The present invention is directed to a watercolor frame device used for watercolor painting having the dual purpose of stretching watercolor paper and providing a border which restricts any fluid for pigment from entering the border of the watercolor paper eliminating the need to mask or tape the paper's edge.
Before being painted upon, watercolor paper must be made taut and flat. It must be maintained taut during the painting process so that watercolor or other media when applied to it does not act to buckle or wrinkle the paper causing difficulty during painting. Common methods used for preparing and maintaining watercolor paper taut and flat for painting involve soaking watercolor paper until the fibers are saturated, then placing the wet paper onto a board of length and width larger than those of the paper and securing the paper to the board by means of adhesion or mechanical fasteners, allowing the paper to dry or painting upon it while damp by applying water, paint or other aqueous media onto the paper. Typical adhesion of the paper to the board is by gummed tape, or mechanical fasteners including staples or pressure clamps tightened with screws or bolts to firmly attach the paper to the board. Masking tape used to create a border on the watercolor paper is time consuming and can potentially damage the watercolor paper after the painting is complete and the tape is removed. Consequently, a need exists for an improved device used during watercolor painting to easily create a border and eliminate the need for masking tape or mechanical fasteners driven through the paper into a board.
Another method of watercolor painting included the use of a watercolor paper block which comprises a plurality of watercolor paper sheets stacked upon one another. A problem with using a watercolor block is that the integrity of the block had a tendency to fail early in its use resulting in damaged lower layers or complete failure resulting in significant waste or watercolor paper. Consequently, a need exists for a device allowing for watercolor painting utilizing a single sheet of watercolor paper at a time.
The present invention is directed to a watercolor painting frame device which addresses the drawbacks of prior methods which eliminates the need to mask the paper, or the use of mechanical fasteners and provides for watercolor painting by using a single sheet of watercolor paper at a time. The present invention is a frame having a seal for watercolor painting to prevent paint from reaching the edges of the watercolor paper thereby creating a border. The frame is a hinged, sandwich style, one side opening frame configured to hold a single sheet of paper. A rubber, or synthetic rubber, gasket is provided along a peripheral portion of the upper frame section such that when the frame is clamped together, the gasket creates a seal protecting the outer border of the watercolor paper from receiving any pigment or water. The frame includes a mounting structure so that it can be attached on a tri-pod, easel or other support structure. The upper and lower frame sections are clamped together with C-shaped clamps. The C-shaped clamps can be modified to include holders for painting accessories such as trays, water containers, brushes or a paint palette. A threaded tri-pod connection is positioned on the back surface of the lower section of the frame for connection to a tri-pod.
Alternatively, rails can be attached through the backside of the lower section for attaching to an easel or other support structure. Registration markings are positioned around the perimeter of the upper portion of the frame device for aligning the watercolor paper in the device and providing for reference locations during painting.
The gasket around the upper portion of the frame is designed to not only provide a seal protecting the outer border of the sheet from receiving any pigment or water but is angled such that any excess pigment or water does not pool along the lower edge of the frame device and acts to channel the liquid off of the frame when the frame is in a tilted configuration on a tri-pod or other supporting structure. These and other advantages and features of the present invention will be more readily understood by reference to the detailed description and drawings hereinafter.
As shown in
The upper portion 16 and the lower portion 18 of the device are hingedly connected by a piano hinge 28 positioned along one edge of the device. A recess 30 is positioned along an opposite edge front face of the upper portion 16 for insertion of a user's fingers to lift and pivot the upper portion from the lower portion to insert and remove watercolor paper. As indicated, the gasket 22 is positioned along the perimeter of the inside opening of the upper portion 16 such that when the upper portion and lower portion of the device are closed creates a seal protecting the outer border 32 of the watercolor paper from receiving any undesirable pigment, water or other liquids. The gasket 22 forms a seal by clamping the upper portion and the lower portion together with clamps 34 spaced along the lower edge of the device opposite from the hinged connection. Clamps 34 are C-shaped brackets typically made of stainless steel sized to engage the device with a compression fit sufficient to form a liquid seal between the gasket and the watercolor paper.
In this configuration, the device 10 is a hinged, sandwiched style, frame configured to hold a single sheet of watercolor paper including a rubber gasket along a peripheral portion such that when the frame is clamped together by the clamps, the gasket creates a seal protecting the outer border of the watercolor paper from receiving undesirable liquid.
The upper portion 16 of the device includes markings 36 positioned around the perimeter of the image area 12 to provide indicia for either alignment of the watercolor paper during insertion or removal or can serve as references for dividing the image area into segments both longitudinally and laterally, for example, in half or in thirds when painting.
As illustrated in
The device 10 includes a tri-pod connection 46 which is a threaded hole position on the bottom surface of the lower portion 18 as shown in
Referring to
Besides providing a masked off border 32 for the watercolor painting, the device of the present invention also serves to stretch the watercolor paper when wetted by firmly holding the watercolor paper in the device through the clamping action of the upper and lower portions, gasket and clamps.
Although the present invention has been described and illustrated with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that changes and modifications can be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/825,527 filed Mar. 28, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62825527 | Mar 2019 | US |