Best surface for professional work

[axel9546]

Hi Axel – No, I haven’t tried Hahnemuhle brand paper. It sounds great from the description at Jackson’s Art in UK. I am in the US. I have only tried Canson Canva-paper and Arches oil paper. Arches seems to have better (more detailed) technical description. … But, I am not an expert and am usually puzzled about what criteria and evidence to use to make good decisions on which art products to buy. Deb
Edit: Hey now I see that Hahnemuhle is available in the US at Dick Blick’s and of course now I want to try it

Thanks let me know how that was

[axel9546]

Another vote for ACM Panels / Dibond.

Only solid gold, copper or stainless steel might out last the aluminum outer layer of an ACM panel but it is going to be pretty heavy unless it is built like an ACM panel with a synthetic core.

[LIST]
[*]Won’t warp like wood products.
[*]More damage resistant than Tempered Hardboard or MDF
[*]Will not crack like wood panels can
[*]No SID like you can get from wood panels
[*]Extremely flat already, no need to spend time smoothing it up.
[*]You can prime and paint right on it or adhere linen, canvas or paper to it.
[*]Linen mounted on Dibond is significantly more stable (less chance for cracking) and more resistant to impact damage from the front or the back than stretched canvas – equal to solid wood mounted, or slightly better impact damage resistance.
[*]Less expensive ($40 for a 4×8 3mm thick sheet) than quality stretched canvas, copper, or premium wood panels.
[*]Should last for thousands of years if kept indoors and out of direct sunlight. Will last for many years OUTDOORS in the wind, rain, snow and DIRECT SUNLIGHT! You can’t say that for canvas, wood, hardboard or MDF.
[/LIST]

Wow ove juat saw them! Thanks for the tip, they are expensive 🤩

[axel9546]

I like the portability for sure, but also prefer how the paper handles the paint better than stretched primed canvases as well. Stretched canvas has a kind of spring under the brush that I find greatly distracting. The paper seems to take the early layers better without as much of the paint blending into subsequent strokes quite as much. It feels better for laying in a sketch in oil, then building on top of that all in one sitting. In studio, the paper is much easier to tape to walls for drying, or I use magnets to hold them to my metal art supplies shelving unit for drying. The space saved is very important to me.

Do you prepare the paper with gesso? I would for getting the paper an extra layer for the paint film. As i have a drawing board for the easel, can i just attach the arches or hanhemule sheet of paper to the board wih scothc, gesso it, and start painting?

[Richard P]

You can buy dibond or ACM panels in larger sizes and then cut them into smaller sizes. That can work out cheaper. Also look around the online sites, some are much cheaper than others.

[contumacious]

Wow ove juat saw them! Thanks for the tip, they are expensive 🤩

Not that expensive really. If you buy generic brands rather than Dibond, you can make a 9×12 panel for 94 cents. Priming cost is minimal. Attaching canvas will increase the cost significantly, but if you are going to use canvas anyway, attaching it to ACM panels using something like Beva 371, as noted already, this is a superior package to stretched canvas. I prefer to paint directly on ACM panels with a ground rather than canvas.

https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1450975

https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1433490

As noted by Richard P, you cut them down to size from the 4×8 sheets. ACM panels are much easier to cut than wood or hardboard panels. All you need is a straight edge and a craft knife. No saw required.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcjjoOXHISs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBs9BwdBNho&t=19s

[axel9546]

Thanks all guys for suggestions

[ilya K]

Hello,

I believe that my question belongs to this topic, but I am on the other side. It will be interesting to hear opinions on supports for hobby painting.

I’d like to paint better versions of studies that turned out good. The basic canvas seem to be good enough, but I am thinking of buying better ones. It is not about “I want it to last 100 years” but simply because I will spend much more time on them than anyone more experienced, and of course I want to avoid stupid problems.

The main difference I see in online shops is how heavy is the canvas: 300 gms for basic against 350 – 450 gms for better ones. They also say that the frame has one middle plank for more stability, beginning from certain sizes – and a rather large basic one I have at home does not have that. Not that I will need a lot of them, but better ones cost at least twice more – it would make them noticeable in my budget.

Luckily, I don’t have to decide for paints as I haven’t seen no-name water mixable oils, so I buy respected brands.

Did you ever (or often) had problems with cheap canvas? Does it make sense to buy more expensive for a hobby?

Thank you!

Ilya K
C&C always welcome

[RomanB]

ik345, the cheapest way is to stretch canvases manually. Nowadays nice stretcher bars are sold in any size, as of instruments you’ll need to buy canvas pliers – they are the only specialised tool needed. If you don’t like hammering nails, a manual staple gun could be handy too.

[axel9546]

I dont like to paint on canvas xd
I use a drawing board and i tape a piece of gessoed paper on it

[Author]

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