First Experiences with Ampersand Claybord

When using oil paint, I prefer to paint on panel. My friend Candice Eira Hoffman Cramer, who is an amazing artist, taught me how to build birch panels when we were in college together and it has remained my favorite surface. Using gouache on paper has been great, but I adore the sturdy feel of painting on panel. You don’t have to worry about warping or taping down the paper to realize later you didn’t get quite a right angle. In researching using gouache on non-paper surfaces, I found Ampersand’s Claybord and new I had to give it a whirl.

January 11, 2016  4"x6" on Watercolor Paper

Palette: Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna + W

My order for Claybord came in on Tuesday, when I had my second still life of a mochapot set up and I almost skipped a meeting for work so that I could paint right away!

January 12, 2016 4"x4" on Claybord

Palette:Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Peacock Blue, B+W

The experience of painting on Claybord is different from paper in a few ways. Claybord is an absorbent surface, but absorbs in a different manner to paper. While painting gouache on paper makes it easy to create a flat color washes, painting on Claybord shows each brushstroke much more clearly. The inside of the brushstroke seeps into the surface, while the edges remain raised.

Another difference is the way that the gouache reacts to additional layers. On paper, it is fairly easy to control how the color I am laying down mixes with the color on the sheet. On Claybord, trying the same technique kept causing me to pick up sections of the paint. It reminds me of when you are using a dry erase marker and trying to fill in a space only to keep erasing sections instead.

January 13, 2016 4"x4" on Claybord

Palette: Juane Brilliant No. 2, Carmine, Peacock Blue, Permanent Yellow, B+W

Painting available at Daily Paint Works

Nonetheless, the surface of the Claybord is beautiful and finding out how to paint on them feels like a delightful compulsion. I purchased a four pack of 4”x4”s and a three pack of 6”x8”s and plan to use them before I decide how I feel about continuing to use them long term. I also plan to try out Ampersand’s Aquabord to see how it compares.