Watercolour Warp (How to prevent it)

It's been another busy month, I had a successful 'Open Studios' and would like to say a huge thank you to the 130+ people who popped in to have a look, my highlight was finding out that I had sold a 'Sibden Spring' digital print from the Quay Arts showcase exhibition which I am proud to say has found a new home in Auckland, New Zealand. With the school holidays once again upon us my painting might have to be put on the back burner until September, though I will endeavour to do some art as and when I can. I have managed to do a quick watercolour sketch this month, it's a view of Yaverland beach, nr Sandown (see photo below).

A trick to keeping your watercolour paper lovely and flat is to soak your watercolour paper on both sides, let any excess water run off, then lay it onto a rigid board that has a smooth surface that won't bend or warp, (I've used a piece of plywood) then whilst the paper is still moist, dampen some brown gummed paper tape (you can buy this from most art shops, I've used a width of 3.5cm) on the adhesive side (taking care not to wet too much else the glue may come off) and tape down all of the 4 edges onto the board, lay it flat and allow it to dry naturally, the paper should dry stretched tight to the board and perfectly flat ready to paint.