With good quality paper even your earliest efforts will be rewarding. If you are using lightweight paper that needs stretching this can be marine plywood, masonite, basswood or other woods treated with water-based varnish, Gatorboard, which is very light in weight, has also proved excellent. Small sheets of hardboard are useful for stretching smaller pieces of paper. Masking tape . Choose one of good quality such as 3M drafting tape or Artist's tape from art store, which won't tear the paper while it's being removed.
Tape needs to be removed as soon as possible after painting.
There are a lot of possibilities. Try before you buy. At the end of this FAQ is a list of some of these companies, with their website addresses. There are a wide variety available including inexpensive plastic ones, metal, porcelain, and artist-designed ones. Artists have also successfully used white china dinner plates, white enamel butcher's trays and white ceramic tiles.