How to Mount Watercolor Paintings on Wood Panel

Do you love the look of raised wood panel artwork?  Learn how to create your own wood panel watercolor paintings to display or give away.  No glass needed when you use the amazing products I found for protecting watercolor artwork.  Follow along below so you can start to display your own watercolor paintings in your home.

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Step 1:  Trace Wood Panel on Watercolor Painting

First, we will trace the outline of the wood panel onto the back of your painting.  An easy way to center your painting is to hold your photo up to a window, with the wood panel behind it.  You’ll then be able to center your painting when the light shines through the paper.

Step 2:  Cut Your Watercolor Painting

After you have traced your outline, use scissors, and cut out the painting.  I like to cut just outside the tracing line to give me a little bit of wiggle room to center my watercolor painting on the wood panel.  We will remove the excess edges in another step.

Step 3:  Cover the Wood Panel with Gel Gloss

Use a flat brush to cover the wood panel in the Heavy Gel Gloss.  This is the “glue” that holds the watercolor painting to the wood panel.  Try to create an even layer, and it’s better to have too much glue than not enough, so don’t be afraid to add more.

TIP:  Be sure to clean out your brush really well so the clear gloss doesn’t stay on your brush – it’ll ruin your brush if it dries on the bristles.

Step 4:  Attach Your Watercolor Painting to the Wood Panel

Take the watercolor painting that you cut out and line it up with the wood panel.  Center it up as you lay it down.  Now here is where you’ll use one of my favorite new tools – a brayer roller!  This roller helps to get out all of the air bubbles and allows you to get your painting extremely flat.  It also helps you to see where you may need to add any extra glue to the edges.

Step 5:  Trim and Sand the Edges of Your Watercolor Painting

After letting the glue dry about 30 minutes to 1 hour, you can trim off any excess edges from the painting from the edges.  Don’t worry about being perfect with this, just get it as close to the edges as you can.  You will then follow up to soften the edges of the watercolor paper using sandpaper. Sand away from yourself until all of the edges are level with your panel.

Step 6:  Add Protective Coating to Top of Watercolor Painting

Now it’s time for one of the most important steps – protecting your artwork!  I used Dorland’s Wax Medium – I love this stuff!  It’s a mixture of waxes and resin that you actually wipe right on top of your painting.  Just use a paper towel and wipe it on in a circular motion and let it dry. Don’t worry, it won’t ruin any of your paintings (I was really nervous about this at first.)  Instead, it creates a protective coating over the top of your painting that protects it from sun damage, makes your painting waterproof, and helps bring out the beautiful colors in your paint. It’s really amazing!

Mounted Watercolor Art on a Wood Panel

And just like that, you are done!  You now have your own artwork mounted on a wood block to display in your home.  I hope you have found this tutorial helpful and that it will inspire you to begin to be proud of your artwork and display it throughout your home, or even give it away as a heartfelt gift.

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And remember, your life is your art.

-Hannah

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