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Ampersand board , help please.
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Message
Posted
A lovely Christmas present is a large Ampersand board. I'm now using it . I've given it a coat of tinted gesso , but now I am finding that the paint drags and just won't flow , so I'm finding nice clean lines are just not happening. I usually use a commercially stretched canvas and have never found this problem before.....help....
Posted
Number one, I don't think - from my limited experience of them - that Ampersand boards are as good for acrylic painting as I'd hoped, because the paint sort of sticks, whereas you (and I!) want it to flow. They're great for oils, though - there are several different Ampersand boards, and maybe I chose the wrong one (although it's recommended for oil and acrylic).
But number two - why gesso a board that's already prepared for painting? You could just have toned it with an acrylic wash - were you after added texture?
But number three ... I don't think it'll have anything to do with the actual board, because of number two: you've covered the prepared surface, and it's the gesso which is causing the paint not to flow, from the sound of it. By 'gesso' I take it we're talking about acrylic paint made for priming and sealing a surface rather than REAL gesso, which most of us don't use any more (if in doubt - it'll be acrylic paint).
So what do you do about it? Now here's where I get MUCH more coy and retiring - because I can't see the problem for myself. Try an acrylic tension-breaker in the water - a more liquid form of acrylic - I have my doubts that added acrylic medium would help with this particular problem, though obviously try it - spray the paint with a spritzer bottle before applying - ensure it's mixed to gloopy consistency on the palette - and failing all else, try inks. I'm assuming it's not cold in your studio - well, I don't see Sylvia shivering - and that you've not been keeping the paint in a cold place - both can certainly cause them to thicken and not flow. Even, bearing in mind it can affect adhesion in some brands of acrylic more than others, add more water - most good brands of acrylic can take a lot more dilution than is commonly supposed.
Finally - what brand of paint are you using? You have not, we all trust in anxious concern, been cost-cutting, and bought something cheap and nasty....? With all your experience, probably not - but you never know; we can all yield to temptation (I can resist anything but...). Let us know how you get on: if nothing else, it'll be useful for that acrylic book I'm actually on the verge of starting.
Posted
http://ampersandart.com/acrylics.php
Hi Sylvia, from their website try this link...PS it was an acrylic gesso that you used? and not an oil based one? Oil over acrylic works. Acrylic over oil is a disaster!
I've painted acrylics on simple plywood & hardboard...with neat W&N Acrylic primer without any issues.
Edited
by philk2
Posted
Poor Sylvia ..... as an afterthought on Ampersand boards: I was having a lot of trouble with mine, used with acrylic, but now I've got some paint down it's all working much better (if only I can find the time to finish it at the moment); I think I possibly made life difficult for myself by the way I was approaching it, and by a fault in the composition, and was blaming the board rather than my own errors. So I won't give up on them - they're claimed to be of high archival quality (not only by the manufacturers themselves) and I may use them exclusively with oils, but probably only now and then in acrylics, in large part because, being imported from the USA, they're not cheap.
Like Syd, I normally use canvas board for acrylics - good ones make good surfaces, archivally and for (relative) ease of working, and of course they have a pleasing texture. But you must try an Ampersand board without added gesso - it's a bit different from our more familiar surfaces, and gives a new twist to the painting experience. Hope your painting turns out well.
Posted
Thanks, Pat, will investigate.
I like the Ampersand panels for oils, and not yet entirely convinced for acrylics. The ideal is a surface which is guaranteed to last, and is responsive to the brush. Not easy, is it|? But I do find these panels good for oils, and am hopeful I'll get used to them for acrylic; other than these, Belle Arti panels, and high quality canvas board for oil and acrylic, stretched canvas for acrylic, tend to suit me well. And of course we've not even touched on the many other surfaces available - from aluminium panels, to plain MDF/HDF, Masonite, and so many others. Many more contributions on this subject would be entirely welcome so far as I'm concerned.