For sometime, I must relate all the ways I puzzled out how to stretch watercolor paper...good watercolor paper comes in blocks, one sheet glued at the edges with rubber cement to the one below, and theoretically, one can do wet into wet watercolor on these blocks...but one would need a very light touch...like most, I puddle water, and it wrinkles the paper, and colors go all over willy-nilly...for sometime...and for now, let me explain my framing obsession...the first day of Palomar watercolor class, the instructor, Chuck Rouse, showed us one of his San Diego Fair winning large watercolors of people...to do people big on watercolor paper is like the ultimate...and we learned how he did that painting...but, while he explained that he had a favorite framer, and how important the presentation was for his entries, it, framing our watercolors, was beyond us...beyond our means to afford!...a good frame for a large watercolor is like 400 dollars...oil paintings are easy to frame, and second hand frames are all about...canvases even come with wrapped edges--no frame needed, though the Yosemite oils I did in class didn't make the student show because they were unframed (but wrapped!...hmmph...still an annoyance)...anyway, my framing obsession has set me the task of framing a large work on paper; photograph, watercolor, charcoal, pastel, etc., for under ten dollars...and have it look nice, be durable, and so forth...I know for that price anything I do will look unorthodox, of the homemade, diy, schools, but wth, collectors can afford to have things re-framed to their liking...most just want to purchase something they can hang on a wall for a reasonable price!...so, so, after backs and forths for awhile, many today, this is where things stand...I can use paint canvases as the major component...set the paper work on the canvas...my newsprint pad is 18x24, and a canvas that size is five or six dollars...old ones at swap meets, good will, like a dollar or two...simplest way to attach is to staple the very edges...paper has to expand and contract, so I don't know how that might go...if it's yet to be painted on watercolor paper, this can be soaked, stapled, dried, and so stretched, and the painting done right then, no puddle wrinkles!...and leave the paper on the canvas for framing...for the frame edges I can get thin cedar strips in the garden section of Home Depot...enough for a 18x24 like a dollar fifty...small nails or screws to attach to canvas edge...to hold glass ($$??), or plexiglass in place, window glazing pins...same things one uses to replace windows...between the glass and the paper...I spent all day trying to picture what can go there...between the glass and paper, my lastest thought, is black foam rubber weather stripping, like one half inch, by three eighths...for pastels and charcoal, there needs to be a big gap...such works shed chalk and charcoal which accumulates at the bottom...or so I've read!...so the thickness of the weather stripping will work, and it has one sticky side to go on the glass...and being soft, I should be able to compress the glass down a little when I put in the glazing pins, making everything tight...tomorromorrow I'll see if this all works!!!...oh...I bought a Ryobi miter saw for a hundred dollars...started to assemble, but saw I needed table...first bought a piece of plywood, but then saw the Ryobi miter table for miter saws in the tools displayed, and got that for another hundred dollars!...both for assembly tomorrowmorrow!...I didn't have to pay extra for insurance on the White Truck, so splurged on the saw and table!...cloudy hazy cool...Spring Falls watercolor sketch, Spring 2004, was to have todays charcoal sketch posted with it, but when I reached for the newsprint pad, and about to turn the page with Doe, I thought, I need to frame Doe now for safe keeping, and so off and about back and forth all day!!!...oh, there should be a cloud of spray to the left of the bottom of the Falls, which would have taken some ingenuity using just the transparent watercolors!...at some point one has to shrug, and just leave something out...or buy a frame!...oh, and there will need to be some decorative touch to cover the glazing pins, and too over the weather stripping...have to see how that looks...I've left out mats, what's usually used between glass and paper...mats would be over budget!
...and...oh!...this is really annoying, and why I never thought of this...Cheap Joes (I did a google image search of 'stretching water color paper') has the simplest and most elegant way!...just soak the paper (sketch pencil drawing on it already), let it set and absorb, then take paper towels and get as much excess water out...and there you are...brush strokes won't run willy-nilly...wet in wet is possible too...and as the paper dries, real hard edge details can be put in, and I imagine dark darks...drying can be hurried along with hair dryer...and of course, once too dry, it can't be gone back into wet in wet...so some ingenuity in order going from start to finish with no wet in wet back steps!...see link: http://www.cheapjoes.com/artist-resources/videos/joes-test-studio/water-color-lessons/wetting-stretching-wc-paper...
actually, I remember doing a watercolor like this...a special evening at the Art Activity Center as invited by friend running that show then to do paintings with Osamu who came by to show method...one can see in his painting this technique...and it's useful for sales, as quick to do...
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