Professional art conservator here. I agree, just get your ideas down the best you know how, and in a 100 years if the paint is flaking, you’re giving a conservator a job
Those who have the compulsion to paint, to create art, will paint on any surface with anything that produces the desired outcome. The ancients painted on rock walls, in caves, on bark etc and some of those have lasted tens of thousands of years. Today we have more choice than ever before, some of which is extraordinarily expensive, but the cost of materials does not equate to originality, skill or saleability. Most certainly, as you say, in the beginning all it achieves is increasing profits for the art supply manufacturers.
This came up in my feed, even though I'm not a plein air painter, and I couldn't agree more. I do mixed media collage work, and started making my own irregularly-shaped panels from layers of cardboard coated with layer after layer of whatever acid-free recycled paper I can get my hands on, with visible top layers that are usually some combination of book pages and sketch paper that I've made marks on with India ink or charcoal. I'm also using up my old hoard of yellowing student-grade cold-press watercolor paper and too-small stretched canvases by giving them the same treatment. They're dirt cheap, and a lot of fun to make and to work on, and don't look like anything else out there. And by the time I'm done with any given piece, it's covered in so many layers of glue, acrylic paints and media, plus a coat of varnish, it's pretty tough. But I've had other artists go into a tizzy because they might not be archival! Oh, no! The horror! And I've kept telling them that if my work stands the test of time, and is still loved in a hundred years, I'll be keeping future paper conservators in business. For now, I'm just going to have fun with the process of making art and improving my skills for my own enjoyment, without geting hung up on what might happen to it in the far-distant future. Oh, yeah-and I do use house paint instead of gesso, because I'm a very bad artist like that, LOL.
I just used some house paint…I am very new to the art world….My daughter is a photographer and I have supported her to the moon, but she does not like my paintings….I am sad, but I also need to remind myself that I am painting for myself and no one else. I am not promoting selling anything yet…one day maybe. I have a lot of practicing to do! Am having the time of my life and even my daughter can’t take that joy away from me…
Thanks for sharing, I've always used any type of wood base surfaces like mdf rather than stretched canvas that could end up torn where as hardboard is much cheaper and tougher!
I paint on everything. Glass, polyethylene canvas, cotton, linen, plastic, paper, aluminium, wood, MDF, Pyrex, you name it. I paint with cheap acrylic, oil, pva mix, resin, metal paint,just about anything. Ill use brushes, sponges, trowels, rollers, just about anythinf i can pick up. There are only 3 things that a required - have a good primer, good gesso (where applicable) and a really good sealant.
I do something similar cheap, effective. But I do beg to differ with you. One of my paintings was accepted into a museum and I can only hope it will still be on display 100 years from now. MOBA, the Museum of Bad Art honored me by accepting my obra. I couldn't be more proud.
Not only was the canvas used for larger works, originating in Venice , a nautical trading port, but the use of oil as a vehicle for pigments at that early Renaissance time simultaneously allowed the flexible substrate. Tempera cracks on anything flexible.
Thank you Stefan. I have learned so much from your videos over the past few years. And now with your book to referance by, I'm delighted. Stay inspired & inspiring.🙏🖌🎨
I worked on all type of canvas and boards and by far nothing can beat an oil primed linen canvas, it’s so smooth and nice to work on. You can definitely paint on any surface and come up with a masterpiece but when having the right tools and skills things go smooth. Also you never know when your work can be in a museum, do you think Van Gogh knew that his work will be in museum one day? No I found that statement very discouraging especially for those beginners
Thanks, I ditched canvas a few years ago for hardware Masonite. But it’s good to realise I no longer need to buy gesso, it’s very hard to do three coats without getting ugly streaking textures.
Strathmore 500 and 300 series illustration board is good for almost any media except oils. 100% cotton rag acid free archival. A 10 pack of 20"x30 is around $135 ordered online. Dibond or other brands of ACM or ACP, aluminum composite panel, is popular. Light weight and available pre primed in sizes up to 4'x8' costing around $150/4'X8 sheet depending on the brand. Usually used for signs . Easily cut by scoring 1 side and snapping like sheetrock. Ralph Mayer in his famous book written decades ago about artists materials says that metal may well be the best painting support in the future if prepped and primed correctly. Galvanized sheet metal can be good for a variety of reasons but the prep is a hassle which can be avoided with the pre primed material which is not always easy to find. 27 gauge is good.
I've used acm for years and love it. I don't like the primer from the manufacturer, though. Far too slippery. I also don't like applying gesso or even oil primer to the panels. I much prefer the feel and look of a fine oil primed canvas. I mount the canvas to the acm to achieve a rigid support that has the texture and feel that I like. For larger sizes I use acm with a corrugated core. Lighter weight and more rigid.
There's also a question in "archival" of, what do you expect the display conditions to actually be. Works made for reproduction(as with most illustration) will often use materials that don't last, since the point is to get it printed, and the prints can be the thing that are made to last. I'm not an oil artist, so the board vs canvas discussion is new to me, but I post a lot of ink drawings on social media. That means the experienced work is digital, so the thing to archive is probably that digital form too. In that way, I got over myself, and I'll do drawings with Bic Cristals and Papermate Flairs on a sketchbook I got at Daiso for $2. I'll do that knowing that there would be more longevity in using lampblack pigment on Strathmore bristol - and I have that stuff too - but if I work with that, it's probably because I want a heavier surface that leaves the lines unfeathered, versus the prospect of "what happens to it after 50 years".
I paint on Claessens oil primed 13DPS, probably their smoothest/finest linen as it has around 6 layers of oil primer. The regular 13 is 2 layers, 13DP is 4 and 13DPS is 5 or 6. Tried other brands of oil primed linen, painted on mdf, aluminium, polyester etc, tried all sorts of primers over the years. Nothing has the same feel and results I get from the Claessens 13DPS though. I buy the full 10m long x 2m wide roll. My first small 8" x 8" painting pays for the whole roll and everything thereafter is profit. 🙂
I also purchase canvas (Claessens) rolls. A couple of finishes but always oil primed. I paint larger on stretched, though will paint on a 18x24 or so on aluminum WITH canvas adhered to it with Miracle Muck. The feel of stretched linen cannot be matched.
@@billfargo7911 Yes I also prefer the feel of oil primed linen over just priming a board. But I do prefer rigid surface over stretched so I always make my own canvas panels, also on aluminum composite material. For smaller sizes I use the solid core and for larger sizes I use the corrugated core. Not criticizing your preference of stretched canvas. Everyone has different sensitivities to the feel and look of how paint is applied. There is no one-size-fits-all option. Everyone should find what suits them best.
When I started painting, I used loose canvas sheets from the Fredrix pads, taped to a piece of cardboard. Worked well for learning, but you can't escape the texture. Thanks for your video!
This is so true! I use these pads from Fredrix but have exactly the same issue. I have tried gesso but even that doesn’t help. It’s also expensive to frame canvases.
