I have just completed 3 basswood painting panels; one 11 by 14, one 12 by 16 and one 16 by 20 inches. They are of 3 or 4 butt joined boards with hide glue, the joints previously keyed with a toothing plane. I hand planed them flat with a coffin smoother and am ready to finish and gesso.
My plan is to seal the basswood with a couple of coats of linseed oil / turpentine and allowing them to dry completely. Out here in the West, things dry quickly. I will then cover one side of the panels with a couple of coats of gesso, a mixture of rabbit skin glue and marble dust. The skin glue is fairly flexible but should I add some glycerin to help plasticize it?
Also should I key or tooth the face of the panels for the gesso? I would do this prior to the oil/turps.
I am flirting with disaster here, many old wooden painting panels have failed because of the difference in the shrinkage coefficient of the painting/gesso/substrate. I hope by finishing the panels with oil first I can ameliorate the problems.
Should the back have additional coats of oil to help stabilize? Is the gesso a finish or will it act like a veneer or glue line?
Stephen Shepherd
Replies
You have obviously done a bit of research on traditional panel preparation. Surely there is someone who has at least guessed at the reasons old panels have failed. Is it likely that the backs of panels were not prepared to ultimately equal the front? This being the case, the panel would still be subject to expansion/contraction. Your reasoning behind the initial linseed oil coat is, I think, flawed. But only because the actual paint (I'm assuming you are using artist's oils) will seal the surface very well. Perhaps your linseed oil coats will best be placed on the back of the panels to seal them akin to the front.
I've looked at a bunch of painting on panel FRONTS, but not the backs since that is the way they are usually displayed in museums. It would be interesting to have some backs displayed also.
Why are you interested in this very traditional approach to painting? I wish you the best.
-Jeff (also an artist, sculptor, but I've done a bit of painting - on canvas mostly)
Jeff,
I have done some research and have wanted to make some artist painting panels for some time now. I recently met an artist and mentioned the boards, and she ordered three. So now I have had to build them. They are done except for the finishing.
I have seen several old paintings on panels, a couple were cut down from original size and installed in a piece of furniture, so not much information about the edges, all freshly cut. Most of the others I have seen have been framed so no info there. I did see a Da vinci that was touring and it was painted on a walnut panel. There were pictures of the back side, x-rays, complete description, so that was fairly informative.
I am still unsure whether to just gesso the front with no previous finish or if it should have a coat of oil. I will oil the back, probably several times to help make some sort of balance. Not sure about toothing the surface either. Still questions.
Stephen Shepherd
Just for what it is worth, my grandmother was an artist who painted on wood panels. The back is just rough wood--I don't have any idea how the front was treated. I will go look a bit more closely.Gretchen
Well, my question would be..
Why pursue a method notorious for failing?
The "old ways" are not always the best.
We have learned, we have advanced.
Lee Lee Grindinger
Furniture Carver
Lee,
Many old panels have remained perfectly flat or coaxed into flatness with tapered slip dovetailed battens. Many artists like painting on rigid panels and some like wooden panels.
There may be many old ways, yet undiscovered that may help us in the future. I like looking to the past for inspiration and ready made examples to simply copy.
Stephen Shepherd
http://www.ilovewood.com
Stephen,
We desperatly need people like you...
LeeLee Grindinger
Furniture Carver
Interesting question.
Two comments --
Grain selection - I would opt for material that is quartersawn and is as straight as possible. Flat sawn lumber would likely create warped results over time.
MEE - If you are truly serious about coatings to balance the panel, you should try to locate a USDA Forest Service publication from the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison WI., entitled "The Moisture Excluding Effectiveness of Finishes on Wood Surfaces" by Wm. Feist, James Little and Jill Wennesheimer (Research Paper FPL 462). Three coats of linseed oil are only 2% more effective than bare wood controls in retarding vaporous moisture movement after 7 days and by 14 days is 0% effective. The info is mostly related to paints, varnishs, lacquers, etc., that are typically used for exterior and interior coatings/finishing systems. If you are dealing with artist's oil paints, acrylics or god forbid, real tempera, you won't find any direct data in this study (or maybe anywhere).
I also wonder how the frame contributes to panel flatness and whether the frame exerts any stabilizing influence.
Too late for quartersawn now ( I will be more careful next time), the basswood is quite dry, evenly worked and staying flat after two coats of oil/turps. I think the rabbit skin glue size will add additional protection to the panels in terms of atmospheric reactions.
I was steered towards basswood and am happy with these panels but I think I am going to foray into poplar (popular in Italy), oak more common in the north and after the 18th century mahogany was used for painting panel.
I think that the frames will help keep the panels rigid and flat as long as the frames are rigid and flat.
