Demo - Paper Stretching

Lesson Two Demo - Paper Stretching

Taught by Roxana Tuff, Artist

July 22, 2016, Friday
Cephas House, 217 MLK Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666

Lesson Two Demo - Paper Stretching

Note: Click on any photo and view a larger image.

You may know that artists who paint on canvas stretch it and prepare it carefully before committing any paint to the canvas. Preparing a canvas keeps it taut - very flat - and ensures that it has an even amount of tension all across the image surface.

A seamstress working with cotton fabric will first wash the fabric, to let it shrink and shift, before cutting the pattern. Once the sewing is finished, the garment will fit properly, if the fabric has been pre-sized (shrunk) in advance.

Paper for watercolor may also be stretched, even it is not attached to a wooden frame. Preparing, or pre-sizing, paper this way can prevent it from buckling and warping.  Lighter weight papers (under 300 pound weight) will tighten up and remain flat if first stretched before painting with water-laden watercolor washed.

Roxanna demonstrates her method:

	Start with a backboard of masonite, a sheet of watercolor paper, paper tape, and water. Fill a container with an inch of room-temperature water. The container can be a clean tub, tray, or sink. Let the paper sink into the water and soak for 10 - 15 minutes. Remove paper from water, hold up by two corners, let excess water drip off. Lay the paper onto the masonite board and brush gently to flatten.
	Attach the paper to the masonite using brown gummer paper tape. This is packing or butcher's tape, which must be wetted to adhere. Cut the tape about 2" longer than each side of the paper, wet it with a sponge, and apply it along each edge. Half the width of the tape will cover the paper's edge, the other half will stick to the board.
	Secure all four edges. Allow this paper and board sandwich to dry overnight. Don't rush the process. That is, you wet your watercolor paper, tape it down, let it dry, do painting while paper is still on the board, let it dry, then cut off and peel your work off of the board. Keeping it taped while working is the only way to keep paper from buckling.
Make sure you don't cut your painting off the board  until the painting is finished and dry!
	When the paper is totally dry, you can remove the tape and paper together by peeling it away from the board. The tape will be permanently stuck onto the paper. If you like, you can mask off a border with quick-release tape just inside the area covered by paper tape, then begin painting. Otherwise, carefully cut the paper tape off by using a knife to cut through the paper itself. Discard the paper-taped border of paper, then begin painting. Stretched paper will absorb more water and keep its shape much better than un-stretched stock right off the tablet.