Tuesday, June 23, 2009

painting in progress


painting in progress
Originally uploaded by paperwerks
this is the beginning of a large (2' x 4') mixed media piece that i am doing on plywood. if anyone has any experience working on plywood, please share them with me! i'm not sure where this is going as a painting, but i know it is going to hang outside for the summer. my experiment in weathering, as it were:)

9 comments:

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

A very interesting experiment, I shall pop back and see how it's going ...

Anonymous said...

thanks for popping by, I am loving your work and can't wait to see how this piece progresses

Michael Bailey said...

My experience with plywood comes from my woodworking habit...It will, and can, delaminate easily when exposed to moisture unless you have sealed it with a wateproof agent. In the case of woodworking spar varnish or polyurethane will waterproof it but that is not a good substrate for painting on. For what you are doing, I would suppose you are using acrylic paint for the image, I would seal the back side and edges with acrylic matte medium. If you haven't done anything to the back yet at all this is important for two reasons, protecting from moisture, and preventing the plywood from bowing because it only has had a liquid applied to one side and needs both sides covered to equalize the expansion of the wood. If you have it covered already with something waterproof then you're good to go. Using the acrylic (paints and medium) also give you a more permanent and non-yellowing surface to work but your painting surface needs still to be sealed at some point as the plywood does still have tanins which are naturally occuring in wood and are acidic. Unless you are looking for extreme weathering occuring to the wood, I would do this first before hanging outdoors.

Kim Printz said...

thanks to all of you for your comments. michael, one of my artist friends who is MUCH more experienced than i, actually made a face at me when i told him i had painted on plywood:) i instinctively knew this wasn't going to be for a gallery if i worked on plywood, but i didn't realize just how unstable it was until you and the other michael let me know. i love things that age, but maybe not totally fall apart! thanks for the advice. i will definitly do that. right now it's still in my house while i decide what do to with it. i'm glad i ran across you. i can tell i can learn a lot from you.

Lisa Carney (Asil) said...

Hi, Thanks for your comment on my collage: Destin Nocturne

I love this piece and find it interesting because I have painted on plywood recently. I have painted on massonite and mdf in the past but not on plywood. My only regret is the weight of the piece. It is huge and it is framed in a recycled ornate frame. Which only makes heavier!

TopCat Design said...

Yes, I to have created art on plywood, however, it was something I did for inside the house. I created a wooden frame around it, which as someone else said made it very heavy, I had to screw it to the wall.
I also create my business sign out of marine plywood, which is "supposed" to be treated for outside use. I primed it, painted it, and urethaned it. It has been installed outside for at lease 4 years now, it's weathering fairly well, but see layers of plywood now really starting to buckle. That's my experience, hope that helps.

Kim said...

glad to find you and your community. thank you. you might be interested in marti somers work. my husband and i commissed a painting from her for our wedding registry and it's definitely on wood and maybe even plywood. http://www.martisomers.com/

great painting and also love your collage: break up is a favorite. do you ever do bigger pieces?

Laura said...

I love this piece! When I used to paint a lot on wood I went to a kitchen cabinet maker who gave me his unused pieces of wood. They were a little more stable than plywood--really good wood actually, but he couldn't use it. I'd give the painting side a good undercoat of paint and then could paint anything on top of it.

Kim Printz said...

here is sort of an update -- i probably won't use plywood again. partly because of the weight, like lisa (asil) sail. i have some maple art boards that i bought from a guy on ebay that i love, so working on wood is something i will continue.

to answer the size question -- my work ranges from 1 inch to 3 x 4 ft or larger. i love working big, but it's a challenge in my small space. one of my advisor gurus suggested i stick to the 8 x 10 format. he liked the consistency of my work in that size.

thanks to everyone for your comments and help. i've really enjoyed this experimentation process and the feedback i've gotten. now i'm off to check out martisomer's work! thanks for the info.