An Artist’s Panel Prepping Demo

Greetings fellow Steemians!

In this post I thought it would be a great idea to share and discuss how I typically prepare a painting surface before I begin painting on it.

There are a few surfaces I actually enjoy painting on. When I’m not working on an oil primed linen like Centurion or Claessens, I’m usually painting on birch panels.
So for this demonstration, i’ll be using just that.

...So let’s get started!

This is the brand of acrylic gesso I’ve been using for several years. I would say that I’ve been pretty happy with it. While I suppose that for the most part, that in a way most gessos are generally the same, but what I like about the Utrecht brand is its thick consistency. You can alter it by adding water, but if it’s already thin you can’t do the opposite.

Now I’d also like to point out that if and when I have enough money to invest, the time and proper space to work in, I do prefer prepping my painting surfaces with a lead oil primer many times over as compared to an acrylic based primer. Hands down for sure! It’s just soooo much more pleasing to work on! The trouble is that not only lead oil based primers are usually more expensive, they’re also quite hazardous to one’s health and that they take much longer to cure before you can use them. With an acrylic gesso you basically can begin painting on your panel the next day.

Now I would say that birch panels are pretty common, but recently I ordered a big batch from Artists & Craftsman and I just love them! I’d advise that if you’re looking to work on a surface that’s larger than 16” x 20”, I’d DEFINITELY make sure that it’s cradled and thicker than ⅛”, as it could warp. You’re also going to want to look out for any kind of strange abrasions or knots in the wood

In the video demonstration I posted above, It’s obvious that I just began to prime one small (8” x 10”) panel, but what I usually do when prepping is to do them in large batches. I do this for a couple of reasons actually.

Prepping large batches helps me avoid being wasteful with gesso as I like to alter it to a thinner consistency. This way I don’t have to worry too much on the exact measurements of gesso and water.

I suppose you could apply it thicker, but personally I like a relatively smooth surface to paint on and plus this doesn’t create pinholes in your surface.

Priming in large batches also ensures that for example, the time it takes you to apply a single coat on all your panels, by the time you start over again on your first panel, it will already be dry enough to take on the next coat.

This of course wouldn’t work if each coat you were applying were much thicker.

As for the consistency of the gesso, I would say I’m aiming for something I think would be best described as something a little thinner than sour cream.

When applying the gesso, you want to make sure that the end strokes are all going in an even and same direction. For example if in one coat they’re going in a vertical direction, make sure that the next is horizontal.

I typically wait about 15 to 20 minutes for each coat to dry before starting again. Depending on how absorbent the surface is, I’d say 3 or 4 coats is pretty good. You’ll also want to repeat this process on the other side as this will prevent warping.

..And that’s pretty much it!

Please feel free to let me know what you think?

Thanks for reading Everyone!

-James Hansen
https://jameszenartist.weebly.com/