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Watercolor Paper Question. I am painting my first large format (32 x 38 inches) on Arches 140 pound paper. ?
I cut the sheet from a roll and the sheet is still really tightly rolled. How do I flatten it?
You need to stretch the paper. This is done by immersing the paper FLAT in a tub of water. I use my bathtub for this. The water must be cold. Soak the paper for 15-20 minutes. Remove the paper from the water and allow it to drip dry for 5 minutes. You DO NOT want the paper to dry completely. While the paper is still damp, you need to lay it on a board and tape it down, or staple it to the board. This is stretching. You must use watercolor stretching tape, or a good staple gun. Tape or staple the paper about 1/4 inch from the edge. When stapling, place a staple in the middle of each side, then work from the middle to each end. With a sheet the size of yours, I would use at least 3-4 staples on each side of the middle staple. Make sure your staples are far enough in on the paper to allow for shrinkage when the paper dries. Too close to the edge and the staples will either pull out, or the paper will tear.
I have never had good luck with tape. I can never get it to stick. I have bought tape made specifically for stretching watercolor paper, but I can't get it to work.
The board I use to stretch my paper on is a piece of material formerly used in the construction industry. It is becoming harder to find here in the US because it's not being used anymore. I can't remember what it's called, but it is compressed paper. It is NOT MDF. Check with some smaller hardware stores or lumber companies. They may have some. Since it has fallen out of use for the construction industry, it will be hard to find. They may cut it to size for you because it comes in 8'x4' sheets. Have them cut it to at least 2 inches larger than your paper. If you are planning to paint a larger picture in the future, you may want to have a board even larger. I would suggest having several cut to different sizes to accommodate different sizes of paintings, large and small. The smallest I use is an 19"x25", which I can place several small size paintings on, or 1 - 18"x24" sheet of paper.
Once the paper is completely dry, it is stretched. It can now be worked.
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