Creative Paper Stretching
Under normal circumstance I don't have to stretch paper and usually buy 600gm and get to "just get on with it"! However, due to my slim pickings here in Pondicherry (and actually, all over my travels I find that watercolour is a unique and fairly rare art profession, it is oil and acrylic that get the attention) I have to do this step. It requires a staple that can staple flat, a hard board of some kind, a way to soak the paper for 10 minutes and a place to let it dry flat without getting any dirt or gecko poop on it...haha.
So, along with finding prof. watercolour paints (didn't find), proper brushes made of sable (didn't find) and good quality large full sheets of paper (not thick enough), one has to purchase a few other items like a good ruler, scissors, large wisk brush for when you erase and need to brush the bits away, sharpener and if lucky, masking fluid (didn't find) for small areas you might want to keep the paper white, you may have to invest in a staple gun and a large plastic tub (didn't find) to soak the paper in if you don't have a bathtub.
I am in the process of seeing if my bathroom floor in conjunction with the bum gun here at my disposal works, I cleaned the floor well first then laid the paper cut to the size of my board down on the ground and sprayed it down turning each side over a few times for about 10 minutes. Now it is stapled and drying under a sunbed outside and I hope this works. I stapled all around the edges tight so I'll keep my eye on it...I certainly hope so.
Part of the process of producing a piece of art that I am proud of is being able to work with good supplies, the positive out of this "barely finding what I need" experience will be having success being able to use the 300gm paper, for this is really what I find most of the time if I haven't brought stuff with me as in a pre-planned art excursion to some new country! It is always the paper that causes me the stress of not being able to get going so, this could be a great learning curve!
