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Paper

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The prime concern when buying paper is that it will not change colour and darken as it ages, as this would drastically affect all the colour and tonal relationships of the painting. Cheaper papers made of wood pulp are suitable for drawing, but for your paintings you should always use acid-free papers. The best quality are handmade from cotton, but there are cheaper alternatives made of a mix of cotton and what is known as a woodfree ingredient – in fact, wood with the lignum that affects colour taken out.

Handmade paper is made one sheet at a time. The wet fibre is scooped on to a mesh in a mould and shaken to the extremities of the mould, which gives it a deckle edge. It is then interleaved between felt blankets and pressed several times to expel most of the water, in the process gaining its surface texture. Finally, it is laid on nylon netting and left for 4–5 days to dry. Less expensive mouldmade papers are made as a continuous strip and then trimmed into individual sheets.

On a handmade paper you can use either side, while a mouldmade paper has a ‘felt’ side to paint on with a ‘mould’ side on the reverse that has a slightly mechanical texture. If in doubt, look at the watermark; the side on which you can read it the right way round is the one to use.

The most popular weight of paper is 300 gsm (140 lb), and this will need to be stretched if you are planning to lay very wet washes; heavier paper will not require stretching. The correct way to stretch paper is to damp it with a sponge or run it lightly under a tap on one side until the water really soaks through. Lay it flat on your drawing board and allow it to expand to its largest dimensions, which will take 1–3 minutes, depending on the weight of the paper and how heavily sized it is. The paper will form ridges as it expands and you will need to lift it at one edge and drop it back down on the board, passing a sponge over it to flatten it again.

When it is fully expanded, lightly dry off a strip round the edge with a rag. Dampen four lengths of gumstrip so that they are tacky and place along each edge of the paper, burnishing them down with a fingernail. If necessary, put in staples every 10cm (4in) to reinforce the grip of the gumstrip while the paper dries drum-tight.

Painting Expressive Watercolours

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