Cardboard and the late Sergei Belykov

On the Gallery just now are several more paintings by Mr Belikov, several of which are oils on cardboard. I too have a couple of oils painted on cardboard, which I bought around 40 years ago, protected by glass and painted, probably, as I would imagine Belikov's are, using lead white. There are also paintings by Toulouse Lautrec, and Georg Grosz, on cardboard. Why then - you might well ask - is cardboard not used more often? Provided it's properly sealed and primed, cardboard is quite pleasant to paint on; in the case of the Toulouse and Grosz paintings, it's lasted for over 100 years (probably just under, in Grosz's case). It's big drawback of course is that it degrades over time - and can also leach chemicals into the paint. So you wouldn't choose it as a surface if you were planning on having your work last 500 years. For quick studies though - cardboard, even wrapping paper, are probably as durable as oil-painting paper (when sealed) - and as good as those canvas sheets you can get in packs, such as those made by Fredrix (which I'd be inclined to stick to a rigid backing; but then, why not buy a canvas board in the first place?) You wouldn't recommend cardboard - but I wouldn't necessarily despise it either if I wanted to do a preliminary sketch rather than a finished painting. Correction: Vasily Belikov (1922-1994)

And you really never know, do you? It might last for centuries, if protected. Not best practice to recommend it, but you're far from alone in trying it. Fingers crossed for survival - but then: I'm doing that increasingly these days...