Hi, my name is Lili
The very first time I was introduced to watercolors was in my 8th grade art class. The assignment was to paint flowers from references provided by the art teacher onto paper. After becoming fully immersed and mesmerized by this new art medium I was forever hook. I truly fell in love that day, with watercolor haha. I kept that watercolor painting of a rose and continued to admire it and its possibilities. But there was one major problem that I couldn't get over... My very first watercolor painting was done on a standard sheet of printer paper and the paper was so horribly warped and buckled. At this point in time I had no clue what "watercolor paper" was much less that there were any differences in weight, texture, and color. It wasn't until after I had graduated from the University that a friend of mine showed me how she stretched her watercolor paper in preparation for her awesome pet portraits. I went through a series of emotions that day. Excited, Shocked, then mildly upset because I had gone on painting for so long and had somehow never been taught to do such a crucial skill for my watercolor paintings. But no worries, haha, here we are today alive and well!
I am here today to share with you what I missed out on for so long! :D
In this course I will be teaching you:
What it means to stretch watercolor paper? As well as, why & how should it be done?
In short, when watercolor + water is added to the paper the surface tends to expand slightly while wet on one side. When the opposite side remains dry it will cause bowing and buckling in your watercolor paper. This can be difficult for you to work with because this creates paint pools in valleys on your paper. Typically lighter weight sheets are more susceptible to buckling with heavy applications of water.
To resolve this issue, we stretch our watercolor paper so that it remains completely flat when you begin painting.
In this course you will need the following materials:
Clean water
Water activated gummed paper tape
Soft sponge with no added dyes
Sturdy board that won’t bend or warp, it MUST be larger than your sheet of watercolor paper
*For this course I will be using 15mm Marine Ply wood
Here are some other great alternatives for study boards:
Polystyrene Board
Gatorboard
Plexiglas
Lexan
