There are quite a few steps to complete before and after the painting process to protect the board and paint from moisture and light.
I started off painting on canvas, then I switched to MDF boards and now I paint on marine plywood with pine frames as a support structure. My lovely, supportive better half – Andy, with his joinery skills, is cutting the boards and frames for me. After the pine framing is glued on the board it needs planing and bogging. When I am happy with how the board looks I sand it multiple times until it is nice and smooth. The whole process up to here can take a couple of days- if not longer. We usually make a bulk of boards at once.
Yay! Now, the painting can finally start š My favourite paints are Pebeo Fine Arts Acrylics. they are thick and buttery. If I need thinning I add either a bit of water or medium for glazing. I also use Golden Open Acrylics and Matisse Fluid. They are great to create skies, especially with the combination of wetting agent.
Before I choose what to paint I apply at least 3 coats of acrylic primer (Golden GAC100), making sure I sand in between the layers to get rid of the brush strokes. After those initial layers I need to figure out if I want to start on a dark or light background. I then add some paint for the background to the acrylic primer and apply 2-3 more layers onto the board, making sure I still sand between new coats again.
When a painting is complete I wait at least 48 hours before applying layers of isolation coat. This is strictly speaking not a necessary step and I have completed many paintings in the past without this coat but I noticed it evens out the sheen quite well. Also, from my experience acrylic paintings can do without a varnish but it provides extra protection against sunlight, dust and cleaning procedures. I usually apply 1-2 layers of varnish after waiting around a full week from the last isolation coat to ensure the painting is fully dry. Then I can attach the hanging system at the back with good quality wire and D-rings.
Sarah Freiburger 