Paper stretching & lightbox answers

I’ve just had some questions about paper stretching. I thought I would share the answer in case others had similar questions.

Q-
A customer who is working with a lightbox wanted to know:

-Can paper be stretched, dried and then taken out and transferred to the lightbox to do an outline then put back into the stretcher to paint on?

-Can paper be stretched, dried and then stored for later use?

-Would any watercolour paper be transparent enough to use with a lightbox?

A-
The purpose of stretching is to hold the paper in tape or a stretcher while you’re painting, because when you wet it during painting it swells and buckles. It is the stretching that holds it flat and taught. So there would be no point to wet it and remove it. Some artists have a few boards prepared in advance. If you use heavy paper you can get away without stretching or if you paint with very little water.

Yes, we do have people who use the lightest watercolour paper to sketch on a lightbox or sunny window – 90lb Bockingford.
Because it is so light the 90lb is very prone to buckling when wet so it will have to be stretched for most types of watercolour painting.

So the usual procedure is to sketch on a lightbox, then stretch, then paint and then remove from the stretcher or taped board.

We do have a stretcher that lets you stretch without a board so it could be used over a lightbox if you wish. The Keba Artmate can be used with just the bars, the paper is stretched over them like over a frame.

hope this helps,
Julie
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We do 3 types of light boxes: Globox, Lightpad, and Light Tracer.

Keba:

Transform your technique
– With a super tight and flat surface
– Unique control of ultra wet washes
– No cockling, buckling or lifting with the patented tension control
– Let the paint flow where you want it

Use any paper with control
– Use KEBAartmate easily with any paper and get a superb result
– No drying time
– Load and stretch paper on location with the simple turn of a key
– Create stunning effects on normally difficult papers such as cartridge

2 Methods of stretching for watercolour use:
– The Quick no pre-drying method:
Wet the back of the paper and the edges of the front, then stretch and paint on the front right away.
– The Pre-drying method:
Wet both sides of the paper, stretch, then let dry before painting.

A new way to create
– Switch to other media in an instant
– Paint directly when inspired
– Make 8 different shapes from a collection of 3 KEBAartmates
– Optional base board included with every product

NB: paper must be cut to the size of the stetcher.