Gator Board Foam for Watercolor Paper - White Background

I am a huge fan of gator foam board for stretching my watercolor paper prior to laying down any washes. There is one major bonus to the use of the gator board that is available for purchase on this site. The main bonus is the pure white color. If you ever look at watercolor works displayed in a contest or a gallery you will notice that the mat board is almost always a white. This allows the art work to stand for itself and also provides a measuring stick by which the true values of the colors in the art work will be measured allowing the artist to see exactly where their work stands. I have found that when I paint a watercolor art work on standard board I am always hunting for a white mat to use to temporarily see how the work looks.

By using the gator board foam core method of stretching watercolor paper you will always have a wonderful white background to use as a color reference for your work. It is just one more inherently wonderful advantages of using gator board foam as a tool for painting with watercolors.

Gator Board Foam - Stretch Watercolor Paper without Tools

If you have a household stapler or some push pins then you have the required items to stretch watercolor paper properly with gator board foam. All that is required is to adequately wet the paper and allow it to soak for about 5 minutes. This allows the paper to expand without removing the sizing from the fibers. Once the paper has soaked just drain off the excess water and place it on the gator board. Staple down one side of the paper and then pull the opposite side gently and staple it to the board. Then turn the board and staple another side completely down. Turn the board one last time and gently pull the unstapled side tight and staple.

This allows the watercolor paper to be pulled gently tight. As the paper dries the moisture leaves the paper and it will tighten. The gator board foam then acts as a stable force in keeping the paper tight. Gator board foam is a great way to stretch watercolor paper.

Gator Board Foam - The Advantage of Light Weight Watercolor Stretching Board

During my youth I started to become seriously committed to art as a passion and a hobby. I am one of those who tends to dabble in multiple mediums during certain periods of time. I will use Charcoals for a while then switch to pencils and then spend seven months painting. My true passion has always been watercolor painting. The discovery of gator board foam is one of the best things that has happened to my artistic experience.

I enjoy painting on location or outdoors when possible. I even enjoy being able to bring my watercolor painting stretched on gator board foam to the kitchen table for detail work.

The use of gator board foam for watercolor paper stretching has made the watercolor painting process so portable and enjoyable I find myself focusing mainly on watercolors. The gator board foam that I use and sell is 1/2" thick which provides enough rigidity to properly stretch the paper. However, the gator board foam is unbelievabley light weight allowing the artist to take the painting anywhere without the weight of a wood board or a watercolor block.

Please take the time to look at the artists pack of gator board foam available for purchse. You will love the smooth wrinkle free paintings you can produce.