I recently took part in the WetCanvas Plant Parade for November. The category was rainbows and I chose the rosebud reference photograph to watercolor.

I used a piece of 5×7 Aquabord for this painting.  I love Aquabord’s sturdy, non-warping background. I also am impressed by Aquabord’s easy release of watercolor. I “lift” paint quite a bit when I watercolor, and the Aquabord lets the paint loosen and lift like a dream. Unfortunately, this same asset can quickly become a nightmare. I never use Aquabord without a struggle to get my washes smooth. Often when I lift the paint, more is removed than necessary.

I enjoyed creating the background for this watercolor. The Aquabord stayed very wet and allowed the watercolors to blend beautifully. The same wet into wet blending also caused a bit of a problem…the paint ran over the outer edges of the rosebud.

No worries about losing edges when painting with Aquabord. A stiff brush, a little water, and I wiped and dabbed the watercolor off the rosebuds petals and stem.

One day, I hope to use Aquabord for a large watercolor, but right now I’m content to learn on smaller versions of this interesting watercolor board.

The best news of all about Aquabord is that it does not need to framed under glass. A light spray of clear matte acrylic and your painting can be hung without the glare of glass to distort its shape and colors.