Watercolor 101

For those who want to experience a painting medium that offers great possibilities, watercolor may be just the hot ticket.  After learning a few basics you will be ready to begin an ever-increasing list of skill-building exercises.  It is through these exercises that you can develop an understanding of what watercolor can do to make your painting experience fulfilling and exciting.

Seldom do you see articles on the extreme basics of painting, but there are some super simple things that can help you achieve a much higher degree of skill.  The first of these is the brush itself…how to hold it, where to grip the handle and what shape might render the line, texture or look you desire.

Many artists hold a brush handle as they would a pencil, i.e., a tight grip just above the ferrule, the metal cap that holds the brush bristles in place.  For very precise lines and strokes, that is a great grip method.  But, if you loosen your grip and hold the brush by the end most distant from the ferrule, you can achieve very fluid, swishing strokes.  This type of grip and hold on the handle will be more applicable to washes and large, less defined areas of the work.  With this grip, you can more easily achieve progressively thick to thin lines, perhaps working back to thick, giving a ribbon-type appearance.  Practice strokes from different places along the handle and see the way the line changes.   You will find a “sweet spot” on the handle that works well for you.

Working with a fully charged brush, you can also experiment with paper that is dry in some areas and wet in others.  This is not the usual way watercolor paper is used.  Traditionally, thick watercolor paper is soaked and  saturated with water, removed and held to shed excess as it runs off, then allowed to mellow and just start to dry.  That even moistness is the surface most watercolorists prefer.  However, working on dry paper allows much sharper detail work and gives a completely different look to the stroke.  Partial dry/wet paper, where there is moisture introduced to only part of the surface, is fun to work on because the texture of the surface changes as you cross the sheet.

Fastening the paper to a flat surface such as a laminate-covered board is very helpful.  The suction of the wet paper on the super flat surface provides a type of “hold” on the paper that allows it to dry super flat rather than pillowed.  In order for the page to hold flat throughout the entire drying process, you must fasten it to the laminate with tacks or tape.  Once the sheet is completely dry, remove the tape and the sheet can be gently lifted from the surface. 

Watercolor paints are designed to be diluted with water.  Use of household water from a well or municipal system can introduce chemicals.  These chemicals (such as chlorine, calcium and salt, etc.) vary from day to day.  You would be much wiser to use distilled water or pure drinking water to minimize the mineral content included with your water-soaked sheet or brush.  When you settle on a size upon which to work, find a tray just a bit larger and use it to soak your sheet in.  That uses less water and, if kept clean, the water can be recycled from sheet to sheet.  Note:  Soak sheets within four hours of use for best dampness control.  But do allow the sheet to mellow before painting.

Color blending is not difficult, but to control the results it is good to keep a small journal of combinations attempted.  This will be a great help when you want to duplicate tones.  Watercolor paints hold well on open plastic tray-type palettes and can be reconstituted with the introduction of water.  Clean your color work area after each session so that you can start with a clean color-combining spot.  Having said that, some of the most interesting colors (though not easily duplicated) occur on dirty, overworked areas of your palette.

Perhaps this article will help you understand some of the tips seldom covered elsewhere; so try them and see what you think.

How To - Stretching Watercolor Paper

For decades, watercolorists have used simple yet effective ways to hold their saturated watercolor paper flat as it dries. The purpose for this "stretching" is to insure a flat, pillow-free surface on which to work and to allow the painting to dry flat for ease of mounting and framing. Some of the simple, direct methods of stretching include the use of tacks and different types of tape. Newer materials now exist to simplify the process, but many artists stand by their tried and true methods.

But before you can stretch a sheet, there are tips that will help insure success. Perhaps the most crucial step in proper paper stretching is the degree of soak given the paper. Some professionals prefer to "spot dampen" their paper, allowing a very specific control of wet-on-wet work. This can be accomplished by using a mist sprayer to saturate certain areas within the full sheet area. Sprayers that have a very light spray broadcast--those that spray very small droplets--work best.

Such sprayers can be purchased at art material supply stores. Mist methods also work very well for watercolor blocks, which cannot be totally immersed.

When overall, thorough dampening is desired, a deep soaking is considered the best idea. This total submersion affords the fastest and most fully saturated soak. Some care should be exercised, however. If paper is allowed to soak too long it can become fragile and is easily damaged. If not soaked long enough, it will resist stretching, may not be evenly "opened" to pigment and might not flatten smoothly. An average of 30 to 45 minutes usually works best for mid-weight papers. Really heavy papers may require a longer soak, so some experimentation will help. Warm water slightly speeds the saturation process, but avoid hot water.

Where to soak the paper is always a consideration. Obvious choices include the bathtub; but, in studio situations, other options might be needed. Special trays are available up to around 30" x 20". Alternatively, builders' supply outlets offer trays for mixing mortar or potting mixes, and these large trays are perfect for soaking sheets of watercolor paper. Some artists use small children's wading pools for full sheets or oversized papers.

Remember to allow the soaked paper to rest for a short time after removal from the water. Lift and hold the paper by the two top corners, which will shed excess surface water. Then lay the paper in a draft-free area to let the moisture even out. After about 10 minutes, the paper is ready to stretch.

One benefit of thorough soaking is the ease of paper sizing at that softened, pliable stage. It is very easy to size dampened paper and to create a feathered edge simply by pulling the wet paper into sections. For exact sizing, decide on the dimensions desired. Lay the dampened paper over a sharp edge, like that of a counter or desk. Gently pull the paper down, using the sharp edge as a cutting device. The result will be a straight tear and a soft-deckle edge.

