on a different substrate, just now and again you would like to try something new, something different.

As an artist by nature you are a creative person, so sometimes you want to let your artistic juices flow and not be tied to the same paper, again and again. Well I have just come across this brand new product from the American Watercolourist Daniel Smith. This American company have created the first Watercolour Ground that I have heard of. It is best described as being just like a gesso, it looks like gesso and you apply it in pretty much the same manner, but the main difference is you can apply this ground to almost any surface. So what's the difference I hear you ask from just any old gesso on the market, why don't I just paint my old gesso onto a piece of cardboard and paint onto that, surely it'll do the same thing. Well what your old gesso doesn't do is dry to a HP paper textured finish, that's right once this ground dries it will look and feel just like a sheet of HP medium texture watercolour paper. The ground creates a soft, absorbent watercolour surface with a slightly cottony texture that's similar to cold press paper.

It is recommended that you use the watercolour ground straight from the container. It has a thick, brushable consistency. For best results use a soft-haired synthetic brush for a smooth finish or a hog bristle brush for a more textured finish. Since the ground is pigmented with Titanium White Pigment, one coat will cover most surfaces, however very absorbent surfaces such as unfinished soft wood may require two coats, allowing the first coat to dry properly before adding the second coat, for the best results let your watercolour ground dry and cure for at least 24 hours, this allows it to attain the right degree of absorption, just make sure you wash your brushes immediately after use.

Another problem with watercolours is, if you ruin your painting that's it, there's no going back. You tread a very thin line with watercolour, it's so easy to apply to much water and get the wrong result, a drip or run will just stain your finished painting, and if you use far to much water, your paper acts just like blotting paper and you end up with something that resembles cabbages, and the worst thing is you can't overpaint with watercolour and start again, well not until now that is. This new ground lets you cover up any unfortunate mistakes, it gives you a second chance, a nice security blanket enabling you to rescue any of your old unseen paintings. It works because the ground is pigmented with titanium white and dries to a watercolour paper finish, you just apply it directly over any unwanted areas, leave it 24hrs then start again, because what is left is almost like a fresh piece of unpainted paper, fantastic.

For all your art supplies please consider using Paint & ART as your first port of call. We offer a wide and comprehensive range of art supplies; everything a busy artist might need. We offer products from some of the most respected and trusted manufacturers in the business. http://www.paintandart.com/ is an online source for not only quality art supplies but also information; we offer hints and tips on problems that many artists face daily, we have a regular updated blog giving ideas and advice on products and techniques.

We have just opened a retail shop in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, for details and directions take a look at the shops website http://www.artsupplieshuddersfield.co.uk/

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