Trouble fixing watercolour paper to boards.

I use a couple of bull dog clips but for lightweight paper you could use one at each corner.  More often than not I don't fix the paper at all but I do use heavy weight paper coupled with the fact that I do like to turn the paper to help with finer detail and  especially to help mixed washes to run together.

Well I always use Fabriano or Arches 300lb weight which obviously you can just put a bit of masking tape on a corner if you really wanted to, I don’t! I can’t help you here John, the transparent tape you mention is probably 3M ‘Magic’ tape as it’s known.

Back in the day at the Science Museum Library, we used a semitransparent tape, called music tape to fix torn paper.  I’ve no idea if this would help or not.   Personally, if I can be bothered, I use framer’s tape to keep the stretched paper in place and masking tape to get a clean edge.  This is a wasteful method, but works. When I can’t be bothered, I use bulldog clips and accept that the paper will buckle, but I steam or dampen the reverse side later to flatten it.

I use framers tape too, John. If I’ve had it stuck down for a while and it’s pulling too much, I wet it with a bit of sponge, leave it a short while, then it comes off easy. I’ve never had any sticky residue left behind. 

The trouble with a gummed paper that sticks - and art-gum paper will - is that .... it sticks.  You can't really remove it, and have to cut the painting with a craft-knife out of its surround; remembering to leave enough paper around the image so you don't lose half of it under a mount: although you can just mount the whole picture with the (archival, always) gummed tape still around it, the mount concealing it.  Doesn't always look great, I have to say.  Masking tape - water always seeps under it, depending on how much water you use - if you use a lot, it's likely to lift, and the water to spread.  I've stretched paper in the past - in all sorts of ways: eg, gummed paper, then masking tape on top: just ended up with a lot of tape and loss of temper.  In the end, I too went with heavier paper, and just secured the corners of the paper with a bit of tape, or used drawing pins (which does leave your painting board looking as if it's had a visit from the woodworm) - I don't have a complete answer, I fear.  I have tried basically going easy on the water, but then you're being limited by considerations other than artistic; which I suppose we have to be now and then.  Bulldog clips do work - Alan Owen and Steve Cronin both use them; but you need to keep adjusting them.   On the whole - I'd go for heavier paper, rather than try to make up for the problems lighter papers cause you.  But, a note of hope - some lighter papers are much less likely to curl and warp than others; or at least, they'll still warp, but not so badly.  I can see people saying 'the old fool doesn't know what he's talking about!', but Bockingford, of all the more economical papers, WILL curl, but nowhere like as badly or irretrievably as some of the other cheaper ones.  And as Linda says above, you can correct it.   I remember wetting one of the cheapest Fabriano papers, turning back to it, and discovering it had turned itself into a scroll - I think I flipped it over, and sort of forcibly held it down.  Nice paper in its way, but I stuck to heavier papers after that.  I suggest experiment with different papers until you find one that cooperates with the style you've adopted and the amount of water you use; have you tried some of the German papers, Hahnemuehle or Schoellershammer?  Or Saunders Waterford?  I know Arches is expensive - I have some (he said; protectively guarding it) - but some of the German torchon papers are excellent. Finally - I sympathize with the idea of working on two paintings at the same time, and I've no desire to encourage you to throw money away on art supplies, but - those gummed pads do work pretty well (not immune at all from buckling, though) and maybe buy two of them?  You're bound to buy another one sooner or later after all, so take advantage of bulk discounts. 

Good plan.  No point in lumbering yourself with insuperable difficulties just to save money.  

Arches 300lb is a superb paper John, I’ve more recently been trying out the Fabriano Artistico 300lb weight which I’m actually favouring at the moment, not that I’m painting in watercolour all that much lately. I’ve never used the heaviest weight which I believe is 400lb, actually I can’t recall seeing it anywhere, Jackson’s would probably stock it I expect, they’ve got a vast range of just about everything!

Simples John, buy two or three watercolour blocks.