| Have you ever gone in to buy some paper for | | | | need to be stretched before painting. If you don't |
| painting and been overwhelmed by the choice? | | | | stretch the paper it will buckle when wet making |
| You would think it would be a simple thing to buy | | | | painting difficult and the paint will dry in the hollows |
| a sheet of paper, wouldn't you? Well, it can be if | | | | giving a disappointing result. |
| you know what the different choices mean and | | | | Stretching paper needs to be done in advance |
| how it can affect your finished painting. | | | | and the paper allowed to dry before you use it. |
| Manufacturers have created a whole range of | | | | You will need a clean drawing board, some |
| paper products for the artist. So many choices | | | | 1½ inch wide gum strip, and water to soak |
| that unless you know what some of the terms | | | | the paper in (the bath is handy for this). |
| mean it can be very confusing. | | | | Soak the paper in the water until it is saturated, |
| When you want your painting to last for a long | | | | this will take less than a minute. Place the paper |
| time always go for acid-free. This is the type of | | | | onto the board and smooth it out from the |
| paper used in archives. | | | | centre to the edges. |
| The next thing is the surface texture of the | | | | Cut pieces of gum strip to fit the length and the |
| paper, whether you want a fine texture or rough. | | | | width of the paper, plus a couple of inches. |
| You may be asking "How do I know? I just want | | | | Dampen the gum strip and use it to stick the |
| something to paint on!" | | | | longer edges of the paper to the board, and then |
| The texture you choose will depend on your style | | | | do the shorter edges. Smooth out the paper and |
| of painting. If you like to have a lot of detail in | | | | the gum strip and leave it to dry naturally and on |
| your paintings you will need a smooth textured | | | | the horizontal. Do not place it near a heater! |
| paper - in which case you want one that is 'Hot | | | | If you just want to paint without needing to |
| Pressed'. | | | | prepare the paper, there are pads of ready |
| If you use a lot of watercolour (or watercolour | | | | stretched paper that save you having to do this |
| style) washes then the paper you should choose | | | | yourself. These pads have the paper glued around |
| will be 'Not'. That means 'Not hot pressed'. It has a | | | | the edges and you paint on the top of the pad. |
| bit more texture than Hot pressed papers. | | | | Once you've finished the painting and it is |
| If you paint a lot of landscapes and/or like | | | | completely dry, a knife is inserted at one of the |
| granulation (which happens when the colours | | | | edges and moved around the sides to cut |
| separate while they dry) you will probably like | | | | through the glue and free the top layer. |
| using Cold pressed papers. These have the | | | | It is a good investment to buy good quality paper. |
| roughest texture. | | | | It is much easier to use, and gives a better result. |
| Papers are sold in weights. This affects the | | | | Next time you need to buy paper think about |
| thickness of the paper. Papers that are less than | | | | how you like to paint, and it will be much easier to |
| 300-lb or 640gsm (grams per square metre) will | | | | decide on the type of paper to buy. |