Preparing the Canvas (Painting for group show) (Patreon)

By canvas I'm referring to the painting support, which I usually prefer paper over actual stretched canvas on frame.

I bought the biggest size the art store had of the Fabriano watercolour paper, to stretch on the random board my dad had lying around because I didn't have time to acquire a wooden panel frame that was big enough!

Tracing the draft onto the support

First I printed the draft I had drawn digitally, on 9 separate sheets of A4 paper, then manually aligned and taped them together to size.

Then I used an A4 sized Lightbox to trace over the draft onto the watercolour paper.
This is not the ideal way to do this, if you can imagine... it's very uncomfortable, tedious and messy. (Yes I'm sitting on the paper as I trace it.)
I can only be this callous with the support because I am planning on painting with acrylic paints. Any pencil smudges or oil from my hands will ruin the painting if this were to be done with watercolours.

I need to find a better way to trace large images like these!

Stretching the paper

Paper supports need to be water stretched so it does not buckle and warp when paint and water is added on its surface during the painting process. I do this with every painting on paper that's any larger than A5 size.

Stretching paper requires you to brush water on the surface evenly multiple times, ensuring that the water is absorbed through the paper all the way through (and not just its surface) before taping it on to a flat board.

This is the first time I've ever stretched anything this large, (100cm x 71cm) and was a little worried that it might not work. It did though!

You can see that when wet, the paper warps even after being taped. When the paper dries, it flattens (stretches) out. This will ensure that the paper will not buckle when being painted on.

(Tip: Make sure that the board is lying flat and not propped up vertically so it dries evenly. Otherwise gravity will pull the water down the paper and it won't dry/stretch properly.)

The underpainting

Before I start the actual painting process, a wash of warm brown is applied to the draft. It's supposed make the colours pop on top of it because there will be little slivers of it showing underneath where paint isn't applied. It also helps with blank-canvas-anxiety.
I probably could have made the wash less watered down.

I also added some shadows to make it easier to distinguish certain parts.

I was a little nervous about this painting because it's been so long since I painted anything larger than an A4. But While I was applying the wash and filling in the shadows I noticed myself really enjoying the process of being able to work with large movements and strokes. I've only been painting mini pieces for a few years now and the tedious brushwork might not have been what I enjoyed.

The support is now fully prepped for the painting process!

Bonus:

My cat PP supervising the project.