I hate painting on dry canvas, so I thought I'd give the gessoed hard board a chance again. This was a brand new Richeson board (yes, I bought it from you, Brian!). While I like painting on a very smooth a slick surface without any medium, I can't for the life of me get the paint to hide brush strokes like I can with canvas. I'm not sure if it will show on this in-progress painting, but every brush stroke shows.
I'm using good paint. Well decent paint, Bob Ross and Richeson. I'm using good brushes. And allegedly good hard board.
Any ideas?
I love it so far.
Ha ha! Of course you bought it from me. Who wouldn't? Oh, I know who! lol. Just kidding, of course.
Gessoed hardboards are certainly one of personal preference. They are the standard for plein air paintings and most portrait artists, but they may not be for everyone. For example, on some Bob Ross Paintings I actually prefer a hardboard with an additional canvas glued to the top - a canvas board. Same thing when I am doing paintings from some other artists that don't embrace boards. So for me to advise to to stick solely with a board when you aren't loving it would not be doing what is best for you. I don't always stick to a plain gessoed board. But I can safely say I never, with super limited exceptions, paint on a traditional stretched canvas. It's not because stretched canvas sucks. It's because I transport a lot of paintings to shows and canvas is just so easily damaged.
So, to your specific question, there are two points here for you to consider. 1. You are using more paint than is needed for the board? Perhaps. You definitely only need 1/10th of the paint for a gessoed board than a canvas, since all the paint sits on the surface instead of having to fill the cotton weaving in a stretch canvas (also applies to canvas boards).
2. Buyers actually love the painterly textured look of brush strokes. Karen is a master at big, bold brush strokes full of paint applied on a board. Lots of texture and lots of paint pushing of the surface. This painting is an excellent example of how it could work really well:
I have a painting that I like, also, with massive texture because of the board:
So, the texture is also a personal preference thing. Normally, I use such a thin paint film on board that I get limited brush stroke marks, like in this example. It's smoothe.:
Believe it or not I'm attempting to get MORE brush strokes when I use the board, and plein air painting is helping me with that, but I'm digressing. Both Karen and I can show you pretty easily next time you are here how to get rid of unwanted brush strokes on the boards. It's actually pretty simple, but maybe a bit time consuming. Admittedly it can be more work.
Eventually I'll convince you to embrace the brush marks as I'm attempting to do. Ha ha! In the meantime, if you really need those strokes knocked down right now then apply the blue shop paper towel method that is so popular with Kevin Hill. It will knock down the ridges of paint. That will maybe tide you over until Karen or I can show you a way to apply the paint that is to your liking. But that is not the best solution. Just for tonight since we aren't with you! Man, I'm rambling. This is such a complicated and great post. It could be it's own video or book! Too much to write about this topic. Great post, Jeff! Hopefully others will chime in with their philosophy and techniques! p.s. I have a painting I'm working on right now as I write this post back to you that the brush strokes on a board in the night sky are driving me insane because, depending on how the light hits it, looks awesome or horrible. I'll snap a photo of it and post in the comments below my post. So it even effects some of us who have been painting a bit longer. These are definitely unwanted marks that I'm seeing! FYI, great sun in your painting! Not the darned circles like Bob Ross's. That's a genuine sun!
Also love the brush holders and that easel looks familiar and comforting - like an old friend.
Hey Jeff! The boards definitely take some getting used to! When you switch to them from canvas it is almost like learning to paint again, the change is so drastic. So I would encourage you to keep trying if you like the idea of the board. Personally, I LOVE them. One of the greatest differences that I find is that if you do not want brush strokes, then you should be using only a fraction of the paint you would on a canvas... However, the only time I actually DON'T want brushstrokes is if I am doing a background and want it to look super soft and out of focus. In that case, if you use much less paint and then use a soft blender brush with a light touch all over it, then you should be able to blend it down to a soft, suede-like finish without any brush strokes at all. Might just take some practice!