Board for stretching?

[silverrayven1]

Maybe this has been posted/asked before, but I can't seem to find it so I'll ask anyways. What kind of board works best (to tape or staple to) when stretching watercolor paper? I'm worried that wood will warp.

[Rod]

I always use lightweight foam board,
Heres a link that will help,

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/show...ht=foam+boards

Rod

[vasilkadifeli]

Hi Courtney, I am not an expert but... I use 300 gsm (~140 lb) Bockingford watercolor paper and I do not soak it (as I did with lighter papers)... I am taping down the paper with a masking tape... taping down a wet paper can be a little difficult... I used to have a piece of mdf but the masking tape didn't seem to adhere well and for long on the mdf especially after the paper gets wet during painting... a few months ago my father brought me a piece of plexiglass and I tried it... that was wonderful... I found out that the masking tape adheres very well on the plexiglass... currently I have two pieces of plexiglass... one to tape a 7.5"x11" size paper and one to tape a 11"x15" size paper... these are 1/8 and 1/4 of a whole sheet... nowadays I am thinking of getting anotherone for 15"x22" size paper or 1/2 of a whole sheet... a little care with the masking tape while removing it... do it slowly and at an angle towards the edge of the paper... you cannot pin ofcourse on a plexiglass..

[laudesan]

When I am not using blocks, I use a plywood board.

Hubby bought me some marine plywood boards and cut them to the size I required. He then covered them with clear contact to waterproof them. (I was impatient) but you can varnish them too.

Then I just use painters/artistis masking tape to tape them to the board and walla.... now worries.

Works a beauty!!

[KansasLady]

I cover a piece of ceiling tile (that styrofoam, I think it is, stuff) with duct tape. Then I can staple (which I don't anymore) or tape with masking tape.

I don't stretch paper anymore. Just tape it on the " ceiling tile board" and start painting. I use arches 140.

Vasil, one artist/author (Linda Kemp "Painting Outside the Liines") uses plexiglass, but she doesn't tape it down. Just wets her paper on both sides, lays it on the plexiglass, and starts painting. Oh! She uses that same plexiglass as a palette for mixing her paints adjacent to her painting! Then she lays the painting on a wooden board to dry it; she said the painting sticks if she leaves it on the plexiglass. Do you have trouble with it sticking to the plexiglass?

[jspatton]

You know those corregated plastic yard signs that proliferate themselves in the months before an election? I tape my paper down (dry) with masking tape onto those. They're lightweight, strong, and best of all, FREE.

[vasilkadifeli]

Hi KansasLady, no I haven't experienced such a problem because I do not soak my paper... also while painting the paper doesn't get so wet... I find plexiglass a board that you can clean easily... just put it under the tap and wash it