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