Watercolor blocks

(C) 2017 Dale DiMauro

These days watercolor blocks are popular. They come in a range of sizes from 7" x 10" and smaller to 18" x 24". Watercolor blocks are quite handy as they are portable and the paper does not require stretching. They are useful when working on a study or painting outside. Watercolor blocks are often ten to twenty sheets of paper glued together requiring an artist to separate each layer with a palette knife. There is a spot in the middle back where there is an absence of glue, which enables you to slide a palette knife through. 

They come with a cover sheet that protects the paper from the elements and general wear and tear. The inside cover is free space to record notes, doodle, test out color combinations and refine your composition. My art mentor Gerard Doucette, will often demonstrate a technique or idea in this space. I do little landscape studies and anatomy drawings in this area. 

For me this has become a fun area to work and experiment. These studies I do spur me on to finish a painting after I have had time constraints or been interrupted for a prolonged period.