Wonderful! You are welcome. :)

Yay! I am glad you have the courage to try... Just experiment with old paintings. :) That is what I did. Thank you for subscribing. I appreciate that. Happy Painting! BB

I am so glad this was helpful. :) Thank you!

You are so welcome!

Hello John, Thank you for all the great comments and feedback. I appreciate that. I have always sprayed my paintings outdoors because you don't want to spray in an un-ventilated area. It is not healthy. I now have a fumehood in my studio and so can spray paintings in my studio. However, when I am at an event, I spray my watercolors out of my car. I usually spray a bunch at once on paper in a parking lot. You are correct that humidity can change drying times. But, I can still get them sprayed in no more than 40 min. Now, usually during competitions where you have a couple days to paint and then frame paintings. For a "Quick Draw" when I only have 2 hours... I frame the painting traditionally. I have varnished paintings before, but then I need to finish the painting in 1.5hours. Doable, but stressful. It depends on how strict they are on the 2 hour limit. Also, the gluing of the paper to the board I do before the event starts. It is a lot of prep work. That is the "Preparing Watercolor Panels" video. There is not enough time to glue paintings during a plein air event. I have not used the Winsor&Newton sprays, so I am not sure what that effect is? Do you mean that it is kind of bumpy? I don't have a solution for that. I have just tried to brush off as much dust as I can before the first spray. I realize this is difficult if doing this outside.... But, I haven't had too many problems with the sprays. The Liquitex can sometimes get dust stuck and get bumpy if I am not careful and dust the painting before starting. The Liquitex can be done inside.... I hope this helps....thank you for the tips. Happy Painting! BB

Brienne M Brown k

You are so welcome! I am glad I can help.

Thank you Nancy.... I can tell that Jared is very talented by looking at his channel. He has some great information and videos. I am glad I found him. ;)

That is awesome Kari. I am glad you have been doing it and like it. You are right, it is a bit of work. It doesn't actually save much time, maybe a little money...but more importantly for me it changes where the time is spent. The prep work is a lot, but the framing is super quick and easy.....video 3 coming soon.... By the end of April. :) Happy Painting!

You are so welcome... definitely try it and let me know how it goes!! :) I am loving framing without glass. Should have tried it years ago. ;)

Interesting idea... That could help. Thanks. :)

Thanks so much Karen ... I am loading the second video as I am typing...hahaha!

Susan that is great that you have been varnishing your watercolors as well. I have been meeting more and more artists doing it and experimenting. I am excited by this. I have used some floater frames as well. I like it sometimes, but for framing on the road, it is so nice to frame like the oil painters do. So much easier. Still a lot of prep work, but so worth it during the event. Let me know how it goes. :)

You are so welcome Rebecca... I am so happy to share what I have learned so far. I of course am always still trying new things and adjusting. But that is what keeps life fun! I agree, framing can be a big cost. I think this saves a little money, I should try to find out how much a difference it is. Both methods are time consuming, but the time spent is different. I hope this is helpful and I wish you the best on your artistic and creative journey.... :) BB

Thank you so much 😀

Both great suggestions Paul. Thank you! I have used just wax before and yes, you don't get the dusting effect. But, I do like how much easier and quicker the spray varnishing is ....especially for plein air events. Thanks so much! Best Regards, Brienne

Thank you and you are very welcome.

Thank you and you're welcome Gord. 😊

Thank you for subscribing and you are so welcome. I am continuing to experiment with all these products and new ones as well. I will be sharing my findings as I get them.... This is half the fun for me. :)

I did apply weight to the panels while they dried...just like in the first video. But, I just didn't show it. So, yes.... I do weigh it down to dry over night.

Great, thanks. I am glad this is helpful. 😁

Hi Simona... Thank you for the great question. The only reason I do is to keep the paper as clean as possible. I don't care too much if I get acrylic medium on the board, but I don't want it on the painting surface of the paper. You could totally do it that way, but just make sure you have a clean surface each time. Best, Brienne

You are so welcome. :)

I would like to know this also and can birch panels be used instead of gator board?

Yes you can. It doesn't have to be gatorboard. I have mounted watercolor paintings to MDF and birch panels (but I did gesso them first. Don't know if it is needed, but that is what I did. :)

Yes you can. It doesn't have to be gatorboard. I have mounted watercolor paintings to MDF and birch panels (but I did gesso them first. Don't know if it is needed, but that is what I did. :)

Thank you Jo....I do not know if gator board has another name? It has a foam core, but the outer surface is harder than foam board and does not warp. This is where I have been getting it lately....www.artsupply.com/foamcore/gatorboard.htm I hope this helps...:)

Good question! I don't stretch my paper, but I staple and tape it when it is dry. Then before un-stappling the paper, I let it dry completely. Then the painting stays fairly flat. You don't need to stretch paper...but I like it to dry flat and photograph it this way. So, that is why I do this. You can also wet the back of a painting and put heavy things on it to dry over night. This will help flatten out a painting as well. Thanks for watching! Best, Brienne

How do your remove the staples and cut the paper for framing?

I don't hang it with out a frame. After varnishing the watercolor, I frame it like an oil painting. No need for a mat. But you can get a fillet.

