# Large format watercolour and stretching paper



## Hanoola (Oct 5, 2017)

Hello,

I'm now to this forum so hoping someone might have some pearls of wisdom for me.

I'm painting some large format, abstract watercolour paintings on Khadi cotton rag papers. They are 320gsm A1 size. I love the texture of the paper and the rough edges and they are an important part of the aesthetic I'm trying to achieve.

My problem is warping paper due to the amount of water I'm using (surprise, surprise). 

I've only painted directly on to the paper so far but I want to keep it flat and unsure how to achieve this without damaging the paper with tape or stapes. I do't even know if you can soak that type of paper successfully. 

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks.


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## jacqueline (Jul 30, 2017)

I use masking tape meant for painters, house painters, to stick my paper down and keep it flat. I typically use Arches 300gsm and have never had an issue with the tape damaging the paper. 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


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## Nono (Oct 9, 2017)

Hi there,

drawing on this scale is usually very tricky.... the soaking is the best way to get rid of possible warping as well as the taping.... but on this scale soaking is indeed difficult. I would still recommend always taping it. If you fear to damage your paper, you can take your sticky tape, the one jacqueline suggested and stick it on your jeans or t-Shirt or anything with fibers a few times, so that it still sticks on your paper and makes a clear line, but is easier to remove later on.

Also, the heavier the paper, the longer it takes to warp. 
Depending on your technique, you can also avoid drawing wet on wet and give the paper time to dry, thus it doesn't get the chance to absorb much water at one time. (I usually work a lot dry on, I like the edges it makes)


Good luck!


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