A Guide to Panels and Boards

Introduction to Panels and Boards

What is a Cradled Panel?

Gesso Panels and Boards

Canvas Panels and Boards

Aluminium Painting Panels

Wooden Panels

Using Wooden Panels for Encaustic Painting

How to Protect Finished Work

Frequently Asked Questions

Further Reading

Glossary

Panel painting has a rich history spanning centuries, from ancient Greek and Roman works to the refined techniques of the Renaissance. Solid panels made from oak were traditionally used by the Italians during the early Renaissance. They were prepared for painting using a gesso ground. This was made of chalk or gypsum mixed with animal skin glue. The result was an absorbent, hard ground. 

Today, MDF or plywood is widely used, with the benefit of being available in large sheet format and not prone to warping. Not all MDF panels are the same. Some may contain acidic glues, making them unsuitable for oil painting. For long-lasting artworks, it’s best to ensure the glue is pH neutral.

There are many reasons for painting on a panel or board instead of a canvas:

• Conservators say it is best practice to paint on a rigid surface. This is especially true for paints that have the potential to crack. These include mediums such as oil paint, egg tempera, encaustic, and metal gilding. An inflexible surface is one of the only ways to prevent cracking over time.
• With all types of paints, there are also aesthetic reasons to paint on a panel. For example, the grain of the wood or aluminium sheen can become a part of the work.
• Practical reasons for using a panel might include easy transport. This is because they are thin and lightweight. Their size also makes for easier storage.
• Some artists like the resistance of the surface. It is solid and not bouncy like stretched canvas. That being said, some artists prefer the 'give' of stretched canvas.
• Some artists choose a panel for conceptual reasons. For example, the thin, rigid structure could make sense with a cityscape.

Panels and boards are available primed or unprimed. For more information on primers and grounds, have a look at our Guide to Grounds.

Cradling is the bracing frame bars attached to the back of the panel. A cradled back increases the stability of the panel. This allows you to attach hanging hardware and display your artwork easily, without a frame.

The bracing prevents damage at the corners where panels are most vulnerable. It also adds warp resistance for thin panels.

Gesso panels can be used for a wide variety of techniques. This is due to the high absorbency of the smooth surface.

The surface of the gesso panel is readily absorbent and is receptive and responsive to paint. If a smoother surface is required, the surface can be lightly sanded with a very fine sandpaper.

When cotton canvas or linen is adhered to a rigid surface such as a piece of card or wood, we call it a canvas panel or a board.

Canvas panels have canvas wrapped around the board and glued to the reverse. Boards have canvas glued to the front only, with shear edges. They are perfect for both quick sketches and fully fledged paintings.

Aluminium art panels are rigid and lightweight. They offer great value for money and are archival.

Aluminium panels are artwork supports that will not release gases over time, unlike stretched canvases (with wood stretcher bars) or wood panels. The metal surface barely reacts to changes in humidity and temperature. This means that aluminium art panels can easily be stored in damp studios where traditional painting surfaces would warp. 

Areas on the aluminium painting panels can also be left exposed. This is because the material won’t tarnish due to its resistance to oxidation. 

The lightweight nature of the panels makes them ideal for large artworks which need to be transported.

Aluminium panels have specially treated surfaces for paint to adhere to. They are ready for use with all types of painting media. This includes, but is not limited to, oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache, and ink. No further priming is necessary as the paint will adhere to the metal.

Jackson's Aluminium Panels are available in a wide range of the most common sizes. You can also choose custom sizes with our Bespoke Panel Builder.

Wooden art panels are sturdy yet lightweight. They are perfect for painting outdoors and in the studio. We recommend priming with three layers of acrylic gesso and sanding between layers. This produces a smooth yet slightly absorbent surface. It is an excellent surface for both impasto marks and delicate washes.

The surface of a panel is beautiful and the texture is very smooth. You can prime the wood with white or clear primer and paint directly on it. Or, if you prefer the texture of canvas or paper, you can use acrylic soft gel and adhere canvas or paper to the surface, then prime and paint on that.

