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Stretching “WET” watercolor paper
in Eric’s Watercolor Frames™

1. Open the frame. With water (no soap), a paper towel or rag, wipe the base of the frame. Also clean the gasket of any previous pigment.

2. Soak (5 min.) your paper in a tub of water, or apply water with brush or a spray bottle, saturate both sides of the paper.

3. Place the paper onto the base of the frame, lined up against the edge of the hinge. Center the paper to the base. The paper should extend beyond the opening of the frame’s window, and allow a nice border. It is ok if the paper extends beyond the frame’s exterior edge.

4. Using card stock, a credit card, or other stiff edged clean material gently squeegee the paper from the center out. You should see no bubbling or warping. The paper should lie totally flat. Hold it against light to check the sheen of the surface.

5. Close the frame, and place clamps near each of the corners, on the side opposite the hinge.

6. Let dry completely, then paint.

Note: If the paper’s border is still wet while sandwiched in the closed frame, it will draw pigment through the paper, underneath the gasket and into the border. The paper must be completely dry for the gasket to mask off the border.

Placing and re-registering “DRY” watercolor paper
in Eric’s Watercolor Frames™

1. Open the frame. With water, a paper towel or rag, wipe the base of the frame. Also clean the gasket of any previous pigment.

2. Place the paper onto the base of the frame, lined up against the edge of the hinge. Center the paper to the base. If you are re-regristering a dry sheet, hold the paper by both sides, lining it up to the gasket edge.

3. Close the frame, and place clamps near each of the corners, on the side opposite the hinge.

4. You are ready to paint.

Note: While painting with a dry sheet, buckling may occur from applying excessive water. If you are using washes, it is recommended that you start with a strectched “wet” sheet.

An advantage: You can easily remove a painting, set it aside to dry, and start a new painting. By re-registering your work, you can efficiently manage multiple sheets at the same time.