Dappled Glade 5x7
Hello and welcome to Tonalist painting with M Francis McCarthy.
Today's painting is 'Dappled Glade' 5x7.
Our video features the progression of this painting from its initial underpainting stages on up through the final finishing brushwork. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check it out.
Today I'd like to talk about painting substrates. I'm sure this is a topic we have covered before but it's always good to revisit such a critical element of the painting process. Like most people I started out painting on canvas when I first began doing oil paintings. Because I was painting quite small I found the canvas texture to be overly dominant. It wasn't until later that I learned about the differences between cotton and linen canvases.
As I began studying the different aspects of oil painting while doing small paintings, I discovered that many artists painted on various types of wood panel. After learning this I went down to my local contractor supply store and ordered some Lauan panels. I had them cut them into small sizes and started painting on them.
After having done a few paintings on raw wood (which I found quite enjoyable to work on), I learned that the wood panels needed to be properly primed before being painted on or they would absorb the painting into the panel over time. Initially, I started doing my board prep with house paint. Eventually, I moved on to different preparation techniques (this is a topic for another blog post).
I enjoyed painting on the Lauan panels but they were very thin and kind of wonky. I started trying out different types of wood. One thing I really enjoyed about painting on wood was that the wood texture could be nicely integrated into the final painting surface. This looks really good unless the wood grain is too deep and intense. While in the USA I painted on several different types of wood panel one of my favorites was maple.
After coming to New Zealand I endeavored to find a good supplier of wood panels here and eventually found a guy in my town who was very helpful. One of the things that I had decided to do after moving to New Zealand was to start working in larger painting sizes, so I had my panel guy cut me some 8x12's and 12x16 out of Pine. Pine is quite pleasant to work on but as it is very soft I found it unsuitable for working at larger sizes. Also sometimes the texture isn't quite right depending on the panel.
After trying the pine panels I got into painting on Kauri Marine ply. The surface quality of the Kauri was really nice but there was a problem with it that became clear as I worked on larger paintings. The issue that I ran into was that there was sometimes warping in the boards even before I put any paint on them. This warping is not the worst thing in the world, the painting can be forced into a frame and securely fastened in. When I started selling work online I became concerned that it would be offputting to people who had invested in my paintings.
After some research and working with my ply supplier Scooters here in Whangarei, I arrived upon a solution. What we came up with was a laminated MDF board. The laminated MDF boards are about 7 mm thick and have a laminate of Kauri on both sides. I have to order the boards custom and they are not cheap. However, they are comparable in cost to fine art canvas on stretcher bars. The laminated Kauri board lays completely flat and for the last two years that I've been using this substrate, I've had great results with it.
As an aside to this substrate topic I would like to mention that I see many artists painting on cheaply available pre-stretched canvas'. While this is not the worst possible thing you could do, it is certainly not great. These cheap canvases have several issues. First of all, they are made out of cotton duck instead of linen so they are quite coarse, the texture is not very pleasing. Another issue is that they are made with cheap stretcher bars that are often not square and can warp and buckle over time. If I were painting on canvas, I would only paint on high-quality linen canvas with custom-made stretcher bars. One great truth about art is how you start is how you finish.
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Dappled Glade' 5x 7; as I stated on the video, this painting is based on a portion of a larger reference photo that I took many years ago. One day while going through various photos I've taken I saw this area of that photo and visualized a painting. I enjoy doing this type of intimate forest scene and I'm sure I'm going to be doing more in the coming year.
To see more of my work, visit my site here.
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| Dappled Glade' by M Francis McCarthy, 5x7 Oil Painting on Wood Panel |
Our video features the progression of this painting from its initial underpainting stages on up through the final finishing brushwork. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check it out.
Today I'd like to talk about painting substrates. I'm sure this is a topic we have covered before but it's always good to revisit such a critical element of the painting process. Like most people I started out painting on canvas when I first began doing oil paintings. Because I was painting quite small I found the canvas texture to be overly dominant. It wasn't until later that I learned about the differences between cotton and linen canvases.
As I began studying the different aspects of oil painting while doing small paintings, I discovered that many artists painted on various types of wood panel. After learning this I went down to my local contractor supply store and ordered some Lauan panels. I had them cut them into small sizes and started painting on them.
After having done a few paintings on raw wood (which I found quite enjoyable to work on), I learned that the wood panels needed to be properly primed before being painted on or they would absorb the painting into the panel over time. Initially, I started doing my board prep with house paint. Eventually, I moved on to different preparation techniques (this is a topic for another blog post).
I enjoyed painting on the Lauan panels but they were very thin and kind of wonky. I started trying out different types of wood. One thing I really enjoyed about painting on wood was that the wood texture could be nicely integrated into the final painting surface. This looks really good unless the wood grain is too deep and intense. While in the USA I painted on several different types of wood panel one of my favorites was maple.
After coming to New Zealand I endeavored to find a good supplier of wood panels here and eventually found a guy in my town who was very helpful. One of the things that I had decided to do after moving to New Zealand was to start working in larger painting sizes, so I had my panel guy cut me some 8x12's and 12x16 out of Pine. Pine is quite pleasant to work on but as it is very soft I found it unsuitable for working at larger sizes. Also sometimes the texture isn't quite right depending on the panel.
After trying the pine panels I got into painting on Kauri Marine ply. The surface quality of the Kauri was really nice but there was a problem with it that became clear as I worked on larger paintings. The issue that I ran into was that there was sometimes warping in the boards even before I put any paint on them. This warping is not the worst thing in the world, the painting can be forced into a frame and securely fastened in. When I started selling work online I became concerned that it would be offputting to people who had invested in my paintings.
After some research and working with my ply supplier Scooters here in Whangarei, I arrived upon a solution. What we came up with was a laminated MDF board. The laminated MDF boards are about 7 mm thick and have a laminate of Kauri on both sides. I have to order the boards custom and they are not cheap. However, they are comparable in cost to fine art canvas on stretcher bars. The laminated Kauri board lays completely flat and for the last two years that I've been using this substrate, I've had great results with it.
As an aside to this substrate topic I would like to mention that I see many artists painting on cheaply available pre-stretched canvas'. While this is not the worst possible thing you could do, it is certainly not great. These cheap canvases have several issues. First of all, they are made out of cotton duck instead of linen so they are quite coarse, the texture is not very pleasing. Another issue is that they are made with cheap stretcher bars that are often not square and can warp and buckle over time. If I were painting on canvas, I would only paint on high-quality linen canvas with custom-made stretcher bars. One great truth about art is how you start is how you finish.
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Dappled Glade' 5x 7; as I stated on the video, this painting is based on a portion of a larger reference photo that I took many years ago. One day while going through various photos I've taken I saw this area of that photo and visualized a painting. I enjoy doing this type of intimate forest scene and I'm sure I'm going to be doing more in the coming year.
To see more of my work, visit my site here.
 |
| Dappled Glade 5x7 (Detail) |
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| Dappled Glade 5x7 (Detail 2) |