How To Prepare Wood Panel For Oil Painting

Cornish artist Sarah Eddy explains how she prepares wooden panels with gesso for oil painting.

How to prepare wood panel for oil painting. In this oil painting tutorial Ill show you how to make an artists panel. When properly sealed a wood panel is a better painting substrate because it is not as subject to expansion and. If it will not leave a mark you may varnish the painting.

If possible use fast-drying wood filler so you. How to Prevent Warped Boards If you are painting on hardboard over 18 inches 4572 cm you will want to cradle the panel its not a bad idea for smaller boards but not necessary. Traditionally panels were prepared.

Although your oil paint will be dry to the touch in a few days it may still need more drying time before it is ready to varnish. Throwing straight turpentine into your oil paint could cause it to separate so a 5050 mix will do the trick. Youre supposed to size the wood with glue to help seal it against SID before you gesso but I use Jacksons acrylic gesso which specifically says you dont need to size allowing me to skip a step.

Instructions to Prepare Wood Panels 1 Clean off any dust or debris from all exposed areas of the panel including the cradled sides and panel back first using a vacuum or air pressure if very dusty then wiping clean with a microfiber cloth or other lint free cloth slightly dampened with water. You can also use wood puttyfiller to fill in the holes created by nails or screws. I make these panels from MDF cut to size for landscape oil painting.

Oil painting on prepared panels is an art that dates back centuries. Explaining drying times and how many coats she prefers. This should be done prior to painting and will prevent the board from warping both while painting.

Instead a tiny amount less than 02 per sq ft of oil normally linseed is applied with a roll coater and then baked and pressed at high temperatures. Ampersands collection of unprimed wood panels the Natural Wood Panel Unprimed Basswood and Hardbord are excellent substrates for all types of oil primers and acrylic gesso grounds. To see if your painting is dry enough to varnish lightly press your fingernail into the thickest area of paint.