subject: Oil Painting - Which Surface is best to Paint On ? [print this page] Oil Painting - Which Surface is best to Paint On ?
After you have a bit of information about your oil painting materials, it's time to go shopping. But even if you feel well informed, going to the art supply store can be intimidating.
Whether you're using canvas, paper, cardboard, or whatever, the term for what you put your image on is called a support. In this article, we give you a description of various types of supports and discuss the pros and cons of each.
Traditional supports include canvas, paper, cardboard, or a rigid panel, such as Masonite. Stretched canvas is the most common. Any support must be primed before you apply any oil paint, but luckily, pre-made canvases, canvas papers, and canvas pads come already primed and ready to go.
Pre-made supports are the easiest for beginners to use. Canvas panels, stretched canvas (note the wooden stretcher bars visible on the back), and canvas paper that comes in pads are great for their quality and convenience.
Canvas panels and stretched canvas are rigid and easy to use on a tabletop or just propped up on a work table. Canvas paper isn't rigid after you take it off the pad, so you need something to tape or clip it to while you work. If you use canvas paper, we suggest that you get a canvas panel (such as the type made by Fredrix) one size bigger than your canvas paper, and either tape the paper to the back of the panel or clip it with butterfly clips. You can also work on the canvas paper while it's still on the pad, but it's messy to handle when you want to take it off the pad.
