I've been stretching paper ever since my art classes at school and I'm a 63 year old professional watercolourist. This is all excellent advice. In fact, I just use the bath to soak my paper. Then I soak a sponge in that water and place it on the edge of the bath and run the tape over to top of the sponge with a flattened hand with light pressure. Speed is of the essence as you ideally don't want cockling at he edges of the paper. And definitely don't use a hairdryer. Leave it to dry naturally on a thick plywood board.
🙏😊 Thank you for the tutorial and tips! I rarely work on huge pieces of paper so if I'm not painting om a glue sealed watercolor block, I'll thoroughly wet a single sheet and sponge it flat onto my glass work surface. The glass and water creates a small suction and the paper lies flat onto it until it's completely dry. If I do work on a huge sheet of paper, I like to soak it and then staple it tightly to a canvas stretcher bar frame. (Obviously do this only with very thick paper.) That way, with the back of the paper being accessible all the time, I can wet it from the back with a spray bottle and the paper stays wet for as long as I need it to without disturbing the paint layers that are applied on the front side. It keeps blooms at bay and you're able to take all the time you need to paint large areas.
If you are using a wood-based board to tape onto, it's best to seal it first; say with polyurethene varnish. This will stop the wet paper drawing lignin from the unsealed wood. Lignin can leave a visible stain on the paper and would in any case negate the use of acid-free paper.
I use AO size sheets of 90lb paper from a roll, soak the paper in a plastic trough still rolled but loosened to ensure contact with the water. I pull the paper out of the trough by the short edge and place it onto the board that’s on a nearly vertical slant so I can position the paper easily. The rest of the process is the same but the board I use on which to stretch such huge pieces of paper, was developed by two colleagues. The boards are extremely light and easy to move around. I can lift an AO stretched piece of paper and the board with one hand. I paint with the paper nearly vertical on my studio easel, and lay it flat to dry once I’ve finished the painting. The paper comes off the board completely flat so I can mount it or use it to fold into Artist’s books which is why thinner paper needs to be stretched so I can fold it to make the pages.
This was very helpful. I’ve been put off wanting to do this for a while because it looked too complicated. There’s lots of really practical tips in this video. Thank you!
The board you are using looks like it’s an inch or so thick. Have you made plywood into some sort of box? If so could you demonstrate it and explain why in another video please?
Thanks, this has helped me to find a much better way than the unmentionable things I was doing previously. Not doing exactly the same - my board is polycarbonate, but it's shown me where I was going wrong 👏
Hi. I have problem with my brown gumstrip tape. I use plexi glas to paint on. Maybe its not good. The tape detaches often from the plate. But my tape is 20-22 years old, is it to old? I have not been painting for a while XD Is it possible that the tape can deteriorate when its old?
Hello! I tried this process for the first time. I left the paper to dry flat overnight. In the morning I found that some edges of the tape pulled away from the watercolor paper which then left a buckle in the paper. Since the paper is wet and the process is to apply wet tape, is this then over-watering the tape causing it to loose its stickiness? Do others have this issue and if so, how do I correct this? Should I dry off the paper edges before applying the wet tape? Thanks for any suggestions!
This is likely due to the paper being soaked for too long. To be honest, I never understand why the general recommendation is to soak watercolour paper for so long - this just causes over expansion, which then creates too much tension on the gummed tape as the paper contracts/dries and causes the tape to give way. I've been stretching 140lb watercolour paper for years and it never stays in the water for more than a minute - I then moisten the board, smooth the paper down on it and apply the gummed tape. In my experience, this has always worked flawlessly for me - just a suggestion!
Take care with the type of plyboard . Some will ooze out lignin that stains the back of the paper. I assume the stain will eventuallu seep through to the front :(
I am totally new to stretching watercolor paper and this seems simpler than other videos I've seen. I know this is cheating, but do any companies sell "pre-stretched water color paper"? I only paint on 4x6 blocks or 5x7 blocks for this reason...thanks for letting me know. Marcy Thobaben
FYI. I’ve seen on several sites that the watercolor blocks regardless of brand do not stop the paper from buckling because the paper was not stretched before it was glued into the block. Have you had that experience happen to you?
I've been stretching paper ever since my art classes at school and I'm a 63 year old professional watercolourist. This is all excellent advice. In fact, I just use the bath to soak my paper. Then I soak a sponge in that water and place it on the edge of the bath and run the tape over to top of the sponge with a flattened hand with light pressure. Speed is of the essence as you ideally don't want cockling at he edges of the paper. And definitely don't use a hairdryer. Leave it to dry naturally on a thick plywood board.