I will be sizing the panels soon and then on to the gesso.
Stephen Shepherd
http://www.ilovewood.com
You may or may not be aware but the poplar here may not the poplar of Italy.
Populus sp. are the family of cottonwoods including aspen. Poplar is often short for yellow poplar (aka tulip poplar) which is Liriodendron tulipefera and therein an entirely different wood.
If you go to a hardwood lumber distributor and ask for poplar, you will almost certainly get Liriodendron tulipefera and not Populus sp.. This is a case when use of scientific names may be mandated.
You are correct about poplar, when you buy it you don' t know if it is poplar, yellow poplar or magnolia, they are usually sold together. I will choose a poplar (Populus spp.). Thanks for your response.
Stephen Shepherd
http://www.ilovewood.com
For what its worth....
I've heard of cherry being used commonly for artists panels. Poplar also a very good choice. It is also the most common choice for frames. Most any frame that is guilded or painted is made from poplar.
Matt-
Catastrophic failure of gesso to substrate. I applied a 'second' coat of gesso and noticed a small light spot on one edge. I put a sharp putty knife under the small crack and proceeded to remove the entire two coats of gesso from 3 panels in less time than it took me to paint them.
I am not sure what was the problem, the gesso may have been too strong (too much rabbit skin glue) or the oil/turps may not have been dry. The clevage was universal and the gesso did not stick to any part of the panel with what I would consider a good bond.
Any ideas? I am thinking of 'cooking' the panels by placing them in a contained box with a heat source to drive out any 'gas' still in the finished panels. I will be waiting a few weeks before I do anything because I think it is the oil that is not cured.
Stephen
Stephen,
That's a tough one. It could be a couple of things and you mentioned them. Too much rabbit skin glue, oil underneath not dry, too much marble dust in the gesso, etc.
Let the panels sit for a week or two to let the linseed oil dry a bit and then reapply the rabbit skin glue base to re seal the panel. (You might want to lightly sand the panels and start over) It might have been peeled off when you scraped the gesso away.
After that you can retry to marble dust gesso OR you can use an "oil ground," (also known as "oil priming white")
You might be better off using oil ground. Its a white oil base that artists use instead of marble dust to create a white background. It is very thick and its scraped on with either a large pallet knife or a blade similar to a large cake decorating knife. It takes three to four days to dry and you can put on more than one coat. My wife likes to use two to three coats of oil ground (it makes a nice texture).
You can buy a small tub of the oil ground at Utrecht Art Supply located on 2100 South in Salt Lake City. (Sugar House area)
1025 East 2100 SouthSalt Lake City, UT 84106801-832-0400
They have the pallet knives for scraping it on, too. The oil ground is a much simpler way to make the white background and I've never had it fail on me like the marble dust gesso.
Good Luck,
Matt-
Stephen,
I have no experience with your panel prep as you describe it, but only a comment about controlling the flatness in general. As for keeping the wood flat, the key is uniform expansion and contraction on both sides of the panel. If the front of the panel is sealed with oil, gesso and paint, and the back is raw wood, the back is subject to absorbing or giving off moisture more rapidly than the front to adjust to the humidity of its environment, resulting in a differential expansion / contraction of the back face of the panel from the front face. This difference will cause the wood to cup, stressing and cracking your painting. The solution is to completely seal the back, as you will with the front allowing the moisture to equalize throughout the panel more quickly that either face gives up / takes on moisture.
Wanna really know how to prepare your panels correctly? Contact a painting restoration expert. Geniuses - all of 'em. Here's a possibility - go to the web page for a major museum, the National Gallery in Washington, the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, the Musee D'Orsay in Paris, the Louvre, etc and e-mail 'em. I'd bet on your success in getting the info you want. I've found the National Gallery inLondon
Good luck,
jdg
Yes but jdg, isn't the back of the panel rather sealed off by hanging against a wall, whereas the painted front is exposed to the ever changing ambient humidity of a room?
Why would anyone bother to polish the inside of a cabinet that's seldom opened? And what about a table top? Does the underside experience the same conditions as the used top side? Slainte.Some stuff I've made.
Sgian,
Granted, while the painting is hanging, the back is not exposed to the same conditions as the front, and the bottom of the table top never gets direct sunlight, but do you suggest neither should be sealed? And what's the advantage of that?
Do you not seal the underside of table tops? And if not, are they made from solid lumber. I have a table I made from two wide solid mahogony boards - 20" I think, and dressed down to about 1 1/4". Generally I seal the bottom of a table top but somehow this one got away from me. With some slight cupping having developed, I keep telling myself that I'll bring this one back to the shop someday soon for some additional work and a sealing of the bottom side.