Once the paper is evenly saturated, the stretching can begin. A board of some sort is required to which the thoroughly dampened paper can be attached. The old world purist's method is to tack the edges of the paper to a wooden board using thumbtacks. But, over time, the perimeter of the board begins to deteriorate. A more modern method is to attach the wet paper with gummed mounting tape (brown packaging tape), which grips the edges of the wet paper and holds it fast to the board. (Allow a 1" overlap on all sides of the paper to insure a good grip.) With the tape attached to the wet paper edge, simply moisten the dry side and stick it to the mounting board. This taping method works well on Masonite and wood. New specialty tapes are also available that are self-adhesive, clear and waterproof, yet capable of holding dampened paper. They are sold by the roll at art supply centers.

Perhaps the most interesting of the stretching methods are the new clamp and strip systems. These make fast work of preparation. Some of these boards employ a rigid plastic wrap-around edge that surrounds the outer border of the paper as it attaches to the backing board. The wraparound edge is held firmly in place with a second tap-in strip, easily and quickly assembled with a lightweight mallet. The hold is strong, facilitating all weights of paper up to 300 pound.

Other systems use a tap-in strip and slot along the outer edges of the mounting board. The paper is caught between the groove and the stretcher strip, thereby locking the paper in place. One advantage of this style of stretcher is that it goes on very quickly and holds weights up to 140 pound. This system allows for the efficient use of lighter weight papers.

Any of these stretching methods can also assist in flattening watercolors that have become buckled over time or those that were initially painted without some form of stretching device. To stretch a completed watercolor, mist the back side of the paper. Allow this mist to soak in, and then repeat. It may require as many as four or five mists, but the paper will slowly absorb the moisture and soften. It is then ready for stretching/flattening.

How to Stretch Artist Watercolor Canvas

Stretching your own canvas is fairly easy once you know the procedure and have the proper tools and materials. Note that the canvas referred to below is pre-primed; but you could also use the following procedure with raw canvas and, after it has been stretched, prime it with two coats of acrylic gesso. Please read through all of the instructions first, since certain steps must be prepared for in advance.

First you will need to gather a few tools and materials: canvas pliers, stapler/staples or hammer and tacks, stretcher strips, and canvas. In addition, a T-square is convenient to help you insure that the stretchers are square. Then follow these steps to stretch your canvas:

1. Select the appropriate-sized stretchers for the canvas you want to build. Your art supply store has a variety of pre-cut wooden frame rails (or stretcher bars) that have interlocking mitered edges.

2. Once your stretcher frame is assembled on a flat surface, you should verify that it is square. Do this by taking a tape measure and checking that the diagonal distances from both opposing corners are equidistant. (They almost always will be.) If you encounter an offset, you can correct it by attaching a small metal right-angle brace on the inner frame corner. A small plywood right-angle triangle attached to the rear frame corner will also help correct any shift.

3. For frame rails longer than 36 inches, an interior brace should be inserted between these rails to support them from bowing inward after the canvas has been attached. This will also protect against frame distortion during periods of fluctuating humidity. If this type of support rail did not already come with your pre-cut frame, you should cut a piece of similar wood and attach it with the type of braces detailed in step 2.

4. Take the canvas and lay the primed side down on a clean, flat surface. Place the frame atop the canvas and then cut away any excess material so that there are two inches of excess canvas bordering the frame on all sides. It is important that you leave this border material because this is what you will use to grip, stretch, and attach the canvas to the frame.

5. Fold one side of the canvas over one of the shorter frame rails and then attach a canvas tack at the center of the outside edge of that rail.

6. At the opposite side, use canvas pliers (which are similar to regular pliers except they have a broader gripping area) to grip the canvas at mid-rail. It may be helpful for you to set the frame upright while doing this. With a firm grip, pull the canvas until a straight crease is formed to the tacked end. While keeping tension on the canvas, insert another tack at the center edge of the rail, just like the other side. Note that you may also use a staple gun/staples instead of tacks. (The Arrow JT-21 is easy to use.)

7. Move to the next frame rail (one of the longer ones) and repeat steps 5 and 6. As you do, you will notice a triangular canvas crease as you attach the third side and then a diamond-shaped crease when the fourth tack is attached on the remaining mid-rail.

8. Now, place temporary tacks at all four corners. Starting with the center of one of the long rails, grip the canvas tightly with the pliers and fasten tacks at 2" intervals. Repeat with several tacks in both directions (from center) and then switch to the opposite side and repeat this process. Continue working from the center until both long sides are completely tacked down to all but one inch from each corner, stretching the canvas evenly as you proceed.

9. Once both long sides are finished, remove the temporary tacks that you fastened in step 8. Now repeat the same fastening process for both of the short sides, working out from the centers. For smaller canvases, one entire short side can be fastened first, followed by the opposite side. Larger canvases should be rotated several times to evenly stretch the material over the frame. Note that a primed linen canvas (oil-primed linen, in particular) will normally require that the tacks be placed closer together, due to the limited stretch of this material.

10. Fold and pleat the corners of the canvas and then neatly wrap them around to the rear of the canvas frame. Keeping tension on the material, tack all of the excess cloth to the rear of the frame so that it is neatly secured. Then place tacks on all four outer corners. This excess material is important to have in case you ever need to restretch or remount the canvas.

Any remaining canvas indentations or ripples can be reduced by moistening the affected area with a damp sponge. Be careful not to saturate, and allow the canvas to dry completely in a well-ventilated area.

Keep in mind that it is easier to stretch primed cotton and Polyflax canvas than it is to mount a primed linen canvas, since linen fibers do not stretch as much. Oil-primed canvas requires the most attention when mounting on a frame because it has virtually no stretch. When working with this type of canvas, you may have to remove tacks in wrinkled sections and then restretch and retack.

By following the above steps and using proper materials and a few tools, you can easily build your own canvas. With a little practice, the process becomes much faster and easier, almost to the point of becoming routine.