Thank you for this video. I never liked painting on canvas, and there is no need as I’m not going to roll them to transport by horse rider, cart, or galleon. You said plywood and I like low moisture smooth 1/4” to 1/2” thick material. I do prefer to prep the surface with a smooth cotton fabric adhered with wood glue. Linen is too waxy. Then I ground with readymade gesso for small panels. I’ve tried different gesso recipes and I mix wet drywall compound and white PVA glue for the first coat. After sanding I optionally add to the second coat, colorant, diatomaceous earth (for tooth), Fuller’s earth (for oil absorption). Finally, coat with a titanium white paint (oil or acrylic). Takes time but can be done in batches. The cost is a fraction of art shop panels. The best part is finding an excellent vintage custom frame and being able to make a panel that fits it.
I shop for frames at thrift stores…so your comment about creating a painting for the frames sounds perfect….Intrigued by your gesso receipts…care to share? I am new to the painting world…73 years young and painting every single day…such joy…
what type of wood? I am very new to the artist world… I woke up 2 months ago and am 73 years old and was given permission to paint ugly paintings until they become beautiful….I am hooked. I have water color paper which I am using up and bought some acrylic paper…I am doing abstract acrylic. I used to be such a snob about abstract but have come to realize the error of my opinion….It is amazing…and must paint every single day….
I bought the book. You changed what I paint on when you did an earlier version of this video. One thing I never got about the primer is whether when spraying auto body primer, and letting it dry, one needs to use that board pronto. Normally with things like sand blasting (obviously very different in how it activates a surface), and primer one is trying to use the surface within a day or so. When you prep a board do you care when you use it? Would you spray enough for a year, or a week? I'm not worrying about archival, I worry more about when the next garbage pickup is, and that they cancelled the weekly pickup. But for some people, it would be worth knowing how you handle the situation. As a boat builder, we test paints with a scratch test if we are doing something new. You paint a sample of your board/primer/ paint (in the art case). You let it dry thoroughly. You then score the surface with a box cutter on a 1 inch grid. You then apply masking tape, thoroughly rubbing it down, and you rip the tape off, right away. If the paint doesn't lift, you have a good bond. This is an industry standard method. To give the tape a chance, one needs to have a smooth, thin surface of the applied paint, as if one was painting the wall of a room. This determines whether the interlayer bond is sound. It won't tell you whether your acrylic paint will fall apart within itself, but thankfully we don't need to worry too much about that with oil paint.
I paint on plywood, and while I generally have to pay for it, I do end up with quite a lot left over from boats I build for fun. That said, some people are maybe not going for it. Here are a few other options. 1) If you really want art store canvas, but maybe a little better that what you can get from Michaels. You can get rolls of it, heavily primed, from Amazon. It is still coarse, but it is a lot better filled than what we have from the big boxes. You can stretch it on frames, they also sell those, but I just cut them out and tape or otherwise fit them to an easel board. Works for practice pieces. And a lot of people use them or maybe linen roll material as their preferred approach. What some people do is make a sheet that will hold several pieces, then tape them off, possibly with enough space to wrap on a frame, but there are other options. A medium sized piece has some mass and stability. You get very clean edges when you remove the tap. One advantage is that if you are at a stage where you want to keep some work, then you can store this material without much bulk, once it is truly dry. 2) You can buy muslim, which is a very light and sometimes dense cotton. It has a fine texture like portrait linen (ie, nearly as good as wood). The reason one can't use such light material for framed canvases is because it is not strong enough. That is where linen comes in. A light linen is still very strong. But what you do with the Muslin is glue it to a backer, either plywood, or the foam boards, that are a good choice for hiking in. You can do it cold, but I have a T-shirt press so I use that. If will stick if you use archival white glue and a squeegee. Backpacking is the only situation where I would use it. If you use it, you still have to gesso it. 3) In Canada the national gallery, or some such authority did a wide ranging examination of supports for painting. I don't know what, other than archival qualities, were their considerations. Their recommendation was dacron fabric handled like a canvas. It is very fine textured, strong, and does not stretch much. It is reasonably cheap. I guess one gessos it. Might be interesting for a very large project since it is incredibly light.
Enjoyed the content, I have come to this realization recently, I started painting on cheap canvases and just felt unhappy with the process for the longest time, the way the paint laid on the canvas just made me feel like my process was wrong and I stopped for a while. I’m a multimedia artist and so as I got more money i shifted to Masters Touch Deep canvases, so much better. I do gesso my canvases, mainly because I like to texture the canvas in a thick way. But I have shifted now from canvases to panel boards. My thinking is that they are easier to transport/store/sell/ship whether at art shops or from my studio. The only time I paint on canvas now is for art I’m keeping or gifting, or an original. I will be using spray paint as my base soon, gesso is just to costly now to justify increasing the prices for the customer, spray paint is half the price and does farther. Thanks for intellectual spur, happy painting all!
I like canvas. I like the intensity of the expensive paints. Some of the less expensive paints are OK, but don’t have the same amount of pigment in them. I don’t think of the costs when I paint. I prioritize having art supplies.
I have alot of canvasses to use up... was thinking of going to mdf!!! Thanks for the confirmation. Can I spray my existing canvases with rustolean auto printer instead of gesso?
The old masters faced the pores problem with the half measure of varnishing the piece after the painted work had dried. This would bring back some of the illumination that Mr. Baumann mentioned, but I'm intrigued by the white "auto primer" method he mentioned (BEFORE the multi colors of the painting are started). It's available in your choise of spray or small can. I also want to try black primer to make a cheezy "Elvis on velvet" spoof.
Smooth side or rough side of MDF board?? I actually love the rough side. I don’t do crazy detailed realism. I do a modern version of Pointillism. It’s funny because I love MDF boards but I actually felt funny going to Home Depot getting them cut and then charging $$$$ for my work. Home Depot and Rustoleum here I come!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😢
You could also use a bed sheet, natural fabric well gummed down - with your preferred media - to your chosen base. It’s just about making the effort which is rewarded by knowning the whole work is your creation.
Thanks for the tip on using automotive primer. I sand, re-prime and reuse the old canvases that don’t sell. It’ll save a lot of time if I have a rush job and nothing prepped.
I think he is saying a large panel is $60.00 which is about what I pay for a 4x8 foot panel this will provide 24 9x12 inch panels, making the cost per 9x12 approximately $2.30
Every real artist knows this. I used to work in studios where there was some quite prominent successful artists and their studios had plenty of Winton paint, emulsion etc hanging about. I think they generally underpaint and build up with lower quality paint and then finish off with the expensive stuff, or use cheap earths and blues and more expensive warm cadmiums.
MDF is so heavy! Not cost effective when you need to ship them to buyers. Maybe ok to practice on until you are good, but too heavyto ship. And aren't they bad if they get wet? Don't they swell?
aluminum composite material (acm) is comparable in price if you buy from a sign supplier and is much lighter in weight. It is less prone to expansion / contraction issues and wont swell if they get wet. Far superior product. But not available locally in small towns or small cities. My closest supplier is 80 miles away, but they offer free deliver with a minimum order that I easily reach buying one or two panels. For a small fee they well even cut the large sheets down to smaller sizes for me that is well worth it for me. I don't prime the acm directly (though you can and I've tried it), but I prefer to mount linen to the acm. Great, durable lightweight, rigid panels.
