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.

5 reasons to use Gator Board Foam for Stretching Watercolor Paper

Gator board foam has many advantages over using solid wood as a material to stretch watercolor paper. The following is a list of the advantages of using gatorfoam board for stretching watercolor paper:

1. No tools required other than a normal office stapler.
2. Allows the use of inexpensive 140 lb paper instead of 300 lb paper.
3. Creates a white border to use for color reference.
4. Very light weight compared to wood
5. Non-absorbent material.

Keeping these 5 items in mind it becomes clear that gatorboard is the best option on the market for stretching watercolor paper. Check out the artists pack which includes 3 sizes so you can have multiple works going at the same time.

How to Cut Gator Foam - Saw Required

Many fellow watercolor artists often ask me how to properly cut gator foam board to custom fit their painting requirements. Gator foam board actually has a very thin layer of wood veneer on both sides of the foam. In order to properly and cleanly cut gator foam board I have found that using a panel saw or a table saw is required.

If you are looking to use gator foam board for stretching watercolor paper then I recommend that you purchase the Artists Pack that I sell. It is composed of the three sizes of watercolor paper that mos often are used by artists: Full Sheet, Half Sheet and Quarter Sheet.

You will get a ton of use out of the Gator Foam Board Artists Pack.