Why do watercolor artists stretch paper? To keep it flat when wet. Water causes cellulose fibers to swell unevenly, leading to buckling. Stretching holds the paper under tension as it dries, preserving a smooth surface. 👩‍🎨 Presentation by Katie from our Merchandising Team 🫶🏽 Special thanks to artists aalekha_art , Katie White Artist & Sarah Themintgardener whose work we included here 🎥 Filmed at Blick Studios in Chicago, Illinois. #watercolortechniques #artisttips #watercolorpaper #artbasi

Do you stretch your watercolor paper? It used to be that stretching watercolor paper was the norm and artists would need to wet the paper they wanted to paint on, tape it down with butcher tape to their painting board and let it dry before they painted. Personally, I find that when I do a lot of prep that puts a lot of pressure on the painting to turn out well and I don't need that kind of stress! So I never stretch my paper, I simply tape it down to my surface and start painting. If I'm paintin