Prevent your art paper from warping when wet
Stretching art paper is a useful technique to learn, and relatively simple too! It really comes in handy when you’re wanting to create an artwork using very wet media or lots of water. The wonderful thing about stretched paper is that when it dries, it dries flat and tight – no warped paper here!
Why is it important to stretch your watercolour paper?
Paper can easily buckle when it gets too wet, which ruins the flat surface of your paper and also allows pools of paint and water to form, which changes the whole appearance of your painting. The basic idea of stretching paper is to get the paper thoroughly wet, then attach it to a rigid surface while it dries so that it dries taut and even. After that, it won’t buckle when you paint on it.
Does all watercolour paper need to be stretched?
The general rule is that paper 300 gsm and thicker shouldn’t need to be stretched for watercolour painting. Anything thinner than that is much more likely to warp, but it really just depends on how much water you will be using in your artwork!
What supplies do I need to stretch watercolour paper?
To stretch paper you’ll need your watercolour paper, some gum tape aka gummed tape, a piece of flat, strong board (must be bigger than your paper to allow for the gum tape), clean water, and a pair of scissors. You can use any watercolour paper you prefer – you can see our range of watercolour pads here and our range of watercolour papers here. Keep in mind the gum tape will cover a couple of centimetres around the edge of your painting, so choose a paper size a little bigger than you want your finished artwork to be. You will also need a few more items, depending which of the below stretching techniques you opt for.
How to stretch paper – 3 different methods:
Whichever method you use, you’ll need to know how to use gum tape. Gum tape is a wide paper tape that has adhesive on one side. The adhesive is dry, so you need to wet that side of the tape before it will become sticky. Cut the length of tape you want off the roll, and then use a damp to wet sponge to smear water evenly along the back of the tape. Hold it for a few seconds before applying it, as this gives it a chance to get nice and sticky. You don’t want to get it very wet, just enough so it’s sticky.
- The most traditional paper-stretching method is to soak the paper first (by gently submerging it in a shallow bath or container for a couple of minutes) and tape it down onto your flat board afterwards to dry. Soak the paper long enough that it feels like wet cotton, but not longer. Be gentle when you lift the paper out of the dipping container – let the excess drip off for a moment, then move to your board and lay the paper down carefully.
- The most basic stretching option is to first tape down the edges of your paper onto your flat board using gum tape, and then use a water spray bottle to finely and evenly mist your paper till it’s wet. This is only really suitable if you’re going to use very little water when you paint.
- Another easy stretching option is to use a damp sponge to dab water into the paper. Again, with this method you would already have taped down the paper before starting. With this method, you need to take care to sponge evenly so you don’t end up with a patchy effect.