Wooden panels are great for encaustic painting. They can also be used as a work support or a drawing board.

To learn more, read our article How to Paint on Wooden Surfaces on Jackson's Art Blog.

Encaustic medium is made up of refined beeswax and a tree resin tapped from the Damar tree, which is native to Asia. This mixture is melted together and mixed with pigments before being used as paint. 

Smooth wooden panels are an ideal surface for encaustic painting. This is because they stand up to the heat very well. 

Canvas is not suitable for encaustic medium. This is because it expands and contracts, and could cause the wax to crack and flake off. Even securing canvas to a rigid board is not ideal as the glue can melt with the heat and lift from the board, causing the wax to separate.

The molten wax must be painted onto a rigid but porous surface. This allows it to penetrate the wood to ensure a good, solid base on which to build up a painting. It is for this reason that wood panels are ideal for encaustic painting. 

The surface of the panels should be even and smooth with no knots or cracks. Most importantly, the surface should be untreated. This is essential for encaustic as the wax will not penetrate through any type of varnish or acrylic gesso and the painting will simply slide off the board.

A final varnish will:

1. Protect the dried oil surface from scratches.

2. Accept the pollutants and dirt that can build up over the years. When dirty, varnish is removable from the painting so it can be replaced with a new clean layer.

3. Deepen the saturation of the oil paint that can begin to look drier and chalkier as it dries.

4. Even out the surface sheen or change it to matt, satin, or gloss.

5. Seal the painting from absorbing any more oxygen and becoming overly dried out. This means, in effect, that you will then slow the ageing process.

The best practice is to wait to varnish your oil painting until it is thoroughly dry. If you apply varnish before the paint is fully dry, the varnish will meld with the still drying paint and no longer be a separate removable layer. It will also form a hard layer on top of a still changing lower layer. This can result in it cracking or wrinkling as the changing oil paint pushes and pulls on it.

There is some confusion about how long you should wait for varnish to be thoroughly dry. The long-standing rule is that it is safest to wait 6-12 months. Gamblin, the makers of the varnish Gamvar, believe that the 6-12 month rule is too vague. They say it doesn’t take into account the huge difference between the drying time of a painting made with a paint mixed with a fast-drying medium and applied thinly/lightly (much less than 6 months to dry), and a painting with slow-drying colours or mediums painted thickly (much more than 12 months to dry). 

Gamblin also points out that the 6-12 month range originated before the fantastic synthetic varnishes we have now, like Gamvar, which is a Regalrez-based varnish. The old natural resin varnishes were both brittle and needed very strong solvents, unlike the synthetic varnishes today that use the more gentle odourless mineral spirits.

Gamvar is an excellent varnish because it is a flexible, synthetic varnish that will not yellow. But there is a misconception among oil painters that it can be applied when the painting is only touch-dry. This is not true, so we wanted to mention it in particular.

Some artists think that if you use Gamvar, you can varnish in just one to two weeks, when the painting is just touch-dry. This is because their varnish has a special quality that allows some oxygen through. But all final varnishes let some oxygen through. Gamblin says, "Gamvar can be applied when the thickest areas of your painting are thoroughly dry and firm". Gamvar is excellent, but it is not magical and cannot be applied any sooner than other similar synthetic varnishes.

Most artists want to varnish sooner than is recommended. They need to sell their work or exhibit it, and waiting is a frustrating problem. If you apply paint more lightly with a small amount of a fast-drying alkyd medium, you may be able to varnish in as few as two months.

There are a few different ways to test the dryness. These include: pressing your thumbnail into the thickest part; pressing the flat of your thumb in and twisting; and wiping with a solvent to test for colour removal. You can generally go by how long it has been, how thickly you painted, and what fast or slow-drying mediums were used. If you're not sure, gently press a nail into a thick area, hoping for no mark.

