Substrates

Surfaces

The list of surfaces we can paint on is long and varied. You can use just about any archival surface that accepts paint. Unlike oil paint, acrylic does not contain walnut, safflower, or linseed oils as part of their mixture. (These oils can also be detrimental to some surfaces.) While it is recommended that your painting surface be sealed (ideally with acrylic gesso), it is not absolutely necessary. Let’s take a look at some of the substrates, or surfaces, that I paint on. This list is not all-inclusive—my chosen surface often depends on both the day and what I can find for a good price!

Paper

300-pound, rough watercolor paper: I like the rough surface of watercolor paper and enjoy incorporating texture into my work. I usually prepare the paper with two coats of gesso or a heavy coat of cadmium red light paint. I generally reserve this surface for when I travel. The paper is lightweight and takes up little room.

Board, Panel & Wood

Medium density fiber board: I buy fiber board from my local hardware store and have them cut it to size. I use this surface to create some added texture by applying my own coatings of acrylic gesso. Sometimes I’ll cover it with white acrylic gesso, and then cover that with another color to prepare the surface.

MDF board covered with a fine-weave cotton canvas: This is a commercially available surface that comes pre-gessoed. The cotton weave can be covered with thick applications of paint or allowed to show through thinner applications. It’s ready to go right from the package, saving prep time.

Hardboard: Commercial hardboard (below right) is stable and does not warp, but it is quite heavy. Hardboard can be purchased cradled with wood or as thinner uncradled boards, and it can be bought coated or uncoated. The board in the middle came pre-gessoed with a warm gray tone. It is also available in cool gray and white. Commercial hardboard comes in a variety of surfaces and is precoated. You can also buy it untreated, but I almost always coat it with white acrylic gesso; then apply a colored acrylic as a base coat.

Wood panels: Wood panels usually come with either tung wood or birchwood surfaces. Both of these need to be protected with gesso. You can buy panels pre-gessoed or gesso them yourself. The back of the panel (above) features a glued frame; this provides rigidity. The rigid surface is the one main difference between a wood panel and stretched canvas. Canvas gives and pushes back against your brush, whereas a wood panel does not. If you are a very aggressive painter or you scrub or scumble often, you may prefer this surface. Wood works best with palette-knife painting. Wood is often more expensive than canvas or paper and is usually not available in very large sizes.

Canvas & Linen

Canvas:Cotton canvas has been used as a support for centuries. Cotton fibers will, after a very long time, begin to deteriorate, so it’s necessary to coat the fibers with something that will preserve the cotton. I use acrylic gesso. It’s readily available and does not require any special handling. A lot of painters buy prepared (pregessoed) canvas.

I’ve wrapped the completed acrylic painting (above) around the edge of the canvas. Wrapping the painting around the canvas allows you to display it without a frame. Commercially prepared stretched canvas usually comes in two widths: 3/4-inch and 11/2-inch (or sometimes 2-inch) widths. The 3/4-inch size costs a bit less.

Stretched canvas: If you search, you can usually find a package deal on stretched canvas. The downside is that it is somewhat thicker—about half to three-quarters of an inch—and occasionally the canvas will bow or buckle. The canvas keys that come with them usually take care of this issue. You also can stretch and gesso your own canvas, but this takes time.

Stretched linen: Some artists paint on stretched or mounted linen. You can find a very fine weave, but there are times when I want to either make my own textural surface or I want a completely smooth surface. Linen is also a bit more expensive than canvas and most other panels.

Commercially prepared canvas: Stretched canvas often comes ready to paint on. You can also buy untreated canvas and add your own gesso. I sometimes add a heavy layer of gesso and then texture with brushstrokes. This adds some underlying textural interest and gives added character to the piece.

Toned Substrates

Preapplying a color to your panel sets a tone for the painting. My two favorite base coats are cadmium red light and white. I do sometimes tone using a middle value (neutral, warm, or cool gray), and occasionally, I also use yellow or violet.

Using a middle-value ground color, such as cadmium red light, tells me if a stroke of paint is lighter or darker than a mid-tone. This helps me arrange and use values in a more effective fashion. In addition, cadmium red light is a warm color. If my painting is to have a warm dominance, I can leave more of the cadmium red light showing, which helps warm up the whole painting. If my painting is to have a cool dominance, I can cover most of the cadmium and leave just a small amount showing to contrast against the cool colors.

Many painters begin on a white gessoed panel and then tone it back with a wash to subdue the white surface. I sometimes do this. Sometimes I just outline my big shapes and paint right on the white, knowing that as the painting progresses, most of the white will be covered. And sometimes I leave some of the white showing.

Experiment with your underpaintings to see what works for you. I use red, white, gray, yellow, and violet often enough to know what to expect. I have learned my preferences from repetition. I like a warm or cool gray on overcast, cloudy days. I can leave some of the gray showing, and that helps me to create the feeling of clouds on a moody day.

Yellow is warm and often lighter than a mid-tone. I usually reserve yellow for sunny, bright days and allow quite a bit of yellow to show through. This also helps bias the painting toward a warm dominance. Temperature dominance provides unity in the work.