@@keithbond9423 That's actually not true at all...acm is far far more expensive compared to mdf board, even with a sign supplier. MDF board is literally a fraction of the price lol...
I think you can just prime with acrylic gesso. It’s neutral and will seal the board very well. Then you can paint with either oil or acrylic. Or, do as I do and add a layer of oil ground before oil painting.
Believe it or not, I use glue to seal my boards, then gesso. Acrylic is basically the same thing as glue, plastic. It’s ph neutral and seals those chemicals away from the paint. The one thing about some of these boards is they have formaldehyde in their process, so be careful if cutting them yourself.
"Archival enough" includes archival for the middle term. I have works on paper that I made when I was half my current age, that are a crumbling, yellowing mess. It seems to me that a middle-aged collector has a right to expect that the work they buy will last into their old age in a condition such that their heirs will have to decide whether to display it or to sell it-rather than both options being absurd because of deterioration. AND, I think this is an appropriate expectation for any art that is good enough that another person wants to pay some money for the privilege of living with it--NOT just for the few ionospheric super-stars. Works on paper are especially vulnerable; I think that oil painting on your auto-primed mdf is probably OK. But even there, your students should be looking at the lightfastness of their pigments, not thinking that archival qualities are for someone else, not them.
I believe most of this video is about practicing, my 0.02 is take Stefan’s advice so you can practice a lot, but A LOT. Even the masters practiced on paper and other surfaces. When you are ready to do work that you really care and want to keep for a long time or sell, then spend you money but do it wisely.
Good quality paper properly primed will not yellow or get damaged by oils. I have 20 year old paintings on cardboard and 10 year old paintings on paper, there are absolutely no signs of aging if you examine them.
Is there a substitute for Ampersand? They are over priced. But on the other hand I can’t seem to find a wood panel that doesn’t warp or bend. Options are birch wood, basswood plywood, and MDF
I'm wondering how you are prepping your panels? I use birch plywood sealed front, back and all sides because it is mainly moisture that causes warping. If your panels are very thin you may have cradle them to prevent warping
Great video, thanks. I always wanted canvas but it's expensive. My favorite artist is Maxfield Parrish. I own 5 prints from the 1920s. As a pianist, your reference made me smile.
Hello there stefon. I just found out about this surface for painting called ACM aluminum panels. I just wanted your opinion on them. Are they any good? Thanks
@@StefanBaumann but when you paint on big panels they get heavy and i really don't like the texture of canvas or lenin. Plus shipping heavy painting is way more expensive (where i live at least)
@@Mohamed-tr7fi ACM is a lot heavier than MDF. I don't like MDF. I like to use good plywood it weighs a lot less. So that would be marine grade or aircraft or baltic birch for small work you can get some doorskins and they are tremendous quality and about 10 bucks for a 7' x 36" sheet. We even used to make boats out of them at one time. We are talking about 3 and 4mm material. It weighs a bout 3-6 ounces a square foot. my 3mm ACM weights about a pound a sqare foot. The people who use ACM are convinced it is the most archival material that there is. I doubt it because it is not designed as an art product, and there is a brand, but some big stores carry something they found somewhere, nice quality at my local, but it is pre finished for some kind of outdoor use on one side, and seemingly raw on the other. The raw side is pretty shinny so there might be something on it. If you look into what you have to do to properly bond to Al i involves and acid wash, and epoxy coating. So you can try something else, but it would be pretty much guess work. The meat in the sandwich is some kind of plastic. I mean it will last too long unless you are in the top .1%. But they are thinking in hundreds or thousands of years. And we are talking about all kinds of unproven materials coming together. A lot of things could happen.
Bravo....we outside of America - love you: The Most important thing for artist is - work❤ who would say that😁(they usualy think colors, canvases, brushes...😁
What I do is lightly sand the surface to get rid of thick paint texture, clean with mineral spirits, let dry then a thin coat of oil and then paint over with an opaque white with as many thin coats until there is no after image left...After it drys you can begin painting on the white surface or do a base coloured tone, whichever is your preference.
I had to learn this the hard way! Glad I had the experience with canvas I did in case I ever have to stretch and unstretch a large painting to sell across the country! Also I like using grifitto and canvas doesn’t hold up as well!
i only bought so far cheap canvases for 5-8€uro /50x70cm because at this size mdf becomes a problem in term of what do you do with it later on? the canvas can be hung on the wall and it sits there, the mdf would need a frame which drives the cost up and you cant lay them over each other when you painted a little bit thicker.
Hi Stefan, great advice thank you. yes painting on canvas is frustrating because also the pores cause the paint to lay unevenly unless you really pile it on. It is hard to create precision and sharp line work. Is amber shellac just as good as primer and gesso?
for working with acrylics, Golden recommends sealing the bare panel with their gloss medium, let it dry, then you are good to go. may I add to seal both sides and all edges for protection against humidity and potential warping.
Sorry but I like the texture of a medium weave linen canvas. Where in the world are you buying a 12 x 16 canvas for sixty bucks? I'm not too lazy to do it myself and it's really not rhat expensive in the long run. Besides, there are a lot of chemicals in MDF that simply haven't had time to know how archival it will be. Besides, it weighs a ton for a large painting. Oil primed linen mounted on Gatorboard is far superior, in my opinion, to any board available.
Geez! I can get a nice quality wrapped canvas(1.5 inches deep) like a 24 x 30 for $20.00 or a 24 x 24 for $15.99. And a 35 x 46 inch for under $30.00. Triple primed medium weight canvas. I prime it with 2-3 coats of gesso. When the painting is done I put an isolation coat on it from Golden and a varnish finish which protects it from UV rays and yellowing and cracking. I don't need to buy a book to figure it out. A small one you can use a board. But treat it first. 😊
I use oil primed linen mounted on aluminum composite material (acm). It is comparable in price to gatorboard, but much much more durable. It is more rigid relative to it's thickness. It is not quite as lightweight, but far more lightweight than mdf. It is less prone to warping or expansion / contraction issues than anything else on the market. It is less prone to puncture damage than gatorboard. It is a little harder to cut, but not an issue for me. As for availability, though, you have to go through a sign supplier for the best prices. Unfortunately, not everyone lives close enough to a city that has a sign supplier. If you can find it, give it a try. Once I tried it I never went back to gatorboard. I will add, though, for larger sizes I used the acm with a corrugated core. It is far more rigid and lighter weight than solid core, but it is a bit more difficult to cut (still doable) and increases the cost. "For reference, 1/8" acm is comparable in price to 3/16" gatorboard with more rigidity. Wile 1/4" corrugated acm is comparable in price as 1/2" gatorboard with better rigidity. Imo its a better option than gatorboard despite a bit more work to cut.