If you have an exhibition coming up, give yourself a varnishing deadline as part of the process, so the paintings need to be finished 2 or 3 months before. If you can’t do that, then use a thin spray of retouching varnish now and a final varnish later.

1. Not change in appearance over time (yellow, darken, or become cloudy).

2. Remain very flexible. This is because as the top layer of the painting structure, it should be the most flexible layer of the painting.

3. Remain removable with a solvent that will not remove the underlying paint.

A final varnish made with a synthetic resin is better than a natural tree sap resin (damar, copal, mastic, etc). This is because it will not change in appearance, become brittle, or become less removable over time. Some varnishes also offer UV protection.

It is best to store the drying painting in a dust-free environment. Clean it well with a damp cloth to remove any dust before varnishing.

Sunken, dull areas are often remedied by the practice of ‘oiling out’. This is not recommended because the oil will darken the whole painting and create a yellow film, especially if stored in the dark. This change can occur in as little as one year and cannot then be corrected. Oiling out can be done without these problems if the areas are coated very thinly, wiped away well, and then the area is painted over. However, oiling out should not be used as a final surface treatment.

A removable final varnish is the best way to give protection and allow future cleaning, unlike an oiled surface which cannot be removed when it eventually yellows. To prevent sunken in areas, if you find certain pigments (notoriously the umbers) become dull, then use a bit more oil with those as you paint. If your whole painting has lots of sunken areas, then your oil is probably being sucked into a surface that is too absorbent. So, you may wish to seal your surface so it is less absorbent.

If you feel compelled to oil out some sunken patches before you varnish, you can try applying varnish to just those patches before applying the full coat of varnish. So those areas get an extra coat. Or oil them out and then repaint on top.

Retouching varnish is good if used in a thin layer during the waiting period before a final varnish can be applied. However, it is not a good solution for creating adhesion between dried layers when you are continuing a painting. As oil paint dries, it becomes more and more resistant to solvents, and it becomes more permanent.

On the other hand, varnish always continues to be vulnerable to solvents. So, if varnish is applied between layers, it may cause the paint to become less resistant to solvent, even when the paint is fully dry. This may create a risk of the paint being removed if the final varnish is removed in the future.

Panels and Boards: Popular Questions from Artists

Making a Canvas Painting Panel

Canvas Board for Acrylic Sgraffito, Impasto & Washes

How to Paint on Wooden Surfaces

Smooth Wooden Panels: The Right Surface for Encaustic Painting

Portrait Painting on Jackson's Aluminium Panels

Choosing a Clear Primer for Oil Painting

Choosing the Right Frame for Your Artwork

In Conversation with Ampersand

A Guide to Canvas

A Guide to Encaustic Painting and Wax

A

Absorbency
The degree to which a painting surface soaks up liquid. Some surfaces, like gesso panels, are highly absorbent. Others, such as aluminium panels, resist absorption.

Aluminium Painting Panel
A rigid, lightweight painting surface. They are resistant to warping, humidity, and temperature changes. These panels are archival. This means they do not degrade over time. They are ready to use with most paints.

Archival
A term used to describe materials that last a long time and resist damage. Archival panels, boards, and varnishes help to protect artwork.

B

Backing Board
A protective board placed behind an artwork in a frame. Provides support.

Board
A rigid, flat support used for painting, drawing, or mounting artworks. Boards can be made from various materials, such as wood, MDF, fibreboard, or aluminium. They provide a stable surface for painting and are often primed before use. Some boards, such as canvas boards, have fabric adhered to them, while others, like gesso panels, have a prepared painting surface.

Bracing
Wood or metal supports attached to the back of large panels. Prevents warping and adds extra rigidity.

C

Canvas
A durable fabric used for painting. Often stretched over a frame. Canvas has been used in different ways for thousands of years.

Canvas Board
A flat, rigid board with a piece of canvas adhered to its surface. It provides a firm painting surface. Ideal for quick sketches or detailed paintings. Unlike stretched canvas, it does not have a flexible bounce.

