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Consider Your...
Substrate!
by Beth Bergman
We artists tend to reach for the same surface
when starting a new work. You know how it will accept your medium. Surface
preparation often becomes a ritual to get your creativity cranking.
Yet looking at some new options may give you a jump-start, offering
a solution to substrate problems or may open new creative possibilities.
Canson Mi-Teintes is the standard
for toned drawing papers. Now available in board form, your mat can
consist of the same surface paper as your drawing. Draw directly onto
the board -- without fears of denting, creasing, or tearing -- and introduce
wet media without wrinkling or buckling.
Fredrix has transformed their
student grade canvas panel into a professional substrate. They have
replaced the internal warping, non-archival chipboard with archival,
non-warping hardboard. Wrapped in either cotton duck or Belgian linen
and primed with acrylic gesso, it’s ready to go. We’re test
marketing this product with an oil-primed linen, too.
Watercolor Artist Canvas from
Fredrix may be the most innovative art material to come along this year.
Fredrix has taken cotton canvas and primed it with a more absorbent
primer to create a new surface for the watercolorist. Its advantages
over traditional watercolor include non-buckling, easier color lifting
and greater durability. You can hang a watercolor on stretched canvas
without a frame or glass.
Art Boards brings us wood
panels crafted by fine furniture makers. These maple painting panels
have the solid construction one can only expect from custom work. There
is no question these boards will remain true. We are stocking ready-to-go
boards covered with either oil primed linen or Arches watercolor paper.
We also have plain maple panels, both cradled and uncradled, ready for
your surface preparation. The maple surface is lovely and accepts primer
beautifully.
Art Boards’ own acrylic gesso
primer has won over a number of our professional customers.
It’s long open time allows you to create your desired surface
texture, but dries quickly -- you can start painting within hours. It
sands nicely with no pilling.
Ampersand Art Supply has been
manufacturing board surfaces for eight years. They produce six different
surfaces in plain and cradled boards with both narrow and deep profiles. Hardbord is a bare masonite board that you can prime
to your own specifications. Gessobord, primed with
an acrylic gesso, is ready to go. Their signature surface, Claybord,
is coated with smooth, absorbent clay. This allows great detail in diverse
media: pencil, ink, encaustics, egg tempera, and acrylic. Claybord
Black gives you a rigid scratchboard surface. With the claybord
surface underneath, it is a wonderful surface to polychrome after scratching. Claybord Textured, created for the watercolor artist,
is a non-buckling surface that does not need to be protected by glass.
With Pastelbord, granular marble dust adheres to the surface. You can
layer on Pastelbord without creating mud.
But the real fun of Ampersand products is mixing
up their uses. Use Claybord Textured with water miscible drawing
products. The rough surface creates highly textured, dry drawing
strokes. Then you hit part of your mark with a wet brush and get a sparkling
wash. The contrast is superb. Try acrylic on Pastelbord
for a uniform, grainy surface.
In expanding its range of traditional substrates,
Wet Paint has added more sizes in Masterpiece's pre-stretched
linen in both acrylic and oil primed. Jack Richeson's 300# cold-pressed watercolor paper is now available in a 40x60”
sheet. Don't limit your creative decisions to subject matter, color
and brush stroke. All these options make this a great time to consider
your substrate. Make sure it is doing all it can do for you.
Editor's note: Are you stumbling over
certain terms in this article? Some words have particular meaning in
the world of art materials. Don't ever been intimidated by a word. Our
staff is well equipped to help you with these questions by phone, fax, email and, definitely, in
person.
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