I find many ways to paint cheaper but I've heard enough about artists having problems because of an inferior painting system down the road in their own lifetimes. It slightly hurt their reputations and many were asked to repair the paintings themselves. I call that inefficient work since they had to do something twice. My only counterpoint to this video is that we live in an age where there is a ton of research about best painting practices and mistakes to avoid. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the absolute basics and start from there. We already know which pigments to avoid. We already know how to describe the properties of different kinds of paints. We already know how surfaces fail. Unless you absolutely don't care how your paintings age, it doesn't hurt to do it right the first time. Learning from other people's mistakes is often called wisdom. Don't forget the existence of paper for practice. There are many great options that will last a long time. Some of them are premium quality sold for cheap as long as you're paying attention. Clip or adhere the paper to an MDF board and you will have an infinite number of surfaces to work on. I agree with the general advice of using the best materials that you can afford. It's also important however to understand what "best" really means because it's not always about paying a higher price. MDO is highly superior to MDF because of the addition of resin if you live in an area that sells it.
Do you have any influence with Home Depot? I recently found some nice MDF boards there which packaged with 3 boards measuring 12 X 18. Nice, but not the standard frame size of 12 X 16. I know my painting might turn out to be crap, but there may be one that is frameable. Do you think you could get Home Depot to sell a 12 x 16 size. My local won't cut to that size for me.
I've been thinking about painting on boards recently because i am not able to access canvas right now so boards is the only option, i just hope its the right move.
I started painting on mdf, then I was afraid it wouldn't be professional, and michaels had a sale with 60% off so I bought several to learn how to paint on canvas. But my biggest fear is shipping, and given the prices in Canada for shipping a canvas, I can't even imagine shipping a painting on mdf.😅
@@john-nx4xn you cannot apply acrylic gesso over an oil painting, but there are other options. I use an electric orbital sander to remove the texture of the old painting but I don't worry about removing all of the old image because I paint on canvas mounted to panel and it's practically impossible to sand it all away because of the texture of the canvas. If you have a primed panel as Stefan uses, then just sand the old painting completely away and re-prime if necessary or desired. Probably not necessary as long as you don't sand through the gesso to the support. Since there is a ghost image on my canvas, I sometimes just paint directly over that ghost image, but this can be challenging to judge colors accurately. Usually I apply a thin coat of white paint to cover up the ghost image. Basically I'm using oil paint as a primer coat. Using an actual oil primer would also probably work over an old oil painting, but I haven't tried it. The only difference in oil paint vs oil primer is the addition of alkyd to speed drying and the addition of marble dust (calcium carbonate). Both of which can safely be added to paint during the painting process, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. I just seldom have it on hand in my studio.
Canvas, whether cotton or linen eventually rots, especially with oil paint. I am a rosemaler. We paint on wood that is first sealed, sanded & primed smooth. It beats ANY surface that art manufacturers can come up with. Antique rosemaled pieces go back hundreds of years, even on pieces that were used outdoors (e.g., sleds, skates, skis, etc.) You cam also go large (6' x 6' +) if you use primed aluminum panels. You can skip priming altogether by using ABS plastic sign boards. Sign companies will cut them to size for you (shop locally), then give them a light sanding & your good to go! You can frame them (yourself) using stock molding from the local lumberyard. If you're not handy, maybe talk your husband into cutting the miters for you (new hobby/business??). JUST KEEP PAINTING, LEARNING, & GROWING!! through daily/weekly practice, you'll improve tremendously! I recently sold a 16 x 20 " colored pencil painting. I wasn't looking to sell, just exhibiting locally at an art competition through a local community gallery, when someone offered $500 for it. It was an unusual piece, a portrait of my backyard ( a forest). It was on dark green illustration board. The painting had a tapestry quality on it. So... the moral is, you never know when someone will love your work! Best wishes & enjoyment to all!
the better my paintings went the crappiest my base is. now im just working on primed paper. I work in oils quite fast so I know I will just be doing so many
I think if you think your work as an artist is good or even great, go for the good stuff. I save a lot of money making my oil primed linen canvas from scratch and not bound by conventional store bought dimensions. Stretchers, rolls of good smooth linen, tacks, rsg, lead primer applied with pallet knife. Super smooth unlike anything you can buy and a joy to paint on with oils. And, if a painting does not work, it can be reused by applying another layer of oil primer over it. It is not for everyone because the making of canvas like this is hard work and time and space.
Yes! Agreed! I have always made my own from day 1. It's far more cost effective and you get better quality. I switched to gluing my canvas to panels years ago because I prefer a rigid support, but I've also stretched many canvases in my day. Making your own is the way to go. And primed boards do not feel or look the same as a good quality oil primed linen.
Professional art conservator here. I agree, just get your ideas down the best you know how, and in a 100 years if the paint is flaking, you’re giving a conservator a job
Im PRO JOB
Finally, some common sense and realism on this topic!!
Thanks for the kind words
Those who have the compulsion to paint, to create art, will paint on any surface with anything that produces the desired outcome. The ancients painted on rock walls, in caves, on bark etc and some of those have lasted tens of thousands of years. Today we have more choice than ever before, some of which is extraordinarily expensive, but the cost of materials does not equate to originality, skill or saleability. Most certainly, as you say, in the beginning all it achieves is increasing profits for the art supply manufacturers.
This came up in my feed, even though I'm not a plein air painter, and I couldn't agree more. I do mixed media collage work, and started making my own irregularly-shaped panels from layers of cardboard coated with layer after layer of whatever acid-free recycled paper I can get my hands on, with visible top layers that are usually some combination of book pages and sketch paper that I've made marks on with India ink or charcoal. I'm also using up my old hoard of yellowing student-grade cold-press watercolor paper and too-small stretched canvases by giving them the same treatment. They're dirt cheap, and a lot of fun to make and to work on, and don't look like anything else out there. And by the time I'm done with any given piece, it's covered in so many layers of glue, acrylic paints and media, plus a coat of varnish, it's pretty tough.
But I've had other artists go into a tizzy because they might not be archival! Oh, no! The horror!
And I've kept telling them that if my work stands the test of time, and is still loved in a hundred years, I'll be keeping future paper conservators in business. For now, I'm just going to have fun with the process of making art and improving my skills for my own enjoyment, without geting hung up on what might happen to it in the far-distant future.
Oh, yeah-and I do use house paint instead of gesso, because I'm a very bad artist like that, LOL.
ego bites thanks for the kind word
I just used some house paint…I am very new to the art world….My daughter is a photographer and I have supported her to the moon, but she does not like my paintings….I am sad, but I also need to remind myself that I am painting for myself and no one else. I am not promoting selling anything yet…one day maybe. I have a lot of practicing to do! Am having the time of my life and even my daughter can’t take that joy away from me…
I like how you end the video with "stop watching my videos and go paint"
Thanks for sharing, I've always used any type of wood base surfaces like mdf rather than stretched canvas that could end up torn where as hardboard is much cheaper and tougher!
I paint on everything. Glass, polyethylene canvas, cotton, linen, plastic, paper, aluminium, wood, MDF, Pyrex, you name it. I paint with cheap acrylic, oil, pva mix, resin, metal paint,just about anything. Ill use brushes, sponges, trowels, rollers, just about anythinf i can pick up. There are only 3 things that a required - have a good primer, good gesso (where applicable) and a really good sealant.
