Bogdan Shiptenko

Paper Stretched CanvasSince I mostly paint with watercolors, I try to choose good watercolor paper. Most often it is 100% cotton and a paper weight of 300 grams per m2. Favorite paper manufacturers are: Fabriano, Canson, Arches, Buckinford.

It is also important for me that the paper is fixed with masking tape or is best stretched over a stretcher. To stretch watercolor paper on a stretcher, you need to completely wet the paper, wait until it dries, approximately 4-5 minutes, immediately after this period of time, carefully stretch it onto the stretcher. I fix the paper with a construction stapler or lead buttons, but a stapler is better. After, I let the canvas dry for about an hour or two. And you can get to work.

The surface of a paper canvas such as a drum can be identified by sound, tap lightly on the paper,and it will have a ringing sound.backside

Shade combinations come to mind as I write, as I work. In watercolor works I use different colors, I like to experiment with mixing colors during painting, it happens that I think over the color palette in advance, but still I often improvise color relationships already in the work itself.

In advance, I can think over whether the painting will be color or black and white. When I write in B&W, it is important for me to observe the proportionality of shades: white, gray and black.

Of course, I also have favorite shades and colors. There are a lot of them and it is difficult to divide them into any specific ones, but in watercolor I like to use ceruleum blue, emerald green, payne gray and light cadmium red.