Thanks, I totally forgot about using that press back in collage 16 years ago. Funny how in the pursuit of art avenues, I find myself looking up how to mount canvas and find this Technic . I guess that's the circle of art. From clay to canvas to computer graphics to animation and back to clay and canvas. What a long journey home it's been. Thank's for making and sharing this video!
MDF board is very absorbent of moisture and I've been told many times by wood experts not to paint on it. I just use a masonite and it works great and is very inexpensive.
Gary, How will the Beva react to mounted watercolor paper when the paper get wet? I'm not sure the water will reach the Beva, but moisture may be an issue. I'm working with a framer that have mounted paper for me but I can't recall which ones she did. I have mounted paper with Heavy Body medium with success. Anything you can tell me would be great. Thanks
When you have a lot of money for your hobby. That is way to expensive to apply glue. Much cheaper to just brush on some glue. Your wife is a saint. I would throw you and your equipment and all your paintings in the garage and if you dont have one I would rent you a storage space. Love your paintings
Hallo Garry, can you please name theproducer of the sealing machine and Type that you are using? Is it a machine used normally for T-Shirt Prints? Thanks and best wishes Gary
Read this book: "New techniques in Egg Tempera" by Robert Vickrey. Page 39-Panels, Pigments, and Panels. He describes in great detail how to prepare a panel for an Egg Tempera Painting.
I wonder what the advantage of linen is in this application. Assuming the materials that are not linen work, all the linen does is provide a contour for the gesso that was factory applied to it. In a normal "canvas" linen has far higher strength, and the back of the surface may be more resistant to rot. But here you have say: Aluminum/plastic/aluminum/adhesive/gesso/linen/gesso. The linen fabric is really only molding the surface of the gesso. If one preferred either the texture, or cost of a particular canvas stock, I don't see any downside to using it.
I live in the US. Where can you purchase dibond? I've never heard of it (or gator board) before. I have been using Masonite, but it has it's problems. With these composite boards, how would you affix a cradle or something to hang a larger work with? I work sometimes 60" wide pieces. I would think that would be a challenge here, in terms of damaging the piece.
What type of canvas do you use? There are so many. I like cotton, but I don't know which type of brand to buy or how heavy the weight should be. I like a smoother surface.
Hi Suzy, I generally use Claessens #13, which is a portrait grade high quality linen. I know that you used to be able to get a sample packet of linens from Utrecht (now Blick), I believe. Maybe if you call Blick you still can. That might help you decide what would be best for you. Lately I've gotten away from using canvas and started using either wood panels or hardboard, priming them with water based Kilz, then putting two coats of an acrylic gesso, followed by two coats of Golden Hard Sandable Gesso, all applied with an inexpensive smooth roller I bought at Home Depot. These panels are fantastic and VERY inexpensive. Artist Daniel Sprick showed me how to make them and I love them. I use Baltic Birch plywood, or hardboard, which once sealed and gessoed is about as archival a surface as you can get next to painting on metal. This process does require that you either cut the wood/panels yourself or have someone do it for you. Water based Kilz is fairly inexpensive, acrylic gesso is whatever it is. The regular gesso is hard to sand which is why I put a coating of Golden Hard Sandable Gesso over the top which allows you to easily knock down the surface to any texture you desire. These panels are great for detail work. The Golden gesso also takes the paint really well and is not a slick surface as I've noticed with some gesso's, which have the paint sort of slide on the surface. I will probably make a video on how to make these panels soon. Whatever you decide, good luck and have fun.
Can you use other heat sources like an iron if you are working really large? Example: 4ft x 8ft? I work larger and I am looking for a surface to mount watercolors to so they dont have to be housed behind glass. Would appreciate any feedback with your experience as I have used dibond but not this large.
Hello Brynn, yes, you absolutely can use a laundry iron to adhere the canvas or linen to the panels. You'll need to be careful and probably use a piece of material between the iron and the canvas or linen so that the iron doesn't damage the surface of the support. Make sure that the iron is not set too high or you'll have problems. A little experimenting before working on the final panels is best. Good luck. Best Regards,Garry
Garry Kravit Thank you Garry for responding. I will experiment to see if it will work in large format. Any guess to the setting I might try first? And, I am assuming no steam? Thanks again. Brynn
This is all fine if you have a 2000 dollar machine!!!.... but most people don't have it could you please show us how to use Beva without this machine that would be very helpful thanks
Thanks for your comment. Yes, the irons are expensive new. I bought mine used for several hundred dollars. Still not cheap but affordable for many. I have heard people say that you can also use a laundry iron though I have not tried that myself. All of this assumes that you want to adhere canvas or linen to a backing of some sort. I have come across another way to make panels and am preparing a new video now. This will be much more cost effective for most people.
