Stretching Watercolor Paper *Canson 140 LBS watercolor paper
- Traditionally done with gum Arabic tape
- Maximum of an inch for boarder
- If bigger sheet, double up tape
- Create consistency over seams, do not leave too much space
- Warm water bath
- Insert paper gently, working with gloves
- 30 seconds in water, front and back (flip) while slightly pushing paper down
- Place paper on gator board
- Squeegee on with hands (swipe on to smooth out bubbles and pull out water
- Take paper towel to pick up access water - this helps let you know if its affixed to the board
- Spray water on gum Arabic tape - hydrating glue and not stripping glue by putting it in bath
- Smooth tape down, cover 1” boarder
- Press tape down as it dries with paper towel - be careful of craft, make sure tape goes over boarder on both sides
- Seal that baby 🦭 get eye level for it
- Wear gloves because there's oils in your hands that can disrupt the tape
- 1 min 30 sec for 300 LBS paper in ARKANSAS
- If in Arizona ie, 5 minutes in bath for 140lbs paper
- After 30 minutes of drying (in demo 6), push back on the edge of the tape on the paper (with like a spoon) to push out more water
If oversoaked paper:
- tape will have adhesion failure stick on and
- Paper will warp
If tape wont remove:
- Load brush with water
- Saturate the tape left to reactivate it
- Ice cubes or cold air help remove the tape from the paper
- Take your nail and gently lift the tape up
- You could also cut the white boarder off
If gum Arabic fails:
- use washi tape as a second strength barrier —> makes a really good curve
We stretch to have even application of paint and less warping. The paper fibers open up with water and becomes larger, so when we stretch it when its expanding it wont ripple. The shrinking and expanding cant happen because the gum Arabic tape is strong enough to stretch it throughout the entire painting process.
If there are a couple bubbles, they will flatten out!
Be mindful of where your darks are (towards the end) because the gum-Arabic will reactivate and bleed into everything else
Lydia is working very loose and not caring if there is overlapping. She is placing the value and balancing the setting.
Strategic water placing - wet on wet
Super saturated place = even blooming
Not as saturated = blotchy blooming
Use a scrap piece to test your colors and wash layering
Use hairdryer in between layers! Paper will flatten out and is a sign of being dry.
Under toning - Providing substance color that can add complexity to the subject
How does the layer underneath affect the read of the top layer?
Switching between sharp angles and loose marks as well as wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry help results
Working with a physical printed reference assists in color matching on your piece.
Color pencil is forgiving: mess up with water color then fix with pencil
Color pencil is not forgiving: mess up with pencil, it cant be picked up
The way you hold and angle the pencil dictates the mark and gives more texture.
Multiple pencil color layers give complex depth and dimension.
Tiling techniques = organization of application of material
Heating up the temperature on your paper or pencil changes the application to be smoother (cause its wax)
PLAN! Think of layers and how you will approach your surface and maintain the mark.
Start on inside of shape and paint with bead of the brush, not the brush
Concept with material function - consistent application changes the viewer experience of the piece
Work with a cover sheet to avoid muddiness
- this also helps with reference comparison
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