John Gaiennie
Baton Rouge, La.
John, I threw the spanner into the works to see who'd bite, to open up the discussion, to stimulate thinking out of the box.
I'm not saying I don't finish the underside of table tops-- I do, but I've seen many that have no finish on the underside also. But the underside of a working table top-- e.g., kitchen table in a house infested with a snive of rug rats-- really doesn't see the same conditions in service as the top which gets scratched, wet, mopped, etc..
Take a lidded chest, or a chest of drawers, or a cabinet that's seldom opened. How are the drawer sides, the back face of the drawer front, and carcase interior affected by changes in a rooms ambient humidity over the seasons if the drawers are opened perhaps only every fortnight or month? And if they're as highly polished as the exterior, which does face those changes in relative humidity, doesn't that create potential for imbalance?
The conventional wisdom usually espoused is, "Seal it all the same all over for a balanced construction." The previous paragraphs hinted at the concept that a 'balanced' polishing job might actually create an imbalance. I might find out what people think of that as a concept. I've already got you turning it over in your mind, ha, ha. Slainte.Some stuff I've made.
Stephen,
My wife is an artist and we have dealt with this very issue many times. My wife was taught by three excellent atrists, Wulf Barsh still uses only the purest materials and taught us how prepare a panel the way you are going to. Here is what I've learned.
You need to answer some questions. How thick is your panel? and, What is the size of your panel? Your panels are small so they shouldn't warp if they are 1/2" thick. If your panels exceed 24" in any dimension they need to be cradled. You can cradle them by gluing and nailing 1x2 pieces of lumber in a frame around the back of the panel. For large panels that are bigger than 2'-3' cross braces between the cradle also help keep it flat. When the panels get really large use cross braces with sliding doevtails to keep the panel flat.
1. With the panel flattened and ready, Treat the back of the panel with a linseed oil/turpentine (english distilled turpentine is best) mixture. Begin in the middle of the panel and work out to the edges.
2. Then, seal all sides of the panel with rabbit skin glue. Also, with the rabbit skin glue start at the center of the panel and work out to the edges, working quickly. This protects the wood from compunds in the oil paints that willl deteriorate the wood over time.
2. When the rabbit skin glue is dry make sure you have completely covered every side of the panel (including the narrow edges!!) Apply the glue again over any gaps in your first go round.
3. When the rabbit skin glue is dry and the panel is completely sealed then apply your gesso. The surface doen't need to be keyed or toothed. The layers of gesso you apply will hold and you can build up texture with subsequent layers.
4. Whe the gesso dries you will be rady to paint.
Good luck, I hope it all works out.
If you need more information or help let me know I would be happy to help in any way I can.
Matt Harper
Springville, UT
Edited 1/14/2003 8:00:33 PM ET by MPHARPER
Matt,
Thanks for your response. I had read about cradling large panels, these probably don't warrent their use.
Too late on the oil/turps, panels are sealed, but not toothed. I was planing a coat of rabbit skin glue size on the face but will do all surfaces now, thanks.
I want to build larger panels using cradles and/or sliding dovetail battens.
These panels are all about 3/8" thick. Kind of fun to see what woodworkers went through 300 years ago.
Stephen Shepherd
Salt Lake City, Utah
http://www.ilovewood.com
Stephen,
Your panels should be fine, especially beacuse they are not very big. It is the rabbit skin glue that keeps the oil paint out of the wood. Some oil paints will deteriorate the wood over time. Most oil paints are made from pigments that are emusified in a linseed oil base so the linseed oil doen't keep the paint out of the wood.
I have an article/book exerpt about materials that were used and how they were used. If you would like a copy I would be happy to send it to you.
My wife and I have had a great experience learning the "art" of making fine art. It's a craft all its own. Now days most folks make panels from hardwood plywoods or masonite. Most artists rarley use solid wood panels anymore; I think mostly because convienience and stability. It is an art that is speedily being forgotten.
Whenever my wife and I go to gallleries or exhibits I often put my head against the wall to try and see how that artist made their panels. I'm usually more interested in the "how" an artist makes their work than the finished piece.
Cheers,
Matt-
Edited 1/14/2003 6:44:38 PM ET by MPHARPER
Edited 1/14/2003 7:51:16 PM ET by MPHARPER
Stephen,
I made a mistake in my earlier posts. I came home and reviewed the process with mt wife only to realize that treating the panel with the linseed oil/turpentine mixture is actually a recommended step in the process. For small panels its not absolutley necessary, but it is a good practice that should be used, especially for larger panels.
Rabbit skin gluing all sides of the panel is very important though.
Sorry for the confusion. I've edited my eariler posts to reflect the proper procedure for future readers.
Cheers,
Matt-
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