You are right. I forgot how many artists I’ve seen who paint on boards. Shared your video
I do something similar cheap, effective. But I do beg to differ with you. One of my paintings was accepted into a museum and I can only hope it will still be on display 100 years from now. MOBA, the Museum of Bad Art honored me by accepting my obra. I couldn't be more proud.
I wish it was a requirement to watch this video before you start art practice in oil paint. Thank you ❤
I’m so glad you confirmed that it’s ok to paint on wood!!!
Not only was the canvas used for larger works, originating in Venice , a nautical trading port, but the use of oil as a vehicle for pigments at that early Renaissance time simultaneously allowed the flexible substrate. Tempera cracks on anything flexible.
Thank you Stefan. I have learned so much from your videos over the past few years. And now with your book to referance by, I'm delighted. Stay inspired & inspiring.🙏🖌🎨
I worked on all type of canvas and boards and by far nothing can beat an oil primed linen canvas, it’s so smooth and nice to work on.
You can definitely paint on any surface and come up with a masterpiece but when having the right tools and skills things go smooth.
Also you never know when your work can be in a museum, do you think Van Gogh knew that his work will be in museum one day? No
I found that statement very discouraging especially for those beginners
Brutal, honest, informative! Love it! Thank you for sharing! 🖌🎨💖
Thanks, I ditched canvas a few years ago for hardware Masonite. But it’s good to realise I no longer need to buy gesso, it’s very hard to do three coats without getting ugly streaking textures.
Strathmore 500 and 300 series illustration board is good for almost any media except oils. 100% cotton rag acid free archival. A 10 pack of 20"x30 is around $135 ordered online.
Dibond or other brands of ACM or ACP, aluminum composite panel, is popular. Light weight and available pre primed in sizes up to 4'x8' costing around $150/4'X8 sheet depending on the brand. Usually used for signs . Easily cut by scoring 1 side and snapping like sheetrock. Ralph Mayer in his famous book written decades ago about artists materials says that metal may well be the best painting support in the future if prepped and primed correctly. Galvanized sheet metal can be good for a variety of reasons but the prep is a hassle which can be avoided with the pre primed material which is not always easy to find. 27 gauge is good.
I've used acm for years and love it. I don't like the primer from the manufacturer, though. Far too slippery. I also don't like applying gesso or even oil primer to the panels. I much prefer the feel and look of a fine oil primed canvas. I mount the canvas to the acm to achieve a rigid support that has the texture and feel that I like. For larger sizes I use acm with a corrugated core. Lighter weight and more rigid.
There's also a question in "archival" of, what do you expect the display conditions to actually be. Works made for reproduction(as with most illustration) will often use materials that don't last, since the point is to get it printed, and the prints can be the thing that are made to last. I'm not an oil artist, so the board vs canvas discussion is new to me, but I post a lot of ink drawings on social media. That means the experienced work is digital, so the thing to archive is probably that digital form too. In that way, I got over myself, and I'll do drawings with Bic Cristals and Papermate Flairs on a sketchbook I got at Daiso for $2. I'll do that knowing that there would be more longevity in using lampblack pigment on Strathmore bristol - and I have that stuff too - but if I work with that, it's probably because I want a heavier surface that leaves the lines unfeathered, versus the prospect of "what happens to it after 50 years".
It doesn't mean to be so complicated, get a board spray if it lasts forever fine if not, you're not gonna last forever either.
Thank you, I always learn something when I listen to you.
That is why I do the videos, Just for you!
I paint on Claessens oil primed 13DPS, probably their smoothest/finest linen as it has around 6 layers of oil primer. The regular 13 is 2 layers, 13DP is 4 and 13DPS is 5 or 6. Tried other brands of oil primed linen, painted on mdf, aluminium, polyester etc, tried all sorts of primers over the years. Nothing has the same feel and results I get from the Claessens 13DPS though. I buy the full 10m long x 2m wide roll. My first small 8" x 8" painting pays for the whole roll and everything thereafter is profit. 🙂
I also purchase canvas (Claessens) rolls. A couple of finishes but always oil primed. I paint larger on stretched, though will paint on a 18x24 or so on aluminum WITH canvas adhered to it with Miracle Muck. The feel of stretched linen cannot be matched.
@@billfargo7911 Yes I also prefer the feel of oil primed linen over just priming a board. But I do prefer rigid surface over stretched so I always make my own canvas panels, also on aluminum composite material. For smaller sizes I use the solid core and for larger sizes I use the corrugated core. Not criticizing your preference of stretched canvas. Everyone has different sensitivities to the feel and look of how paint is applied. There is no one-size-fits-all option. Everyone should find what suits them best.
I love claasens13....tried numerous other surfaces. But i will try mdf.
Thank you. My husband cuts my boards for me. I prefer the boards over canvas. 👍🤗
When I started painting, I used loose canvas sheets from the Fredrix pads, taped to a piece of cardboard. Worked well for learning, but you can't escape the texture. Thanks for your video!
This is so true! I use these pads from Fredrix but have exactly the same issue. I have tried gesso but even that doesn’t help. It’s also expensive to frame canvases.
you can! use more layers of gesso, sandpaper... you can make a very flat surface on canvas. you can make any fabric your canvas
Thank you for this video. I never liked painting on canvas, and there is no need as I’m not going to roll them to transport by horse rider, cart, or galleon. You said plywood and I like low moisture smooth 1/4” to 1/2” thick material. I do prefer to prep the surface with a smooth cotton fabric adhered with wood glue. Linen is too waxy. Then I ground with readymade gesso for small panels. I’ve tried different gesso recipes and I mix wet drywall compound and white PVA glue for the first coat. After sanding I optionally add to the second coat, colorant, diatomaceous earth (for tooth), Fuller’s earth (for oil absorption). Finally, coat with a titanium white paint (oil or acrylic). Takes time but can be done in batches. The cost is a fraction of art shop panels. The best part is finding an excellent vintage custom frame and being able to make a panel that fits it.
I shop for frames at thrift stores…so your comment about creating a painting for the frames sounds perfect….Intrigued by your gesso receipts…care to share? I am new to the painting world…73 years young and painting every single day…such joy…
I love painting on wood, its unbelievable 😊😊😊
what type of wood? I am very new to the artist world… I woke up 2 months ago and am 73 years old and was given permission to paint ugly paintings until they become beautiful….I am hooked. I have water color paper which I am using up and bought some acrylic paper…I am doing abstract acrylic. I used to be such a snob about abstract but have come to realize the error of my opinion….It is amazing…and must paint every single day….
Wood I used was a plywood type wood and the oil dried very fast the frame was already on it which was cherry😊
I bought the book.
You changed what I paint on when you did an earlier version of this video. One thing I never got about the primer is whether when spraying auto body primer, and letting it dry, one needs to use that board pronto. Normally with things like sand blasting (obviously very different in how it activates a surface), and primer one is trying to use the surface within a day or so. When you prep a board do you care when you use it? Would you spray enough for a year, or a week?
I'm not worrying about archival, I worry more about when the next garbage pickup is, and that they cancelled the weekly pickup. But for some people, it would be worth knowing how you handle the situation.
