Great video! Yes, buying a 4x8 sheet of masonite is a great savings! i've also used 1/2 or 1/4" plywood scraps. I paint the plywood and even the masonite with regular leftover white wall paint, several coats. Non-glossy, so the tape will stick. This way, if there are chemicals in the masonite, it won't get on the back of your watercolor paper if you wet it before taping it on the board. The paint keeps the plywood from warping, too.
I am a newbie to watercolor and I found a bamboo cutting board (at Dollar Tree or Dollar General) for $5.00. It is lightweight and sturdy and has a smooth surface. I haven't washed it only wiped it down and it works just fine for me. You can make modifications to it if you really wanted to, which i may put something underneath it to keep it from sliding. The dimensions are good at 15.75" x 11.5"
Thanks Kris! Thumbs up from me. Much appreciated! I'm not a watercolorist, but with some matting glue and good quality canvas, I'm good to go. So you're helping all sorts of frugal artists -- especially those of us oil painters who love to paint with think impasto layers, whcih can crack if they're on a regular "flimsy" canvas. So this is a wonderful tip for making quality supports. Happy painting!
Hi Chris from Australia. Another way to save money would be to cover your board with Daniel Smith Watercolour Ground. This will give you a watercolour surface the same as watercolour paper so you save on the cost of the paper. I bought a 426ml tub for $32 AUS dollars and it goes quite a long way and allows you to make any surface into a watercolour surface including glass, metal, wood etc...hope this is a new idea for you to try that saves you money! Cheers from Oz.
I used to do this for oil paintings. I'd prefer to coat the boards in acrylic varnish, just to be safe from the water. That hardboard/masonite has gone up, doubled in price now, but still far cheaper than any ready made artist board. The price of art materials and tools is unbelievable, especially easels! I haven painted in almost 25 years, it's a shock to my system. 🤯
I agree. I am always looking for more affordable options, such as the DIY boards I demonstrate in this video. Thanks for leaving feedback. Have a great day.
I bought foam core board from Dollar Tree for $1 each. It's the size of poster board. I glued two full sheets together with tacky glue, weighted it and let it dry. I cut it down into two separate sizes, then covered one side of each with clear packing tape, to make sure it's waterproof, and that my blue painter's tape would peel off. Total cost was less than $4 for the two boards. They are VERY lightweight, which I like, but I should have glued three sheets together, to make them a bit heavier. I do also have a regular clipboard, and a smaller clipboard.
This might be a weird question, but would there be any way to easily turn the board into an adjustable one? Like with extra wood or something. I recently got back into oil pastels and found it much more enjoyable to paint on an easel. I've already looked all over the internet for one, but they're just wayyyy too expensive haha. Anyway, thank you so much for your nice tutorial! :) I'll definitely get some wood and maybe even coat it in wood varnish to make it more sturdy against moisture.
Hi Christie. The boards don't warp. I've been using them for two years with no problem. However, if you wet the back of the paper (which I recently started doing) the slight brown colors can transfer from the board to the paper. However, it is slight and doesn't show through the paper. I don't feel it is a problem. Haha. I had to laugh at the word "frugal"! Yep...that's me. :-)
The only way to completely avoid warping/curling of paper is to stretch it prior to painting. There are tons of video on youtube about how to do that if you want. I don't pre-stretch my paper, as I find it to be unnecessary. You can do two things to minimize the curling - 1) tape it to a board, which I show in this video. The majority of watercolor artists I follow use this method. 2) Wet the back and front with a sponge before painting and place it on a board. You don't need to tape it, as the water on the back will cause it to adhere to the board naturally. I learned this method from Andy Evansen. However, this method makes your paper wet for a very long time and makes it hard to create hard edges. So I don't use it. Hope this helps. ~Kris
![Paint a Robin in Watercolor - Using Just Two Colors [Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Orange]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3XfN0wS8wQY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Paint a Robin in Watercolor - Using Just Two Colors [Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Orange]](/img/tr.png)
You've always had the knack for teaching! I so enjoy watching you teach, now matter what the topic is.
Thank you Anne. I'm really enjoying making the videos.
Great video! Yes, buying a 4x8 sheet of masonite is a great savings! i've also used 1/2 or 1/4" plywood scraps. I paint the plywood and even the masonite with regular leftover white wall paint, several coats. Non-glossy, so the tape will stick. This way, if there are chemicals in the masonite, it won't get on the back of your watercolor paper if you wet it before taping it on the board. The paint keeps the plywood from warping, too.
Great tip!
I am a newbie to watercolor and I found a bamboo cutting board (at Dollar Tree or Dollar General) for $5.00. It is lightweight and sturdy and has a smooth surface. I haven't washed it only wiped it down and it works just fine for me. You can make modifications to it if you really wanted to, which i may put something underneath it to keep it from sliding. The dimensions are good at 15.75" x 11.5"
great idea
@@KrisDeBruineStudio Thank you!
