boards, panels, paper
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I am able to make handmade, boards (above) using the ancient method of building up layers of gesso over a cloth covered, quality birch plywood or hardboard panel.
A selection of other options are pictured below. What is hardboard? link |
base options (substrates)
PLY: A single thickness (sheet) of paper. Artists’ papers and mounting boards, as well as other grades, are identified as 1-ply, 2-ply, etc. As each ply is pasted together the increased thickness and stiffness is described by the number of plies.
ON GICLEE prints
ON GICLEE prints
acrylic vs rabbit skin glue gesso
Boards are prepared with traditional rabbit skin glue gesso or arcylic gesso. These are ready to accept paint.
burnish then apply gold leaf
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Acrylic gesso can be purchased ready-made. It has the consistency of thick paste. There's no additional prep work or in between steps when applying the product to a prepared board. Rabbit skin technique requires mixing and heating. Acrylic gesso is made for acrylic paint.
Rabbit skin glue gesso for egg tempera: There is at least one manufacturer of clay gesso panels which are very thin. I have had success with these for certain types of projects. A hand-made or manufactured board suitable for egg tempera will be different than that used for acrylic or oils. Egg tempera will not adhere properly to acrylic gesso as the pigment needs to soak in or attach itself to the base, similar to water-color technique which requires an absorbent paper. For both acrylic and rabbit skin glue gesso: After an initial coating, a fine cloth is applied to the surface and left to dry. Eight to ten thin layers are built up with sanding in between coats. After the final gesso layer has hardened, then the board is hand polished or sanded one more time. When complete, it should be porcelain-like and very smooth. |