working at home for a while now.

[duccio]

I'm making some panels for two of my painter customers. See, there are several almost finished ones leaning against the dresser. Look at all my pony clamps. On top of that dresser are my big wooden screw clamps. I put so many of the clamps around the edge to hold the glue to dry. They're so close together so that the wood doesn't dimple along the edge like a pie crust. The moisture in the glue makes the wood expand, so it has to be held all along the length.

Later on, I make ribs to go across the back of the panel to keep it flat. The sides and ribs are called the panel's "cradling". The thin panels are like big membranes and expand and contract with changes in the weather. The ribs prevent this to a great extent and keep the panels flat. Here are calculations for how far apart to put the ribs for the differing sized panels I am making. I have a certain range (about 12" is ideal) that I use so they are not too far apart, or too close together. The rectangles drawn at the top of the paper are a cutting schedule for the sizes I have to make - for cutting out of the plywood sheets. I use that small hand saw for this as the table saw is too rough and tears out splinters of the veneer all along the edge on the crosscuts.

I'm very good with woodworking hand tools. I learned lots of things from experience, and studying antiques in some of the French stores here in San Francisco. Before power tools, the woodworkers left a record of how to do everything in the fabric of the things they made. All one has to do is look closely and thoughtfully, and then try and imitate. This is almost absolutely fascinating, huh.

Comments

[duccio]

The thin wood is mahogany 1/8" plywood and the sides (cradling) are 1x2" fir. The fir strips go around the edges and across the back as ribs to keep the panel flat and stable. On the front, the artists paint pictures. Sometimes they mount photos on the panels or print silkscreen images onto them. They do whatever they like. Sometimes they join two or three or more panels together to make multi-panel compositions. Some artists like thicker panels and so for the sides of those I use pine because I can get those boards and cut them on the table saw to the desired thickness, and the pine is a little lighter in weight than the fir. The standard ones I make though, all the materials are "off the shelf" at the lumber yard.

I have made them with rounded tops and other shapes, some that the front even bends or curves, but those are kind of rare things. I was thinking of making a few for myself that have the two sides and the bottom straight like a wide rectangle, but a low arc on the top side - like some Rembrandt drawings, just to try them out and see what happens. Small ones, foot and a half wide or so.

Anyway, that's what the artists use them for. Many artists are tired of working on canvas and don't like the canvas texture. With wood panels they don't have to deal with that. The panels are for small to medium sized pictures. After 6 feet or so, they get flimsy, or if made more strongly, are too heavy to move. Larger sizes should be done on stretched canvas. Did I answer your questions OK? Fire away if you have more. This art stuff is what I do.

[shinsetsu]

That was a great explanation! Thank you. :)

How do you feel the paint or image fares on wood for the long haul? And would the particular wood you used affect the longesvity? If you wanted to paint something that would be the longest lasting and the truest of all to your original art image, what would you use?

[duccio]

The oldest surviving paintings in the world are the cave paintings in Lascaux and then the tomb paintings in Egypt, but these are very fragile, almost like pastel paintings and only survived because they were away from people for thousands of years. I suppose the most durable paintings after those are true fresco paintings. Some have survived very well since Greek and Roman times. There are many from the Renaissance that are in almost new condition if the buildings have been maintained and protected from water damage and soot from candles. Maybe the most durable might be ceramic painting. Ancient vases from the Greeks and other cultures probably will last forever if somebody doesn't break the vessels, but even then, they can be glued back together and the paintings enjoyed indefinitely.

Now days, oil paintings and tempera paintings seem to last pretty well, but show deterioration, fading, and abrasion, probably mostly because they are made mostly with organic materials. The pigments are hurt by ultra violet light and air pollution, not to mention accidents, insects, mildew and overzealous restorers. Canvas can tear easily, while wood can warp and crack or get attacked by molds or insects. Fire and war losses are likely over the very long term. Maybe acrylic paintings will prove to be more durable than oils and tempera. Time will tell.

I think maybe canvas has the best chance of survival, because it can be rolled up and hidden away. Probably acrylic paints are beter than oils for longevity because they are flexible plastic, while oil gets more and more brittle over the centuries... but maybe acrylic will too. We don't know yet. I think I like painting on the panels I make with acrylic best, maybe with oils too. I haven't used oil for a long time. Large paintings like bigger than 4x5' I probably would prefer canvas.