A Workshop is Like a Box of Chocolates

This week begins the Cheap Joe’s Workshop Season with Joyce Faulknor. Joyce is a transparent watercolorist from California. One of the many things that her students will learn this week is the technique of stretching watercolor paper on a traditional canvas frame. Joyce is one of the few watercolor artists who actually use this technique on a daily basis. Her art workshop is built around the concept of treating the paper as if it were a fine canvas. When the painting is complete, it is ready for framing or can be displayed with no frame at all. Because of the time involved in preparing the “paper canvas”, Joyce does these weeks in advance to one of her art workshops. Complete with pattern and ready to paint, her students can go right into the watercolor lesson with all the prep work done for them. What a treat!

Preparing or stretching your paper for painting is one of the most time consuming things you will do while painting. However, it is a necessary step; one which you shouldn’t avoid if you expect your painting to be successful. Most watercolorist, who stretch their paper, will mount it on a painting board such as Gatorfoam Board, a lightweight, waterproof foam core product with a plastic painting surface. Stretching on a canvas frame is relatively new and takes a bit more practice to prepare correctly. With everyone curious about how to stretch the paper, Joyce includes a full demo of her unique process.

The process starts with deciding the proportions of your finished canvas. It just so happens, that an 18″ x 24″ extra deep (1-½”) stretcher frame will accommodate a 22″ x 30″ full sheet of watercolor paper; otherwise you will have to measure. Once you have decided on the final frame size, you will have to add an extra 3 inches for the extra deep sides (2 inches if you are using a standard depth (3/4″) frame) and 3 inches for the back for a total of 4-6 extra inches added. For example, if you are stretching on an 8″ x 10″ extra deep frame, you will need the paper to be 14″ x 16″.

Joyce is using 140 lb. Cold Pressed Kilimanjaro Watercolor Paper from Cheap Joe’s in her demo. With the watermark side up, she will fully saturate the front of the paper with clean water using a sponge, being very careful not to scrub the surface, which will remove the sizing. After wetting the front, Joyce turns the paper over to wet the back.

After allowing the paper to soak for a few minutes, Joyce will position the assembled frame in the center of the paper. Now, the paper is ready to be stapled on to the canvas frame. The corners of the paper are first clipped to lessen the bulk of the fold for a nice clean look. Then, starting with the sides, the paper will be anchored with one staple in the center of each side while pulling the paper just taught to the frame. The corners are then folded and stapled one at a time. Finishing up with the rest of the sides, the completed frame is then left to dry before preparing to paint. You end up with a very smooth surface, tight as a drum, and ready to accept the wettest washes you can give it!

This may seem like quite a lot of work to begin to paint. Also, what if you make a mistake? This is a risk that all artists, no matter their experience, must take. You might consider doing a few value studies and thumbnail sketches to prepare you for the final painting. Practice brings confidence in your painting abilities. New ideas and techniques are wonderful ways to widen your art experience, and this is just one of the many ways you can choose to display your artwork. Joyce Faulknor has been very successful in using this process with her artwork. She is very excited to share this technique with her workshop students to give them another option to mounting their paper.

Every art workshop artist brings new and exciting information to their students. Workshops are a great social activity as well. Learning new art techniques, meeting new art friends and sharing new art ideas are what art workshops are all about. The best thing is that “A workshop is like a box of chocolates…. You never know what you’re gonna get!”

Have a Happy Box of Chocolates Day!