How to use wooden panels with different art mediums- oils, acrylics, gouache & fine liners.

Our ARTdiscount brand of wooden panels offer a versatile rigid and trustworthy support for your artwork. They are a great alternative to our pre-primed canvases and they are available in 13 different sizes and in Multi packs. They are a great affordable option as prices for multi packs are without doubt unparalleled! They are one of our best sellers and have great customer reviews. At ARTdiscount our manufacturer is FSC accredited and the timber used in the construction of our cradled panels are sourced from sustainably managed forests. They are a perfect choice for the beginner artist and professional painter alike!

They have an untextured, smooth surface already sanded, however if using acrylic, oils or gouache there is a little preparation you must address.

Before working on our wooden panels for this series of work, I prepared them with two coats of size and four coats of white matte gesso. See this article for more info. 

Once suitably prepared with a size and gesso of your choice, they will support a variety of media including, but not limited to; oil paint, acrylic paint, gouache paint, flatbed printing, pen and ink, collage, photomontage, mixed media, oil and chalk pastels, acrylic spray paint for stencilling, acrylic gouache, acrylic pouring and much more.

Wood Panels have been used as supports for paintings by artists for centuries, however the advantage of having an additional deep cradle attached at the back of the board will provide a more rigid and stable support for your medium (most wet mediums change characteristics whilst drying, they shrink and dry-out and move on their support) and ultimately your artwork, it will prevent warping, twisting and any movement whilst you are working and it will also add to the longevity of your painting. The thickness of our wood cradles are 7/8th of an inch thick or 23mm.

Our ARTdiscount wooden panels will also provide a rigid support for mounting watercolour paintings, and also can be used to support oil or acrylic paintings on canvas, either as a temporary measure or as a permanent fixture. The do not need any additional frames and can be displayed instantly!

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For this article we decided to paint four  wooden panels  with different types of paint. Oils, Acrylics, Gouache and finally pen and ink. All the paintings are inspired by particular Van Gogh paintings.

Painting Number 1 - 'Blossom Tree' using ARTdiscount own brand oils and inspired by Vincent van Gogh's 'Pink Peach Tree'. Painted on an ARTdiscount wooden artists panel.

 

Vincent van Gogh 'Pink Peach Tree' 1888 oil on canvas, 73cm x 59.5cm (Kroller-Muller Museum) 

 

For this Vincent van Gogh inspired 'Blossom Tree' painting, I used our own brand Artist Oil Paints, an introductory set of high quality, superb price, oil paints, perfect for students of art and experienced painters alike. I found these oil paints to be perfect for creating this vibrant wood painting, working from thin layers of paint, to fat daubs of paint, using the broken strokes of impressionism and the dabs of colour of divisionism has worked incredibly well to bring this painting together. These pigment rich colours enabled the image to mix optically and create a delicate mix of foliage and blossom. They had a soft and creamy texture, excellent for building up a thick impasto over thin glazes. This painting will be varnished at a later date.

The set contains 40ml metal tubes of oil paint in a broad spectrum of basic colours perfect for practicing the tenants of colour mixings and general oil painting techniques. All tube labels feature permanence rating and list pigment mixes for the artist's convenience. See full colour range here.
 

Painting Number 2 - '13th and 14th' using ARTdiscount own brand acrylic paints and inspired by Vincent van Gogh's 'Cypresses'. Painted on an ARTdiscount wooden artists panel.

Vincent van Gogh 1889, Oil on canvas 93.4cm x 74cm 'Cypresses' (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). 

 

Ellie Jakeman,'13th and 14th' ARTdiscount Acrylic paint on wood panel, 30cm x 42cm.

Ellie Jakeman,'13th and 14th' ARTdiscount Acrylic paint on wood panel, 30cm x 42cm. (Close up side view)

For this second Vincent inspired Tree Paining '13th and 14th' I used our own ARTdiscount brand of Acrylic paints. A high quality acrylic paint representing fantastic value for money! Ideal for artists, schools, colleges, workshops and your home studio. 28 pigments to choose from.

Van Gogh's study of these monumental Cyprus trees gave me the idea of painting these Scots pine trees, rich in texture and rich in jewel like colours. Using block colours first to construct the composition, I then built up the textures in the foliage and landscape, laying colours down in various lengths of dabs and daubs in the style of the Impressionists; altering the brush strokes to emulate the patterned carpet of dappled light.

Maintaining Vincent's love of the colour yellow, I heightened the value of my pallet using Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow and Primary Yellow, providing lots of contrast and brush strokes within this wood painting. This painting will be varnished at a later date. Follow this link for more info on this paint. 
 