🙏😊 Thank you for the tutorial and tips! I rarely work on huge pieces of paper so if I'm not painting om a glue sealed watercolor block, I'll thoroughly wet a single sheet and sponge it flat onto my glass work surface. The glass and water creates a small suction and the paper lies flat onto it until it's completely dry.
If I do work on a huge sheet of paper, I like to soak it and then staple it tightly to a canvas stretcher bar frame. (Obviously do this only with very thick paper.) That way, with the back of the paper being accessible all the time, I can wet it from the back with a spray bottle and the paper stays wet for as long as I need it to without disturbing the paint layers that are applied on the front side. It keeps blooms at bay and you're able to take all the time you need to paint large areas.
If you are using a wood-based board to tape onto, it's best to seal it first; say with polyurethene varnish. This will stop the wet paper drawing lignin from the unsealed wood. Lignin can leave a visible stain on the paper and would in any case negate the use of acid-free paper.
I use AO size sheets of 90lb paper from a roll, soak the paper in a plastic trough still rolled but loosened to ensure contact with the water. I pull the paper out of the trough by the short edge and place it onto the board that’s on a nearly vertical slant so I can position the paper easily. The rest of the process is the same but the board I use on which to stretch such huge pieces of paper, was developed by two colleagues. The boards are extremely light and easy to move around. I can lift an AO stretched piece of paper and the board with one hand. I paint with the paper nearly vertical on my studio easel, and lay it flat to dry once I’ve finished the painting. The paper comes off the board completely flat so I can mount it or use it to fold into Artist’s books which is why thinner paper needs to be stretched so I can fold it to make the pages.
What kind of wood board do you use? Thin birch wood or what? 🙂
This was very helpful. I’ve been put off wanting to do this for a while because it looked too complicated. There’s lots of really practical tips in this video. Thank you!
Thanks for this very useful for thinner sheets. Though I do find myself mostly opting for heavy paper to avoid all this faff… not cheap however 😮
Nice clear video but I do rewet the gum strip after stretching and find it can be removed with care.
thanks, the passion in teaching is amazing
staples to preserve the deckled edges? And then fill the staple holes with paper-pulp?
Perfect, thank you, this is very helpful!
The board you are using looks like it’s an inch or so thick. Have you made plywood into some sort of box? If so could you demonstrate it and explain why in another video please?
Thanks, this has helped me to find a much better way than the unmentionable things I was doing previously. Not doing exactly the same - my board is polycarbonate, but it's shown me where I was going wrong 👏
cool stuff 📃
Fab thankyou
Well done!
Very interesting thank you
Hi Jacksons. I've just ordered some of your eco watercolour paper (medium grain), does this process work OK with that paper?
I'm from the Philippines, Now I'm Learning. 🙂🙂🙂
If at all possible- could you do a tutorial on larger deckle-d paper please! 😶
Awesome! Thank youuu
I used to put a large sheet of watercolor paper in a bath tub with water for 15 mins. All clean of course.
Hi. I have problem with my brown gumstrip tape. I use plexi glas to paint on. Maybe its not good. The tape detaches often from the plate. But my tape is 20-22 years old, is it to old? I have not been painting for a while XD Is it possible that the tape can deteriorate when its old?
Hello! I tried this process for the first time. I left the paper to dry flat overnight. In the morning I found that some edges of the tape pulled away from the watercolor paper which then left a buckle in the paper. Since the paper is wet and the process is to apply wet tape, is this then over-watering the tape causing it to loose its stickiness? Do others have this issue and if so, how do I correct this? Should I dry off the paper edges before applying the wet tape? Thanks for any suggestions!
This is likely due to the paper being soaked for too long. To be honest, I never understand why the general recommendation is to soak watercolour paper for so long - this just causes over expansion, which then creates too much tension on the gummed tape as the paper contracts/dries and causes the tape to give way. I've been stretching 140lb watercolour paper for years and it never stays in the water for more than a minute - I then moisten the board, smooth the paper down on it and apply the gummed tape. In my experience, this has always worked flawlessly for me - just a suggestion!
Take care with the type of plyboard . Some will ooze out lignin that stains the back of the paper. I assume the stain will eventuallu seep through to the front :(
🤩
Great video, but should be worth mentioning that this is ideal for any weight under 140lb.
I am totally new to stretching watercolor paper and this seems simpler than other videos I've seen. I know this is cheating, but do any companies sell "pre-stretched water color paper"? I only paint on 4x6 blocks or 5x7 blocks for this reason...thanks for letting me know. Marcy Thobaben
FYI. I’ve seen on several sites that the watercolor blocks regardless of brand do not stop the paper from buckling because the paper was not stretched before it was glued into the block. Have you had that experience happen to you?
what kind of paper did u use in this demostration ? weights- 90lb., 140lb., and 300lb ?
She states in the video that it's 140lb
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