AquaTips - Wavy Watercolor Paper

This is the another installment of an ongoing feature called AquaTips. Members of the club are encouraged to submit tips and techniques they discovered or use to create and enjoy watercolors. Just send a note to the club with "Tip" in the subject line and we will put it into our AquaTips collection. Come together watercolorists, and share the treasure that is our knowledge!


submitted by KelliRoos

We've all had that problem, you finish your new watercolor masterpiece but the paper is wavy and wrinkly, and it gets worse. Putting it under a book helps a little but not a lot. Here's a trick that has worked for me. I only recommend this if your artwork is on a thick watercolor paper like 140lb (300gsm).

Get a spray bottle filled with water, and dampen the back of the artwork. You can use a brush to spread the water around, do not saturate the paper, just enough to make it a little wet, damp. Be careful not to get the water on the front of your work. Then place lots of heavy objects on the work. You might want to lay another piece of paper over the top of your damp work, to not get the heavy objects damp. Do not disturb until the next day. Your piece will be flat as a board.