PrincessAloeVera You can use unprimed linen that has been washed a few times (no drier) and that is lightweight, such as shirt linen. If you use professional artist quality linen (Beligian linen) you'll have to use the primed sort. Priming professional-quality linens involves technical knowledge, expertise and specific materials, and if moistened and/or heated it will expand and then contract uncontrollably.
Hi Forrest, I've begun using hardboard (Masonite) and I like that best for panels for travel since they are hard and thin. You can get Gatorboard (my favorite overall and preferred for when space in a panel carrier isn't an issue) as well as DiBond on the internet. Just search. I have bought DiBond from a company I found on Ebay. I won't be using DiBone anymore. Just Gatorboard and Masonite.
May I ask why you won't be using dibond anymore? I would love to try it but It's just so expensive if you need it precut to specific sizes. Also, where do you get your gator board? Gator board is quite expensive as well. Especially compared to MDF board. What are your thoughts?
Jeff Clendenning , Jeff, Dibond is great but I have found that if you're not really, really careful about the temperature and length of time of the heat applied the sandwiched material, between the two pieces of aluminum, will recede slightly and the edges of the aluminum will protrude slightly causing sharp edges. Also, I have seen some cases where an edge of the Dibond will warp slightly due to the heat application. I think that you can prevent these things from happening but you just have to be very careful. I have found that hardboard works great and is cheaper than Dibond. I also like the Gatorboard but it's a little thicker and like I said, when the primary concern for me is keeping it thin, I go with hardboard. Some people like to lightly sand the Dibond with a very fine grit sandpaper (600?) and then gesso the panel and use it that way. I have not tried it but if you want a really super smooth surface this might be a good way to go. Super archival and long lasting. Regarding price, use what works for you.
I make panels out of Dibond for myself and a few of my friends. I've been hand-priming them, but now I'm going to adhere linen to them. I'm experimenting with liquid adhesive, but the Beva 371 film sure looks handy. Too bad the Dibond and the dry-mount press don't appear to get along.
+Amanda Teicher, Hi Amanda. Yes, the Beva film is awesome. I have had success with the Dibond panels using the dry-mount press but you have to be very careful with the temperature or you melt the edges a little and the aluminum can deform. It just seems too critical to worry about when you can get excellent results with hardboard and Gatorboard. Let us know how the liquid adhesive works out.
I was wondering why you stopped using Dibond. I've been researching about Dibond. I've been painting direct on MDF boards. I was also thinking about adhering the linen to the MDF, but you know, I'm very happy with painting direct on MDF - the result is beautiful. It takes a bit of work to size (seal the wood) and then prime for the oil paint application. Several coats of gesso takes care of it after it has been sealed with acid free pva glue. Thanks for your video.
Great video! Do you sand the dibond or scuff it up at all? I picked up a dry mount press and am looking to make panels with Arches oil paper on dibond.
I use the backs of completely failed watercolours, glued to MDF or 3mm plywood. Then prime it with acrylic 'gesso'. It makes a great surface for oils, and it also finds a use for the Arches, instead of just wasting it! I don't have many failures though 'cos I am a super artist! Yeah! Right! Dream on! I hope this helps you.
Hi Garry, thanks for the great info. I’m new to oils and not at the point where I want to invest in an expensive linen panel. I’ve been painting on mdf panels I make myself with three coats of gambling oil ground. I just took a workshop with a well known landscape artists and can see I am missing out on some texture by not painting on linen. If you don’t have a press, how is this done with an iron? Does it work as well?
Hi Lisa, thank you! You can do it with an iron but it is more difficult. But it can be done. You can also glue it on with something like Miracle Muck, or other glues. There are probably a lot of references to that on the internet. I have actually been moving away from making panels this way lately. Now what I do is I use hard board (masonite) which is harder and darker than MDF. I don't like MDF because it's not as stable as hardboard. I apply two coats of KILZ water based primer to all sides. Then I apply three or four coats of Michael Harding Non Absorbent Acrylic Primer on the painting side with one of those sponge brushes you get at a hardware store for about a buck. I sand between coats and get a very nice smooth finish. If you're looking for a rougher texture like canvas you can use a bristle brush to apply. I really like the surface this gives. You should try it.
