I have been painting upon watercolor paper mounted panels since 2019.

This is a 30 x 40 x 2"d cradled birch panel. After sanding and taping the sides of the panel, I seal the surface of the panel with several coats of medium. The tape keeps the medium from adhering to the side of the cradled panel. I let the layers dry overnight. This is to prepare the wood to not leach chemicals into the watercolor paper I plan to adhere to it.

For a large panel, it is good to have another person help place the paper onto the wood. To adhere the paper firmly to the wood, I use a thick sheet of clear acrylic under very heavy books, etc. I begin at the center with weighting the paper down. It will dry over night.

I used 300 lb. Hot Press Fabriano watercolor paper for this project.

My thanks to Joseph Abramson for helping me with this step and to Barry Lindley for a donation of Fabriano paper for this project.

After the adhesive is dry, I carefully use a razor blade to trim any excess paper. After trimming, remove the tape.

Examine the paper for rough edges and sand the edge to refine. The panel is ready to paint.