As a boat builder, we test paints with a scratch test if we are doing something new. You paint a sample of your board/primer/ paint (in the art case). You let it dry thoroughly. You then score the surface with a box cutter on a 1 inch grid. You then apply masking tape, thoroughly rubbing it down, and you rip the tape off, right away. If the paint doesn't lift, you have a good bond. This is an industry standard method. To give the tape a chance, one needs to have a smooth, thin surface of the applied paint, as if one was painting the wall of a room. This determines whether the interlayer bond is sound. It won't tell you whether your acrylic paint will fall apart within itself, but thankfully we don't need to worry too much about that with oil paint.
I paint on plywood, and while I generally have to pay for it, I do end up with quite a lot left over from boats I build for fun.
That said, some people are maybe not going for it. Here are a few other options.
1) If you really want art store canvas, but maybe a little better that what you can get from Michaels. You can get rolls of it, heavily primed, from Amazon. It is still coarse, but it is a lot better filled than what we have from the big boxes. You can stretch it on frames, they also sell those, but I just cut them out and tape or otherwise fit them to an easel board. Works for practice pieces. And a lot of people use them or maybe linen roll material as their preferred approach. What some people do is make a sheet that will hold several pieces, then tape them off, possibly with enough space to wrap on a frame, but there are other options. A medium sized piece has some mass and stability. You get very clean edges when you remove the tap.
One advantage is that if you are at a stage where you want to keep some work, then you can store this material without much bulk, once it is truly dry.
2) You can buy muslim, which is a very light and sometimes dense cotton. It has a fine texture like portrait linen (ie, nearly as good as wood). The reason one can't use such light material for framed canvases is because it is not strong enough. That is where linen comes in. A light linen is still very strong. But what you do with the Muslin is glue it to a backer, either plywood, or the foam boards, that are a good choice for hiking in. You can do it cold, but I have a T-shirt press so I use that. If will stick if you use archival white glue and a squeegee. Backpacking is the only situation where I would use it. If you use it, you still have to gesso it.
3) In Canada the national gallery, or some such authority did a wide ranging examination of supports for painting. I don't know what, other than archival qualities, were their considerations. Their recommendation was dacron fabric handled like a canvas. It is very fine textured, strong, and does not stretch much. It is reasonably cheap. I guess one gessos it. Might be interesting for a very large project since it is incredibly light.
I love painting on masonite board! Taking it one step further, is there any paper you like or recommend?
Wow! Great to see you, it’s been awhile. You the reason I decided to try Art! Thank you ♥️
Wow dropping golden nuggets !!
what side of the board is preferred to paint on? the rough side or smooth side?
smoooth
Great practical information.And yes I’ve tried and tested.
Best video I'v seen yet on art for us artists... thank you for your honesty...
Which type of brush works best for painting on panels
Enjoyed the content, I have come to this realization recently, I started painting on cheap canvases and just felt unhappy with the process for the longest time, the way the paint laid on the canvas just made me feel like my process was wrong and I stopped for a while. I’m a multimedia artist and so as I got more money i shifted to Masters Touch Deep canvases, so much better. I do gesso my canvases, mainly because I like to texture the canvas in a thick way. But I have shifted now from canvases to panel boards. My thinking is that they are easier to transport/store/sell/ship whether at art shops or from my studio. The only time I paint on canvas now is for art I’m keeping or gifting, or an original. I will be using spray paint as my base soon, gesso is just to costly now to justify increasing the prices for the customer, spray paint is half the price and does farther. Thanks for intellectual spur, happy painting all!
Just keep doing what you are doing and be steady
I like canvas. I like the intensity of the expensive paints. Some of the less expensive paints are OK, but don’t have the same amount of pigment in them. I don’t think of the costs when I paint.
I prioritize having art supplies.
I have alot of canvasses to use up... was thinking of going to mdf!!! Thanks for the confirmation. Can I spray my existing canvases with rustolean auto printer instead of gesso?
The old masters faced the pores problem with the half measure of varnishing the piece after the painted work had dried. This would bring back some of the illumination that Mr. Baumann mentioned, but I'm intrigued by the white "auto primer" method he mentioned (BEFORE the multi colors of the painting are started). It's available in your choise of spray or small can. I also want to try black primer to make a cheezy "Elvis on velvet" spoof.
Let me know
No wonder i have these wood boards prepped and ready for some acrlic paint to apply ,and just stick with canibus only , seriously ! 😊❤
Smooth side or rough side of MDF board?? I actually love the rough side. I don’t do crazy detailed realism. I do a modern version of Pointillism. It’s funny because I love MDF boards but I actually felt funny going to Home Depot getting them cut and then charging $$$$ for my work. Home Depot and Rustoleum here I come!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😢
You could also use a bed sheet, natural fabric well gummed down - with your preferred media - to your chosen base. It’s just about making the effort which is rewarded by knowning the whole work is your creation.
Thanks for the tip on using automotive primer. I sand, re-prime and reuse the old canvases that don’t sell. It’ll save a lot of time if I have a rush job and nothing prepped.
12 x 16 for $60? Where do you buy those expensive canvases? Why would you pay that much?
$10
Don"t
I think he is saying a large panel is $60.00 which is about what I pay for a 4x8 foot panel
this will provide 24 9x12 inch panels, making the cost per 9x12 approximately $2.30
Every real artist knows this.
I used to work in studios where there was some quite prominent successful artists and their studios had plenty of Winton paint, emulsion etc hanging about. I think they generally underpaint and build up with lower quality paint and then finish off with the expensive stuff, or use cheap earths and blues and more expensive warm cadmiums.
You are fabulous. You are a gift
No, you are the gift ! Thanks for the kind words
If we use a thin board, you have to frame it and that costs money!
I just switched to fluid art from oil painting.
Cold-pressed illustration board, 2x gessoed.
when i paint on wood i see imperfections. i would like to know how to make my wood panels smooth.
Love it.🙏
MDF is so heavy! Not cost effective when you need to ship them to buyers. Maybe ok to practice on until you are good, but too heavyto ship. And aren't they bad if they get wet? Don't they swell?
aluminum composite material (acm) is comparable in price if you buy from a sign supplier and is much lighter in weight. It is less prone to expansion / contraction issues and wont swell if they get wet. Far superior product. But not available locally in small towns or small cities. My closest supplier is 80 miles away, but they offer free deliver with a minimum order that I easily reach buying one or two panels. For a small fee they well even cut the large sheets down to smaller sizes for me that is well worth it for me.
I don't prime the acm directly (though you can and I've tried it), but I prefer to mount linen to the acm. Great, durable lightweight, rigid panels.
@@keithbond9423 wow, great idea.
that was what i was saying
@@keithbond9423 That's actually not true at all...acm is far far more expensive compared to mdf board, even with a sign supplier. MDF board is literally a fraction of the price lol...
I paint on 1/8-inch thick Masonite panels.
If you’re painting with acrylics, what do you use to prime the board?
I use it for acrylics, too.
I think you can just prime with acrylic gesso. It’s neutral and will seal the board very well. Then you can paint with either oil or acrylic. Or, do as I do and add a layer of oil ground before oil painting.