Painting Number 3 - 'Blue pot with Red Blossom' using Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache and inspired by Vincent van Gogh's 'Vincent van Gogh 'Almond blossom'. Painted on an ARTdiscount wooden artists panel.

 

 

 

Vincent van Gogh 'Almond blossom' 1890, Oil on canvas, 73.5cm x 92cm. (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam)

Ellie Jakeman, 'Blue pot with Red Blossom' 30cm x 42cm Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache painting on Wooden Panel.

Ellie Jakeman, 'Blue pot with Red Blossom' 30cm x 42cm Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache painting on Wooden Panel. (Close up)

For this Vincent inspired 'Blue pot with Red Blossom' painting on wooden panel, I used Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache Introductory Set. I looked at Vincent's 'Almond Blossom' painting and his use of edge to edge composition and his linear motif. I am also inspired by Japanese woodcuts and the use of flat detailing and composition in their imagery. I focused into the flatness of the negative spaces in this painting to find areas where I could add even more detailing, where I could create vivid contrasts of bright lime green foliage against deep tones of ultramarine blues, violets with turquoise highlights.

Knowing how your paints will intermix, colour shift when dry and understanding dilution is really important before embarking on a painting. It is essential before you start painting with this pigment rich gouache set that you create a colour chart to rehearse and practise mixing your colours before committing to your painting. The flat matte tones of the gouache worked really well on the gessoed panel, drying to a velvety almost chalk pastel finish. This panel will also be varnished at a later date.

A selection of 10 x 14ml tubes. Makes an ideal starter set. Follow this link for more info. on this Gouache set.   

Painting Number 4 - 'Winter tree study' using Fine liner and acrylic ink on ARTdiscount wooden panel board and inspired by Vincent van Gogh's 'Vincent van Gogh 'Pollard Birches'. Drawn on an ARTdiscount wooden artists panel.

Vincent Van Gogh, Pollard birches, 1884, Pencil, pen in black ink on wove paper, 39cm x 54cm ( Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam)

 

 Ellie Jakeman 'Winter tree study' Fine liner and acrylic ink on ARTdiscount wooden panel board, 30cm x 42cm.

Ellie Jakeman 'Winter tree study' Fine liner and acrylic ink on ARTdiscount wooden panel board, 30cm x 42cm. (Close up, side view)

 

For the last in the series of Vincent inspired Tree artworks, 'Winter Tree study' was an experimental piece using a variety of mostly dry media. I wanted to show how a wooden panel could be used in the traditional way and in a more unconventional manner.

Vincent's intense observational drawings of trees inspired this 'Winter Tree' study. His expressive use of line, dots, dashes, cross hatching, contour hatching and repeated textural references, which describe not just the individual characteristics of each tree but also the landscape and figures within it.

Using no colour references van Gogh creates an atmospheric image, where the flat white sky is reflected in the water in the stream and the figures idly bring their sheep home. To pay homage to Vincent's love of nature, I have created a study using similar line qualities, and descriptive mark making to detail the tree structures, landscape and surface textures. The fine liners and inks worked incredibly well on the gessoed wood panel, it felt a little like drawing onto a thick watercolour paper with a semi-absorbent surface.

For 'Winter Trees I used Staedtler pigment liner 0.05, 0.5, 0.3 Black, Staedtler Permanent Lumocolor fine Black, Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen fine liner Black 199***, Uni Pin Fine line water & fade-proof pigment ink 0.08. Also Liquitex acrylic ink carbon back.

As discussed previously the possibilities for these wooden panels are endless, artists can create any surface they wish on these wood panels, using an acrylic gesso medium, rough or smooth, transparent, black or white or you can even create a coloured ground by adding a pigment to the gesso.

For this series of art work, linking the panels to trees seemed the perfect investigation, celebrating their origins whilst showcasing the image and the product!

Wood Painting Panels conclusion!

In conclusion, ARTdiscount's wooden panels offer artists a versatile and reliable surface for various mediums, including oils, acrylics, gouache, and fine liners.

Their smooth, untextured surface, combined with the stability provided by the cradled backing, ensures a durable and warp-resistant foundation for your artwork. ( we recommend that you size and gesso them first).

Additionally, the use of sustainably sourced timber reflects a commitment to environmental responsibility. Whether you're a beginner or a professional, these panels provide an excellent alternative to traditional canvases, accommodating a wide range of artistic techniques and styles.

If you're an adventurous artist who works in various scales and sizes, and who wants to take their art to the next level, these wood panels are a great way to generate new and exciting art work! We hope you have been inspired by this blog and will try our wood panels.