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Trouble fixing watercolour paper to boards.
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Message
Posted
I wonder if I am alone here! I can't find a good means of fixing my paper to work on.
The watercolour blocks are good, but you can't start another picture until you finish the one on the block, and I like to have a couple on the go at least.
Gummed tape is not very 'gummy' these days, and in any case one needs to wet the painting to get the tape off the paper when finished, spoiling the stretched paper. Most masking tape I have tried isn't sticky enough and water gets under it, ruining the stretching process.
I like framers' brown tape, which seems to work, but if a painting is on a board for too long, a sticky deposit gets left behind, ruining the board. I have tried stapling the paper to the board, but MDF is too hard to take a staple. This means I have to buy expensive, laminated pine to make my boards, plus I am not too fond of stapling anyway.
I have seen some artists on YouTube using a semi transparent tape, but what that is called I don't know!
The only other alternative is Arches 630 gsm which doesn't need stretching at all; but the cost of 5 sheets of that!
I thought about mounting thinner papers on thick card, before starting work, but that again is yet another process and anyway, I can't find any reasonably priced adhesive film.
Any ideas would be most welcome.
Thanks in anticipation.
John
Edited
by John Walker
Posted
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.
Posted
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.
Posted
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.
Posted
Problem solved. I decided to stay with Arches 300lb paper (or heavier) from now on. I can just staple that to 5mm foam board, covered one side with 3mm sheet cork. No problem then with staples or heavyweight drawing pins. I have cut my store of 140 lb into varied size sheets for general work, using the heavyweight paper for stuff I might be able to sell! Some hopes!
Regards
John
Posted
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!
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