Shellac front and back. Then gesso.
Bher Chalk white instead of acrylic " gesso". Behr paint co
Believe it or not, I use glue to seal my boards, then gesso. Acrylic is basically the same thing as glue, plastic. It’s ph neutral and seals those chemicals away from the paint. The one thing about some of these boards is they have formaldehyde in their process, so be careful if cutting them yourself.
Why not practice on paper either primed watercolor paper or arches oil paper?
YOu can
Great video! Were can i find the Automotive primer you use?? On the mdf boards
Home depot
You’re speaking great SENSE 👌👌👌
Do you just use a hardware shop oil primer product to prime the board? And don't these boards warp somewhat? Thanks
yes
"Archival enough" includes archival for the middle term. I have works on paper that I made when I was half my current age, that are a crumbling, yellowing mess. It seems to me that a middle-aged collector has a right to expect that the work they buy will last into their old age in a condition such that their heirs will have to decide whether to display it or to sell it-rather than both options being absurd because of deterioration. AND, I think this is an appropriate expectation for any art that is good enough that another person wants to pay some money for the privilege of living with it--NOT just for the few ionospheric super-stars. Works on paper are especially vulnerable; I think that oil painting on your auto-primed mdf is probably OK. But even there, your students should be looking at the lightfastness of their pigments, not thinking that archival qualities are for someone else, not them.
I did not say Paper...
@@StefanBaumann My point is the relevance of that "medium term," and for most anybody selling work.
I believe most of this video is about practicing, my 0.02 is take Stefan’s advice so you can practice a lot, but A LOT. Even the masters practiced on paper and other surfaces. When you are ready to do work that you really care and want to keep for a long time or sell, then spend you money but do it wisely.
I think you missed the point of this video
Good quality paper properly primed will not yellow or get damaged by oils. I have 20 year old paintings on cardboard and 10 year old paintings on paper, there are absolutely no signs of aging if you examine them.
Thank you for your valuable advises.
Would using the white autoprimer on board work for acrylic painting too? Where do I buy it? At an auto shop?
I *think * that you can use gesso over the primer, to be able to keep the tannins in
Auto primer is usually oil and acrylic should not put on oil
Is there a substitute for Ampersand? They are over priced. But on the other hand I can’t seem to find a wood panel that doesn’t warp or bend. Options are birch wood, basswood plywood, and MDF
I'm wondering how you are prepping your panels? I use birch plywood sealed front, back and all sides because it is mainly moisture that causes warping. If your panels are very thin you may have cradle them to prevent warping
Bravo!
fantastic video. thank you
Fine. Does this information apply to acrilycs paintings?
NO
Wow! thanks
Very good advice! Thank you!
Great video, thanks. I always wanted canvas but it's expensive. My favorite artist is Maxfield Parrish. I own 5 prints from the 1920s. As a pianist, your reference made me smile.
Hello there stefon. I just found out about this surface for painting called ACM aluminum panels. I just wanted your opinion on them. Are they any good? Thanks
I like my efforts EZ they work but why? Every hardware store has MDF
@@StefanBaumann but when you paint on big panels they get heavy and i really don't like the texture of canvas or lenin. Plus shipping heavy painting is way more expensive (where i live at least)
@@Mohamed-tr7fi ACM is a lot heavier than MDF. I don't like MDF. I like to use good plywood it weighs a lot less. So that would be marine grade or aircraft or baltic birch for small work you can get some doorskins and they are tremendous quality and about 10 bucks for a 7' x 36" sheet. We even used to make boats out of them at one time. We are talking about 3 and 4mm material. It weighs a bout 3-6 ounces a square foot. my 3mm ACM weights about a pound a sqare foot.
The people who use ACM are convinced it is the most archival material that there is. I doubt it because it is not designed as an art product, and there is a brand, but some big stores carry something they found somewhere, nice quality at my local, but it is pre finished for some kind of outdoor use on one side, and seemingly raw on the other. The raw side is pretty shinny so there might be something on it. If you look into what you have to do to properly bond to Al i involves and acid wash, and epoxy coating. So you can try something else, but it would be pretty much guess work. The meat in the sandwich is some kind of plastic. I mean it will last too long unless you are in the top .1%. But they are thinking in hundreds or thousands of years. And we are talking about all kinds of unproven materials coming together. A lot of things could happen.
Bravo....we outside of America - love you: The Most important thing for artist is - work❤ who would say that😁(they usualy think colors, canvases, brushes...😁
What to do with my old art work canvas ? No sales and no more storage space.
What I do is lightly sand the surface to get rid of thick paint texture, clean with mineral spirits, let dry then a thin coat of oil and then paint over with an opaque white with as many thin coats until there is no after image left...After it drys you can begin painting on the white surface or do a base coloured tone, whichever is your preference.
I had to learn this the hard way! Glad I had the experience with canvas I did in case I ever have to stretch and unstretch a large painting to sell across the country! Also I like using grifitto and canvas doesn’t hold up as well!
Thank you so much for sharing this very interesting topic.
Thank You - Wise words, Stefan!
I. F***ing. Loved. This. Video!!!!!!! 🙌🏼
How fun, one of my mother's best paintings was done on paper grocery bags but that wasn't using oils.
i only bought so far cheap canvases for 5-8€uro /50x70cm because at this size mdf becomes a problem in term of what do you do with it later on? the canvas can be hung on the wall and it sits there, the mdf would need a frame which drives the cost up and you cant lay them over each other when you painted a little bit thicker.
Hi Stefan, when you say mpersand 30x40 timber panels. Is 30 inches x 40 inches?
yes
@@StefanBaumann That's quite large. Probably a special order here in Australia. Thanks for your help😄
I use plyboard and it is very affortdable and light. 👍🏻
Lots of opinions but it is all come down to the artist
Isn't it also easier and cheaper to frame MDF compared to canvas?
I have painted on panels but found they get mildew on them which I couldn't remove
Simply BRILLIANT …Thank you !!
Thank you
Hi Stefan, great advice thank you. yes painting on canvas is frustrating because also the pores cause the paint to lay unevenly unless you really pile it on. It is hard to create precision and sharp line work. Is amber shellac just as good as primer and gesso?
Thanks for this! I know you use oils...if a person wihes to work in acrylics will auto primer work to prime mdf board or which primer will?
acrylics should not be on oil primer
for working with acrylics, Golden recommends sealing the bare panel with their gloss medium, let it dry, then you are good to go. may I add to seal both sides and all edges for protection against humidity and potential warping.
Sorry but I like the texture of a medium weave linen canvas. Where in the world are you buying a 12 x 16 canvas for sixty bucks? I'm not too lazy to do it myself and it's really not rhat expensive in the long run. Besides, there are a lot of chemicals in MDF that simply haven't had time to know how archival it will be. Besides, it weighs a ton for a large painting. Oil primed linen mounted on Gatorboard is far superior, in my opinion, to any board available.