Canvas Panel
A painting support with primed canvas wrapped around a rigid board and glued to the reverse. More portable and resistant to damage than stretched canvas.

Cracking
The formation of visible lines or splits in a surface. Often due to the expansion and contraction of the support.

Cradled Panel
A wood panel with a frame, or ‘cradle,’ attached to the back. The cradle provides stability and prevents warping. It also allows the panel to be displayed without a frame. Artists use cradled panels for added durability and ease of hanging.

D

Dimensional Stability
The ability of a surface to maintain its shape and resist warping due to environmental changes.

E

Encaustic Painting
A painting technique using melted beeswax mixed with pigment and damar resin. The wax is applied while hot and hardens as it cools. It must be used on a rigid and porous surface, such as a wood panel, to ensure proper adhesion.

F

Fibreboard
A dense, engineered wood product (like MDF) used as a painting support.

Floating Frame
A type of frame where the artwork appears to 'float' within the frame without being covered at the edges.

G

Gesso Panel
A rigid panel that has been coated with gesso. Gesso is a white primer made from chalk and an acrylic or glue binder. The smooth and absorbent surface makes it ideal for many painting techniques. This includes oil, acrylic, and tempera.

Grain
The natural pattern of lines and textures in wood. These can sometimes be visible through layers of paint and primer.

Ground
A prepared surface layer that creates the foundation for painting. Gesso is a common type of ground. It seals the surface and provides texture for paint to adhere to.

Ground Layer
The first layer applied to a panel or board before painting. It provides an even surface and affects how paint adheres.

M

Matt Surface
A finish that lacks shine or gloss. Often preferred for a soft, non-reflective painting effect.

MDF Panel
Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is a composite wood panel used as a painting surface. Some MDF panels contain acidic glues. These may not be suitable for creating a long-lasting oil painting, unless they are sealed properly with a neutral primer.

Mounting
The process of attaching canvas, paper, or other materials to a rigid support, such as a wood panel.

O

Oil Painting Varnish
A final protective layer applied to a dried oil painting. It enhances colour depth, evens out sheen, and protects the painting from dust and damage. Some varnishes can be removed and replaced.

P

Panel
A rigid painting support. Most often made from wood, MDF, or aluminium. These panels offer a stable surface for painting. They are often preferred by conservators. This is because they are considered more durable than stretched canvas due to their sustained rigidity over time.

Panel Sealer
A protective coating applied to raw wood or MDF before priming. Prevents oil absorption and potential acid damage.

Priming
The process of applying a preparatory coat, such as gesso, to a surface before painting. Priming ensures proper paint adhesion. It prevents the surface from absorbing too much paint.

R

Retouching Varnish
A temporary varnish used on partially dried oil paintings.

Rigid Surface
A non-flexible painting support. Rigid surfaces are recommended for mediums such as oil paint, egg tempera, and encaustic. This is because they reduce the risk of cracking over time. Examples include wood or aluminium panels. On the other hand, stretched canvas has a degree of 'bounce'. This can lead to cracking over time, particularly if there are changes in the environment.

S

Sizing
A sealing layer. Applied to a painting surface before priming. This prevents oil from soaking into the surface and degrading it over time.

Substrate
A general term for the base material used in painting. Includes panels, boards, or canvases.

Support
The underlying surface on which an artwork is created. Supports can include canvas, wood, MDF, and much more. Each offers different textures and properties.

W

Warp Resistance
The ability of a panel or board to remain flat and stable. This helps to reduce distortion due to humidity or temperature changes.

Warping
A distortion in a panel or board caused by moisture or heat. Cradling, proper priming, and choosing stable materials help to prevent warping.

Wood Panel
A sturdy and lightweight painting support made from solid wood or plywood. Wood panels can be primed with gesso or left untreated. They provide a smooth and durable surface for detailed artwork.