Plein air painters have many different surfaces to choose from on which to create their art.
There is duck canvas, linen, canvas panels, linen panels, birch board and many other choices for the outdoor artist. I’ve tried many of these and have come to my own conclusion and method that works best for my process. That’s why I like to use gessoed and oil primed hardboard panels for painting plein air. Some of the benefits of using panels instead of canvas is, they’re portable–you can carry many in a panel holder when travelling–they won’t tear or dent, and they never have the issue of sunlight coming through the back like you can get when you use canvas outdoors.
I made a video that shows how I prepare inexpensive hardboard panels with gesso and oil primer. They make a great surface to paint on. You might want to try using the methods I’m goint to share to see if you like painting on them as much as I do. Here’s the video if you’re interested:
Thank you for sharing your process, I found the video very interesting and helpful!
Thanks! I enjoy painting on this surface. To save even more dinero, instead of buying pre-cut Ampersand hard boards, you can buy a full sheet of 1/8″ luan wood paneling at Home Depot and have them cut the sheet down to multiple smaller pieces at your favorite size for painting. They will charge a little extra cost for the cuts but it will be VERY economical. Just be sure to watch the saw operator to ensure they make the exact, squared cuts you need. An 1/8 inch error can make your panels unusable in standard frames.