Country-side mansion in Upper Canada

During a past holiday, I visited the countryside region near Kingston, Ontario, along the Great Lakes. The city was an important center during the British Dominion in the Victorian era, hosting a colonial force, the Governor of the province and most of its bureaucracy. As expected, one can still find many examples of construction in that characteristic Colonial style.

I have always intended to paint one of those mansions, so last week I took aim at completing one such watercolour, but not before trying a technique of stretching the paper first, using Gummed Kraft Paper on a plywood board.

The stretching of the paper was unsuccessful because the Gummed Kraft Paper peeled off the paper at various points, allowing it to still bend as it dried. On top of that, the plywood, as it was bleached, had chemicals that imparted a browning color, tainting the back of the sheet.

As I worked on the painting with wet washes, I noticed that the pigment adhered more evenly to the pre-stretched paper. That was a bonus.