Hi Thomas,

I think you already have your questions answered, but I just thought I'd share my experience with said methods as well, as paper can be an expensive thing to experiment on! For me, the ideal surface to paint on is a perfectly stretched 100% cotton paper, using gummed tape, and it can be removed the way @Edo described, although it's a bit of a meticulous job, in my opinion. And it has to be said, I'm too lazy to stretch for every practise painting I do, so I normally just use plain masking tape, and dry every wash thoroughly before I start on the next layer. It always dries completely flat if you tape it well, and don't remove the tape until it's dry.

But I will also make a case for the method @Roger mentions below, that is wetting the paper on both sides first, placing the sheet on a smooth board. Mainly because here you get to paint your first layer on a surface that behaves almost exactly like a beautifully stretch one, without all the work and planning. It won't cockle as you paint your first layer, and your edges will be easily preserved. There are a couple of issues with that method, though: You'll lose the sharp white edges, as you need to soak and paint the whole surface of the sheet, and you can only start painting wet in wet. So, for instance, if you like to start painting skies with both hard and soft edges, that method won't work very well. You can, of course, leave white areas, add hard/soft sky edges in your second layer. Another challenge is that the paper often does cockle a bit after the first layer has dried, unless you're using 640 gsm. But it depends on how water resistant your surface is etc. And the best way to find out is, of course - try it out!

To answer your second question is easier - it doesn't matter! 😉 The "old rule" is what @BeckyT mentions below, that you should be able to read the watermark correctly, but you can paint on the back of any quality paper, in my short experience, and I know Edo prefers using the back of Saunders rough for many of his paintings.