I covered about 15 panels of various sizes recently & I am almost out of them. I am about to do my next batch for the remainder of the summer. So far I am very happy with their qualities.
wonderful thank you!!! i have only ever used prepared canvas boards from the store and stretched canvas from store....this surface you are creating looks really interesting, im definitely going to give this a go!
Hi Aimee - I was told that Titebond II (which we buy by the gallon for furniture building) is unsuitable for painting supports because it has a pH of 3 and would therefore not be considered archival. But the Lineco neutral pH adhesive is prohibitively expensive. Would your gesso protect or shield or encase the acidic glue and therefore make it archival? Thank you!
The reason a lot of people use linen, other than marketing, is that it is much stronger than cotton and therefore one can use a finer weave, for a finer finish. When mounting to a board, the strength is irrelevant, as the board will carry any loads. So muslin is perfect. On could argue that a smooth surface would be better still. That comes down to taste, and feel. The Mona Lisa was painted on wood, not even plywood, which is very stable. So one can certainly do good work on smooth surfaces.
Depending on your medium this _mostly_ true. If using oil paints it's best to size the fabric with some acid free glue. I'm not entirely sure if using wood glue is technically a neutral ph glue but after the sizing completed, as long as you apply a few coats of gesso you're good to go. If using acrylics you practically can just paint on the wood and be fine, us oil painters always got to work harder for our art. Then again our oil paintings tend to be admired much more! 😅 Personally I've always adhered my linen or canvas(want to try muslin soon) to a rigid support makes for a more responsive stroke plus it never will lose its tension. I've heard polyester makes a good surface as well as nylon if you can find these fabrics in a strong enough weight, worth giving them a try.
Thanks Aimee, I just bought some muslin online to prepare for a class with you, but it seems to have no texture whatsoever and I really like the looks of the tactile texture of yours in this video. Do you have a recommendation or brand. (I just bought on Amazon). Brand? Link? Thank you!
Hi, Aimee. I really like the organic look of these muslin panels, but am wondering if you need to wash the unbleached muslin first, or do you use it straight from the bolt?
It would have to be an archival PVA, not an acid one. Bookbinder PVA being the usual choice. None of the woodworking glues are archival. Really expensive glue, particularly for exercises, or artists who aren't collected today, and never will be. How long it takes for PVA to harm something is a different mater. And then the surface is suffused with Gesso, so whatever rot comes through, may not make it to the paint. Another pro I know also uses regular PVA with Muslin. He is not too fussed with the idea that people will be collecting his work in 100 years. And he said in his commercial video that if so, and the PVA is driving archivists to drink, that is a good problem to have. :) So, on the one hand, if one is making panels for exercises, or one is not there yet. Probably no worry. If one sells for thousands, the cost of some decent glue is trivial.
will definitely be using this tutorial. Thanks Aimee!
Helpful tutorial ~ much appreciated, Aimee💗
I covered about 15 panels of various sizes recently & I am almost out of them. I am about to do my next batch for the remainder of the summer. So far I am very happy with their qualities.
wonderful thank you!!! i have only ever used prepared canvas boards from the store and stretched canvas from store....this surface you are creating looks really interesting, im definitely going to give this a go!
Thank you, Aimee. I tried it and it works🙂
Glad to hear it! I just made a new batch myself, muslin on multimedia artboard using gesso as an adhesive.
Thanks Aimee! Well done video.
Interesting! Thank Aimee!
Hi Aimee - I was told that Titebond II (which we buy by the gallon for furniture building) is unsuitable for painting supports because it has a pH of 3 and would therefore not be considered archival. But the Lineco neutral pH adhesive is prohibitively expensive. Would your gesso protect or shield or encase the acidic glue and therefore make it archival? Thank you!
The reason a lot of people use linen, other than marketing, is that it is much stronger than cotton and therefore one can use a finer weave, for a finer finish. When mounting to a board, the strength is irrelevant, as the board will carry any loads. So muslin is perfect.
On could argue that a smooth surface would be better still. That comes down to taste, and feel. The Mona Lisa was painted on wood, not even plywood, which is very stable. So one can certainly do good work on smooth surfaces.
Depending on your medium this _mostly_ true. If using oil paints it's best to size the fabric with some acid free glue. I'm not entirely sure if using wood glue is technically a neutral ph glue but after the sizing completed, as long as you apply a few coats of gesso you're good to go. If using acrylics you practically can just paint on the wood and be fine, us oil painters always got to work harder for our art. Then again our oil paintings tend to be admired much more! 😅
Personally I've always adhered my linen or canvas(want to try muslin soon) to a rigid support makes for a more responsive stroke plus it never will lose its tension. I've heard polyester makes a good surface as well as nylon if you can find these fabrics in a strong enough weight, worth giving them a try.
Thanks Aimee, I just bought some muslin online to prepare for a class with you, but it seems to have no texture whatsoever and I really like the looks of the tactile texture of yours in this video. Do you have a recommendation or brand. (I just bought on Amazon). Brand? Link? Thank you!
Hi, Aimee. I really like the organic look of these muslin panels, but am wondering if you need to wash the unbleached muslin first, or do you use it straight from the bolt?
I have never washed it.
❤️
Could you do this on a panel that already had a bad painting on it?
I don’t think so
Do you feel the titebond is as archival as say, light gel medium?
Hi Paul. Ah, can't really claim expertise here but my understanding is that PVA is the archival choice.
It would have to be an archival PVA, not an acid one. Bookbinder PVA being the usual choice. None of the woodworking glues are archival. Really expensive glue, particularly for exercises, or artists who aren't collected today, and never will be. How long it takes for PVA to harm something is a different mater. And then the surface is suffused with Gesso, so whatever rot comes through, may not make it to the paint. Another pro I know also uses regular PVA with Muslin. He is not too fussed with the idea that people will be collecting his work in 100 years. And he said in his commercial video that if so, and the PVA is driving archivists to drink, that is a good problem to have. :)
So, on the one hand, if one is making panels for exercises, or one is not there yet. Probably no worry. If one sells for thousands, the cost of some decent glue is trivial.
Is this bleached or unbleached muslin Aimee?
Unbleached.