Thanks Kris! Thumbs up from me. Much appreciated! I'm not a watercolorist, but with some matting glue and good quality canvas, I'm good to go. So you're helping all sorts of frugal artists -- especially those of us oil painters who love to paint with think impasto layers, whcih can crack if they're on a regular "flimsy" canvas. So this is a wonderful tip for making quality supports. Happy painting!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Chris from Australia. Another way to save money would be to cover your board with Daniel Smith Watercolour Ground. This will give you a watercolour surface the same as watercolour paper so you save on the cost of the paper. I bought a 426ml tub for $32 AUS dollars and it goes quite a long way and allows you to make any surface into a watercolour surface including glass, metal, wood etc...hope this is a new idea for you to try that saves you money! Cheers from Oz.
Hi Judith. Thanks for sharing this tip. Its so fun to know people are watching this channel "down under." :-) Have a great day and keep on painting!!
Very helpful, been himming and hawing over Gatorboard but just found out it’s not archival anyway so that changes things for me. Going with price!!
Glad it helped!
Nice! Will be doing that! So I can have several works at at time!
Yes. I usually have a couple paintings going at a time. Glad you found it helpful. Have a great day!
I used to do this for oil paintings. I'd prefer to coat the boards in acrylic varnish, just to be safe from the water. That hardboard/masonite has gone up, doubled in price now, but still far cheaper than any ready made artist board. The price of art materials and tools is unbelievable, especially easels! I haven painted in almost 25 years, it's a shock to my system. 🤯
I agree. I am always looking for more affordable options, such as the DIY boards I demonstrate in this video. Thanks for leaving feedback. Have a great day.
Awesome tips. I’m using the glass from an old end table..it’s heavy...I love your option.. thank you
You're welcome.
Great video
Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback.
I bought foam core board from Dollar Tree for $1 each. It's the size of poster board. I glued two full sheets together with tacky glue, weighted it and let it dry. I cut it down into two separate sizes, then covered one side of each with clear packing tape, to make sure it's waterproof, and that my blue painter's tape would peel off. Total cost was less than $4 for the two boards. They are VERY lightweight, which I like, but I should have glued three sheets together, to make them a bit heavier. I do also have a regular clipboard, and a smaller clipboard.
Thanks for sharing your creative idea, Jodi. I love it.
Great art! Masterpiece!! You're very talented! Stay connected and stay safe!!
Thank you.
This is so awesome. Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome! Glad you liked it. :-)
Thank you this was very helpful!
You're welcome
Thank you for the diagram! 😊
You are welcome! Thanks for watching!
This might be a weird question, but would there be any way to easily turn the board into an adjustable one? Like with extra wood or something. I recently got back into oil pastels and found it much more enjoyable to paint on an easel. I've already looked all over the internet for one, but they're just wayyyy too expensive haha. Anyway, thank you so much for your nice tutorial! :) I'll definitely get some wood and maybe even coat it in wood varnish to make it more sturdy against moisture.
As I like to say...there is almost ALWAYS a way to do something. But I haven't done what you're suggesting.
What a frugal idea! Love it! Do the boards warp over time, or should they be treated somehow? Thanks so much for this awesome tip!
Hi Christie. The boards don't warp. I've been using them for two years with no problem. However, if you wet the back of the paper (which I recently started doing) the slight brown colors can transfer from the board to the paper. However, it is slight and doesn't show through the paper. I don't feel it is a problem. Haha. I had to laugh at the word "frugal"! Yep...that's me. :-)
@@KrisDeBruineStudio Great to know! Thanks!
great idea!
Thanks for the feedback. Have a great day.
How do you avoid curling paper after wash? Thank you
The only way to completely avoid warping/curling of paper is to stretch it prior to painting. There are tons of video on youtube about how to do that if you want. I don't pre-stretch my paper, as I find it to be unnecessary. You can do two things to minimize the curling - 1) tape it to a board, which I show in this video. The majority of watercolor artists I follow use this method. 2) Wet the back and front with a sponge before painting and place it on a board. You don't need to tape it, as the water on the back will cause it to adhere to the board naturally. I learned this method from Andy Evansen. However, this method makes your paper wet for a very long time and makes it hard to create hard edges. So I don't use it. Hope this helps. ~Kris
Do you have to waterproof these Hardboards before you start painting with them?
I have not treated them. They work fine.
Brilliant!
Thank you so much!!
What do you put on it to make it waterproof for stretching?
I don't stretch my paper. I use tape. I also don't waterproof the boards at all. I haven't had any problems. I hope this helps.
Five Below sells the large clipboards. Of course, it's $5.
👍
It’s so interesting but incredibly hard to follow for a non-American! Would be nice to have the measurements in metrics maybe as a subtitle.
Hi. Sorry about that. I will keep this in mind for future videos.
They sell the large boards with clips at hobby lobby and you can use the 40 percent off coupon.
Thanks for sharing!
... but sadly Hobby Lobby's corporate board is 100% anti-women, pro-Handmaid's Tale, so they get no $ from me or my artsy family.
@@BJones-yw4ddsuch a lie. You know damn well you’re attacking hobby lobby because they’re Christian based.
Would you please consider including metric measurements? You know, for us, in the rest of the world?
Haha. Sorry about that. Yes. That is a good idea. In the future I will do that. Thanks. :-)