Hi Friends,

As an artist I am always looking for different materials, techniques and surfaces to paint on. Canvas are great, but they can get really expensive when painting large pieces.

Lately, I have been painting on hard wood panels. Here is an example of me painting on a giant wood panel.

Thinking Beyond the Canvas

I love the textures and imperfections that painting on wood can create. Some mediums require a little more prep work when painting on wood, but it is always worth it.

A couple of years ago I did a painting on a wood pallet and loved the texture that each wood board had. I have been wanting to create a piece using different slats of wood of different colors and tones. To create art, I not only need paints, brushes and art supplies… I also need a lot of supplies from the hardware store.

I picked up inexpensive wood panels from the hardware store. Then I laid out wood panels on a canvas drop cloth. I doesn’t seem to really matter if I use a drop cloth or not, I always make a mess.

I mixed a few colors of paint washes. In this case - the wash was made of house paint and water. I applied a thin coat on each board.

Here is what wood panels looked like once complete. I allowed the wood panels to dry over night.

Now for the fun part. I got out my Rockwell JawHorse Portable workstation and lined up the wood panels. I clamped the panels securely in place . The jawhorse has over 1 ton of clamping force so these babies were not moving. (Here is my husband, David, showing off if cutting skills.)

Then we trimmed the boards to fit the size I needed for the painting.

Now my vision is coming together.

We applied wood glue on the side of each panel.

After clamping the boards in place, I allowed the entire piece to dry and set over night. I could even use the jawhorse as an easel.

Now I can treat the wood panels and I would a any other surface that I would paint on. Ready set paint.

Here is the finished painting. “Socks” By Carmody Tisdale

Now for the Giveaway

For your gift giving this year, think about giving something that rocks. Give the gift that provides an opportunity to build, fix and create. One super lucky reader will win a tool that rocks - Rockwell Jawhorse.

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Carmody Tisdale