Garden Daydream is a 4' x 5' original watercolor. I purchased Arches 140 lb watercolor paper on the roll, that is 44" wide and 10 yards long. Cut it to the size I need and put it in the bathtub full of water to prepare to stretch it. Depending on how long you let the paper soak depends on how much sizing you want to remain on the paper.

I leave the paper in the water just until I'm sure it's totally wet. Then I lay it out on a large board. I used to use painted plywood, but have found heavy gator board works almost as good and weighs less. (I purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of 1" thick gator board from a frame supply)

Where artists get into trouble stretching paper is they want to pull it or smooth it, which can stretch the fabric of the paper. You need to just let it rest on the board and staple from the middle of the edge out. The paper takes care of all the rest and grows taught as it dries. This large painting and the pull of the drying paper actually bowed the gator board. After stapling into the gator board, I tape over the staples with packing tape and onto the gator board, this helps keep it stapled to the gator board which is not as dense as plywood.

Did you know that you could stretch a finished painting? By using a damp sponge on the back of the painting, you then flip it over on to the board. Use dry hands to smooth it a bit and then staple the edges. It will pull it's self-taut.

My Basics for Beginners DVD, shows you how to do many such tips on stretching to every tip and technique I could think of that I learned when I was taking classes. It's packed full of information about brushes, types of paper and how they react to paint. Glazing, wet/wet, throwing salt, to even learning how to paint a petunia lit by sunshine.

Six Watercolor DVD Lessons

You can have a private lesson in your own home; most lessons come with patterns, reference photo and a photo of the finished demo. So you can follow along at your own speed. There are 6 different titles to choose from.

Do you doubt your own value as an artist? This seems to be the artists lot in life, not getting into a show, or the lack of sales, or a bad critique. Many times we must pick ourselves back up. Look at the factors that may be influencing the situation, such as a lot of paintings in the jurying and they could only hang a certain amount. Or lack of sales for a while, most of the time it's the economy or the market in that galleries area, and most of the time it has to do with the sales staff or lack of on whats going on at the gallery. But instead WE believe in our core there must be something wrong with my art, and that is why I didn't get into that show, or why I have not had a sale, or no one likes my art so I'm going to go eat worms (sorry my Mom's favorite saying).

As artists we are so sensitive that we take everything personal. But you must believe in your own art and do everything you can to stay positive and continue to grow and improve and KNOW that your art will receive the attention it needs to attain your desired goals. But this does not mean you can wait until someone walks up to your front door and asks to see your paintings.

Keep them out in the public, as many places as you can, doctors offices or dentists, businesses, or find a new gallery. Submit a painting to a new art show that you have never done before, or join a co-op gallery.

Believe in your own power as an artist and persevere. Reading this you may say, Arleta you can say that with your career. But I tell you the truth here, I have the same demons and doubts and go though periods of low sales or NO sales being rejected from a show, or having a nice reject letter from a gallery I have approached. But I keep the paintings out there. If one gallery gives up on me and I'm showed the door, I just hunt for a new gallery. More on this process in the next newsletter on working with galleries and how to approach a gallery for representation