 close window  Mounting Watercolor Paper on Canvas
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Last month, I wrote about how to have more meaningful intentions in your artwork. It was about writing down your goals and the reason for doing a painting. It's something like an artist statement before you even begin the painting! It keeps me focused on the task at hand. This month, I am explaining a new technique for me in exhibiting my latest work. In my workshops I paint mostly with acrylic paint on watercolor paper, to save me from packing a lot of canvases each time. Consequently, after a few months of teaching workshops, I have many, many acrylic paintings on paper to frame for the galleries, festivals, etc. That would be a lot of framed pieces and a huge framing bill. Plus I needed 15 pieces framed immediately for my current gallery show. To save time and money, I figured out a way to have a unique gallery presentation and get the job done in two days. I thought of gluing the 21" x 21" paper pieces onto 22" x 22" canvases. The canvas sides and the top 2 inches were painted a color. The paper was then glued on to the canvas with a 1/2" canvas border showing all around. The paper was deckle edged all around and the end result was a totally cool visual presentation. Just think, 15 canvases with watercolor paper glued on them. No frame, no mat and no glass. The entire show was shipped in one box and weighed only 20 pounds. The gallery was delighted with the ease in hanging the canvas, no scratched frames or glass breakage AND no bothersome reflections. Okay, those are the advantages... now for the step by step. Quite simple and logical to do. Bob at Gallery Show 1. I use 22" x 22" Masterpiece Artist canvases because they are the sturdiest and most professional of all the others I've tried. 2. I choose a Holbein Acryla acrylic color and paint the sides and an inch or two all around the canvas front. Let dry. 3. The finished art is Holbein Acryla acrylic paint on 21" x 21" watercolor paper, 300 lb. cold press. Note: This is not a watercolor painting. 4. Using acrylic gel medium as my adhesive, I squeegee it all over the entire canvas surface and ALSO on the back of the watercolor paper. 5. While both surfaces are still wet, I position and center the paper on the canvas, making sure the canvas 1/2" borders appear even all around. 6. Using a large moist sponge and working from the center, I squeeze out any air bubbles and excess gel medium, making sure the deckle edges are smoothed down as tight as possible. The exposed deckle edge give the presentation a "crafted" look. I would never try to line up a 22" x 22" paper exactly to the canvas edges... because you can never have a perfect alignment with a flexible canvas. So I show the edge. It is what it is! I don't try to conceal or hide the technique. 7. Under the canvas I stack foam boards between the stretcher bars to block it up so the canvas won't push down in the center. 8. Next I place a 24" x 24" plastic sheet (like a slip sheet) on top of the mounted painting, then I place a 24" x 24," 1/2" thick board on top of the plastic. Finally a weight, such as a cinder block or heavy books, goes on top of the board -- to squeeze it all down. 9. After 24 hours, I remove the weight, the board, the plastic slip sheet and lift the canvas off the underside stack of foam boards. The entire process results in a very strong adhesion of paper to canvas. 10. The final step -- I brush on acrylic varnish over the entire top surface, including the sides. The hanging wire is screwed into the back of the stretcher bars as normal. This may sound labor intense but the results are beautiful. It's lightweight, no frames, no mats and no glass, and is very contemporary. You might ask, why not just paint on a canvas? As I said in the beginning, I have many, many paper pieces ready for exhibition and did not want the expense of framing every one. Hey, it's only an idea I've tried and it worked! Try it out and see how you like it!   Winging It 22" x 22" acrylic on paper mounted on canvas  Caribe Bouquet 22" x 22" acrylic on paper mounted on canvas |
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