I Paint on Wood Panels, Not Canvas

The size I paint at now is 30 cm × 36 cm.

I work on a wooden board, not stretched canvas.

When I paint larger, I sometimes use canvas—but I tend to prefer the firm, even surface of wood.

The wood starts as lauan panel. A standard sheet is 180 cm × 90 cm; cut into fifteen parts, that gives a 30 × 36 cm painting surface.

After cutting the panel, I sand it. Then I apply modeling paste to the face and sides.

You can paint directly on bare wood, but I do not prefer that look. The painted surface I want does not come through when I work straight on the grain.

After the modeling paste, I sand again to smooth the surface. (The photo above is before that second sanding.)

That is how I make a wooden panel ready to receive paint—something like a canvas, but built by hand.

Today was a short introduction to the panels I paint on instead of canvas.

You can see my work onWorks.