True Gesso Panels by ARPI 

Custom Panels
  • We produce hand-made gessoed panels for use by egg-tempera and oil painters. We maintain an inventory of standard sizes and we schedule production of custom sizes weekly. Most of our work is done on hardboard with oak bracing when necessary. Please see below for technical detail on our custom work.

    Order Samples at this link.

    Please refer to our Panel Pricing schedule for prices.
  • We also offer plain, ungessoed hardboard panels cut to dimension. We trim them to size, check them for a perfect surface and chamfer the edges. We can also brace them as needed. We offer this service since it is often impossible to identify and purchase true artist's grade hardboard locally. Most hardboard ("masonite") available is not suitable for serious artist's work. We have one of the few that is, plus you can purchase it in the precise amounts you need. Please follow this link to our materials page for full information on cut-to-size, plain hardboard panels.

    For much more on the subject of artist-quality hardboard, follow this link to our published     research articles.

    Please refer to our Hardboard Pricing schedule for prices on plain panels.

The Hardboard Support

We make our gessoed panels using the best premium grade of 1/4" untempered hardboard as a substrate. Hardboard is inexpensive, light-weight in easel-painting sizes and it lends itself to the smooth surfaces preferred for detailed work. It is rigid and stable enough for true gesso, which is too brittle for paper or canvas, while it has none of the defects of solid wood.

Researchers and conservators have always recommended the untempered form of hardboard for artist use. 'Tempered' board has been treated by the manufacturer with linseed or tung oils or waxes or resins which make the board water-resistant. Drying oils like linseed will tend to embrittle the surface fibers, just as it will with paper or linen. Other adulterants will make the adhesion of the gesso suspect. For these reasons, untempered board is recommended as more archival.

The problem with hardboard is it is an industrial product coming in many types and brands, most of which are not artist-quality material. Though hardboards look similar, they vary in relative quality as an archival painting support. It is very difficult to determine, in a typical lumberyard setting, whether the hardboard on offer is a reliable product. Yet for the painting to physically last it must be painted on the right board.

Prior to starting this company we made an exhaustive survey into the hardboard industry, its current range of product and the art-conservation issues in question. This resulted in a research article published in the Newsletter for the Society of Tempera Painters and available for you to read at this link.

We found only two boards stand scrutiny as an artist's material; Louisiana-Pacific Premium Untempered and Masonite Standard Duron. Because of fierce off-shore price competition, both boards tend to be specialty products for critical uses such as signage, furniture, painted products, electronics and more. They are more expensive than run-of-the-mill retail hardboards and much harder to find. We bring in the Louisiana-Pacific product which we find has slightly better working qualities for our use.

Starting with this highest-quality board, we check for a perfect surface, trim to size, chamfer all the edges, round the corners for strength, lightly abrade the surface for maximum 'grab' and brace as necessary. Our basic panel is gessoed on one side only. We size the other side with rabbitskin glue in a carefully calibrated proprietary method that ensures equal tension front and back. This approach yields the best combination of stability and labor economy. Alternatively, we can gesso both panel faces for those who prefer this at extra cost.

Bracing

Panels may need to be braced against bowing. We only use hardboard which is surfaced identically on both sides (as opposed to having a screen-pattern back). We size both surfaces to maintain neutral tension on both faces. We use only the densest 1/4" hardboard for rigidity and stability. Still, bowing or warping can happen for a variety of reasons.

Bowing can result from a panel receiving humidity unequally, so that the fibers of one face swell more relative to the other. This might result from laying flat on a table during a weather change, or from being hung on an exterior wall that sees humidity or temperature fluctuation. To some extent this is normal. Or a panel can take a warp from various storage conditions. Warp can often be rectified by allowing air to circulate freely around the panel or by gently pressing it under weight for a period of time. If it is properly made the panel will want to resume its original flatness unless it has been warped for an extended period.

If a small to medium-sized panel is to be framed in a sturdy frame one may confidently leave the panel unbraced. One might brace a panel in sizes of 16" x 20" and above, or of course any size panel may be braced for extra insurance against bowing. We use oak for its strength and stability at moderate cost and because smaller-dimension stock is effective. We use a heat-set glue so the braces can be removed more easily if necessary. We run the grain lengthwise for rigidity. We will typically use 1/2" x 3/4" stock, making a panel that is nearly 1" deep, but these aspects may be specified.

The Gesso

Our gesso recipe is the result of extended experimentation. We use a high grade of ground limestone screened to a uniform particle size and tested for purity. Our pigment measures 2.4 microns average (quite fine) and tests as 98.6% pure calcium carbonate. It is a type preferred by gilders in the U.S. and France. We do not blend titanium white with it as this is not a traditional practice. For a slightly brighter white, we will do this upon request.

We blend our pigment with pure rabbit collagen glue, not the mixture of various hide glues which are often sold generically as "rabbitskin" or "rabbit-hide." Our glue comes from the manufacturer rated consistently at 450-gram strength each time. This allows us total confidence that our gesso makes up with the same qualities of adhesion and flexibility each time, year-in and year-out.

Along with the filtered water that the glue is dissolved in, these are the only ingredients of our gesso; we use no oils, alcohols, water-tension-breakers or foam inhibitors. We achieve a very smooth surface without slickness and good absorbency without chalkiness. A gesso Cennini would have approved of.

Egg-tempera artists may use the gessoed panel with no further preparation. For oil painters, the surface should first be sized. This is so the oil film is not weakened by the absorbency of the ground. The choice of sizing may be left up to the artist and depends somewhat on technique. Ralph Mayer suggests gelatin or weak rabbitskin glue, dilute shellac or dilute damar varnish. We can add that modern fixatives also work well, go on smoothly with little color and are easy to apply. Whatever method used, the coating should not be heavy or yield a glassy surface.

Our Standard Panel

Our Standard panel is primed with four thin layers on the front. This results in a priming layer thick enough to be strong and thin enough to be flexible. It is somewhat thinner than some people will achieve with standard gessoing techniques. While this is generally good for resisting cracking, an individual may specify a double layer if his or her technique calls for enough sponging or sanding to break through our standard thickness.

Our Standard panel is primed white on one side only. The back is sized with rabbitskin glue in a process we have developed which perfectly equalizes the surface tension of the front. It is well-known that the panel should be treated on both sides to prevent warping. Most people do this by gessoing both sides. In developing our panel, we found that the glue contributed the surface tension, not the pigment. We size the back with a carefully calibrated glue recipe to achieve the same result. This approach helps us offer our Standard panels at a very economical price. Nevertheless, we are happy to gesso the backs for those who so wish, at additional cost.

We welcome custom requests. The typical egg-tempera artist has developed his or her technique around a studio-prepared panel. If necessary, we can adjust our Standard panel to suit your technique in many ways. Just ask.
 

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