I have mounted 300 lb paper with no troubles. I guess it might be trickier because it is harder to feel the board edges under the paper. The best advise I can give for that is to not have the boarded around your portrait too large. This way you can see and feel the edge better as you try to line the painting up to fit on the panel. Best of luck!! BB

Yes you can! The acrylic medium will work as an adhesive on the box canvas as well. It is flexible when dry and this is good. There are other adhesives you could research too. But, I think this should work. However, I have not tried it personally. BB

Thank you....what was it you bought? I use Golden Heavy Body Gel Medium, at least that is what it says on the bottle. There are a couple that would work, I just like the heavy body because it is more like paste. Did you get something that didn't work? Thanks for the help in pointing it out... :)

Hello Line.... Thank you so much and thanks for the question. The gator board is not totally acid free. It is about the same acidity of hardboard, 6-6.5. However, one good distinction is that it does not get more acidic over time, which hardboard will. The acrylic medium is acid free and acts as a great moisture barrier and helps protect the paper. This what I have found out and have not had trouble yet.... though of course I don't know what will happen 30 years from now.... Best of luck and Happy Painting! BB

Hi Lisa... It does well once the adhesive has dried. I have used these panels in Florida and some of my paintings survived Hurricane Michael. I was glad to hear that. The tricky part would be getting the adhesive to dry.... but if you are in a air conditioned house I would think that would work. You might just have to try it and see. I am not sure. I wish you the best... BB

I am not totally sure... what glue did you use?

It is tricky making sure the area of the painting is on the gator board. Can't totally tell until you cut the excess paper. That is why I now make sure to have at least a 1/4" excess on each side.

Hi Pat.... If you can't get gator board, gessoed panels works too. I have used that. If the painting is too big, it will warp some though. I have also seen artists adhere paintings to aluminum panels. Sometimes used by sign painters. But, I have not tried this and if you can't get gatorboard, you might not be able to get the Aluminum. Good luck....Brienne

Yes, I do this with 200-300 lb paper. You can look at my other video about "Making Panels" :)

Hi Mary.... great to hear from you! Thank you and you are welcome. Thanks for the great question... For a 11 x 14 frame, I cut the gatorboard to 11 x14 exactly. The painting will be to that size as well. The 1/8 inch given by most framers is just a little room. Hope that helps... Happy Painting! Best, Brienne

@@briennembrown5938 Thank You!

Hi Karen... you are correct that gator board is not acid free. About the same acidity as panel boards. The acrylic medium provides a a good moisture barrier, which will protect the paper from the board. I am in the middle of testing how good a moisture barrier. It is better than gesso for example which is porous. I don't have all the answers but continue to experiment and keep an open mind. I graduated in Chemistry and so I enjoy the experiments as much as the painting. :) I of course can't attest to the archival nature of this....the best way is still behind glass, which I do for most my studio paintings. But, I want to find new methods....so I try things. :) Happy Painting! BB

Thank you for your answer. It is fun to experiment! My suspicion is that in twenty years the artwork won’t withstand the long term effects of the gator board. But I definitely could be wrong!! The Golden Acrylic Medium may be completely impermeable!

@@briennembrown5938 It's been several years since your response to Karen regarding the concern about the archival qualities of Gatorboard. I'm curious: In the ensuing years, have you made any new discoveries regarding the efficacy of the acrylic medium? Or perhaps there is a better option than Gator board? I see some folks using archival grade manufactured wood panels (e.g. called "baltic birch panels" on Dick Blick). Thanks for your ongoing inspiration!🙂

Thank you Don! I have found that a lot of my collectors really like the no glass...but I have had some that are unsure about it because they haven't seen it before. But mostly I have not had a problem selling my varnished paintings. :)

Foam board is not the same as gator board and will warp when it gets too wet. The site I mentioned in the video is now gone....of course. But here is another source for gator board: www.artsupply.com/foamcore/gatorboard.htm

I have used gessoed mdf for making panels. This will work. I did find that it will warp a little though. Best thing to do is try it your self and see if you like it. :) But, yes. Should work fine.

Brienne M Brown I have since researched mdf a bit more and found out it is full of acid, so definitely won’t use. I’ve found a place that supplies archival foam board that is acid free, so will give that a go. I’ll keep you posted.

Sorry Pat.... I just saw this message today. Yes, gatorboard has a foam core and so very light. But the coating on the outside is very hard and water proof. So, it doesn't warp.

It does appear they have gone out of business. Here is where I have been getting my gator board now: www.artsupply.com/foamcore/gatorboard.htm

NO.... gator board is not the same as foam core board! gator board is made from wood pulp and does not warp. Foam core will warp when it gets wet.

Yes....apparently they have. I now get gator board from here: www.artsupply.com/foamcore/ga...

Ooopps... I didn't give you the whole address. Here it is: www.artsupply.com/foamcore/gatorboard.htm

I know... right after I posted the video they stopped carrying gatorboard.... I now get it from Artsupply.com. I get the white 3/16 inch.

@@briennembrown5938 Good to know. I have actually gallery-wrapped w/c paper around stretchers in the past, and then sprayed to protect. But I like the use of Gatorbord better.