Geez! I can get a nice quality wrapped canvas(1.5 inches deep) like a 24 x 30 for $20.00 or a 24 x 24 for $15.99. And a 35 x 46 inch for under $30.00. Triple primed medium weight canvas. I prime it with 2-3 coats of gesso. When the painting is done I put an isolation coat on it from Golden and a varnish finish which protects it from UV rays and yellowing and cracking. I don't need to buy a book to figure it out. A small one you can use a board. But treat it first. 😊
I think I'll listen to the guy who sells paintings for $15 & 20,000 bucks.
I use oil primed linen mounted on aluminum composite material (acm). It is comparable in price to gatorboard, but much much more durable. It is more rigid relative to it's thickness. It is not quite as lightweight, but far more lightweight than mdf. It is less prone to warping or expansion / contraction issues than anything else on the market. It is less prone to puncture damage than gatorboard. It is a little harder to cut, but not an issue for me. As for availability, though, you have to go through a sign supplier for the best prices. Unfortunately, not everyone lives close enough to a city that has a sign supplier. If you can find it, give it a try. Once I tried it I never went back to gatorboard.
I will add, though, for larger sizes I used the acm with a corrugated core. It is far more rigid and lighter weight than solid core, but it is a bit more difficult to cut (still doable) and increases the cost. "For reference, 1/8" acm is comparable in price to 3/16" gatorboard with more rigidity. Wile 1/4" corrugated acm is comparable in price as 1/2" gatorboard with better rigidity. Imo its a better option than gatorboard despite a bit more work to cut.
I find many ways to paint cheaper but I've heard enough about artists having problems because of an inferior painting system down the road in their own lifetimes. It slightly hurt their reputations and many were asked to repair the paintings themselves. I call that inefficient work since they had to do something twice. My only counterpoint to this video is that we live in an age where there is a ton of research about best painting practices and mistakes to avoid. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the absolute basics and start from there. We already know which pigments to avoid. We already know how to describe the properties of different kinds of paints. We already know how surfaces fail. Unless you absolutely don't care how your paintings age, it doesn't hurt to do it right the first time. Learning from other people's mistakes is often called wisdom.
Don't forget the existence of paper for practice. There are many great options that will last a long time. Some of them are premium quality sold for cheap as long as you're paying attention. Clip or adhere the paper to an MDF board and you will have an infinite number of surfaces to work on.
I agree with the general advice of using the best materials that you can afford. It's also important however to understand what "best" really means because it's not always about paying a higher price.
MDO is highly superior to MDF because of the addition of resin if you live in an area that sells it.
What about ACM panels? Lightweight, archival...
Do you have any influence with Home Depot? I recently found some nice MDF boards there which packaged with 3 boards measuring 12 X 18. Nice, but not the standard frame size of 12 X 16. I know my painting might turn out to be crap, but there may be one that is frameable. Do you think you could get Home Depot to sell a 12 x 16 size. My local won't cut to that size for me.
I don't work for anyone
My tutor at art school used to say, before you go to the art shop pop into the hardware store first.
I've been thinking about painting on boards recently because i am not able to access canvas right now so boards is the only option, i just hope its the right move.
I started painting on mdf, then I was afraid it wouldn't be professional, and michaels had a sale with 60% off so I bought several to learn how to paint on canvas.
But my biggest fear is shipping, and given the prices in Canada for shipping a canvas, I can't even imagine shipping a painting on mdf.😅
Do you mean this type of product as the spray? Krylon Fusion Spray Paint & Primer
Yes Rustolum at Home Depot primer in a can
@@StefanBaumannwhy not throw some gesso over those paintings that'll never make the Louvre?😊
@@john-nx4xn you cannot apply acrylic gesso over an oil painting, but there are other options. I use an electric orbital sander to remove the texture of the old painting but I don't worry about removing all of the old image because I paint on canvas mounted to panel and it's practically impossible to sand it all away because of the texture of the canvas. If you have a primed panel as Stefan uses, then just sand the old painting completely away and re-prime if necessary or desired. Probably not necessary as long as you don't sand through the gesso to the support. Since there is a ghost image on my canvas, I sometimes just paint directly over that ghost image, but this can be challenging to judge colors accurately. Usually I apply a thin coat of white paint to cover up the ghost image. Basically I'm using oil paint as a primer coat. Using an actual oil primer would also probably work over an old oil painting, but I haven't tried it. The only difference in oil paint vs oil primer is the addition of alkyd to speed drying and the addition of marble dust (calcium carbonate). Both of which can safely be added to paint during the painting process, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. I just seldom have it on hand in my studio.
Oil painting paper is affordable, lightweight and doesn't need preparation. Great for practising. Canson makes a good and affordable one.
Canvas, whether cotton or linen eventually rots, especially with oil paint. I am a rosemaler. We paint on wood that is first sealed, sanded & primed smooth. It beats ANY surface that art manufacturers can come up with. Antique rosemaled pieces go back hundreds of years, even on pieces that were used outdoors (e.g., sleds, skates, skis, etc.) You cam also go large (6' x 6' +) if you use primed aluminum panels. You can skip priming altogether by using ABS plastic sign boards. Sign companies will cut them to size for you (shop locally), then give them a light sanding & your good to go! You can frame them (yourself) using stock molding from the local lumberyard. If you're not handy, maybe talk your husband into cutting the miters for you (new hobby/business??). JUST KEEP PAINTING, LEARNING, & GROWING!! through daily/weekly practice, you'll improve tremendously! I recently sold a 16 x 20 " colored pencil painting. I wasn't looking to sell, just exhibiting locally at an art competition through a local community gallery, when someone offered $500 for it. It was an unusual piece, a portrait of my backyard ( a forest). It was on dark green illustration board. The painting had a tapestry quality on it. So... the moral is, you never know when someone will love your work! Best wishes & enjoyment to all!
I have to ask! Dear Sir, I am curious about the wall behind you. Did you paint the finish? I love the reflective quality! Denise in Raleigh
Have you ever heard of wall paper?
Yes its is brawnz color
Great tutorial. What about hot pressed watercolor paper? Thanks for sharing.
Love it but it is costly
Love the turquoise! It is my birth stone!!:Still think the book is amazing
Thanks, Tell the world
I switched to MDF panels thru your coaching. But, mostly I paint on paper.
the better my paintings went the crappiest my base is. now im just working on primed paper. I work in oils quite fast so I know I will just be doing so many
I think if you think your work as an artist is good or even great, go for the good stuff. I save a lot of money making my oil primed linen canvas from scratch and not bound by conventional store bought dimensions. Stretchers, rolls of good smooth linen, tacks, rsg, lead primer applied with pallet knife. Super smooth unlike anything you can buy and a joy to paint on with oils. And, if a painting does not work, it can be reused by applying another layer of oil primer over it. It is not for everyone because the making of canvas like this is hard work and time and space.
Yes! Agreed! I have always made my own from day 1. It's far more cost effective and you get better quality. I switched to gluing my canvas to panels years ago because I prefer a rigid support, but I've also stretched many canvases in my day. Making your own is the way to go. And primed boards do not feel or look the same as a good quality oil primed linen.
ACM panel/Dibond is even better. You can get a 4x8 foot panel for 100 bucks and it's stronger, less prone to warping and more archival.