board for working pastel

[chewie]

I am working on a few large pastel pieces, 22x30 and up. I like a backing/drawing board that has some give to it, and have been using foamboard, but I cannot tape on the fb or it'll tear the surface. can I paint it with something that'll leave the softness of the fb but give ability to tape on it ?

[darkwolf29]

What kind of tape are you using? Have you tried the blue painters tape? I use a piece of plywood for drawing, normally. But, for the few foamboard things I have done, I have okay luck with painters tape.

If you haven't used it, it is kind of like masking tape, but with a lower tack. I use it all the time on watercolors, so it won't rip the paper.

[Aires]

Would Gator Board be too firm for your use? It is dense foam but has a wood resin top layer which resists water and is recommended for taping water color paper to it. I thought of your question when I saw it described in an art magazine for that purpose. A large size is rather expensive but it is so strong, yet lightweight, it shoudl be around a long time.

[chewie]

guess I shoulda specified--gator would be dandy, only I have to ship everything and those big sheets cost a fortune!

as an update---I took a piece of my foamboard, and glued to a piece of luan board I got at the hardware store, cut to size. then I painted poly for floors over it both sides. its a great board, nice and big, and smooth enough for tape to remove. I dont' like using colored tape of any type, messes me up. so now I use plain white artists tape, and its working well.

[dobber]

Hi Chewie,

Someone in the pastel forum asked about a more padded surface to work on. I'm not sure if this will be a help to you but it has served me well.

I like cushion under my paper, especially canson. I do use several sheets of newsprint taped to the board. It can present a problem when you remove the tape thats holding your painting surface to the newsprint. If your careful and depending on the tape used; you can get quite a few uses out of the top sheet of newsprint. I didn't want that problem traveling. I could just use foamcore but I was afraid of dents while traveling so I taped newsprint followed by a sheet of acetate over either foamcore or other lightweight board. With the acetate on top tape can easily be removed while still having the cushion of newsprint.