Airbrush Painting on Gessobord

ARTtalk

The airbrush artist is always searching for the ideal surface on which to paint. Depending on the size of the painting, Ampersand’s Gessobord is one of the ideal surfaces on which to airbrush (maximum size available is 24″ x 36″). Manufactured by the same company that gave you Claybord, Gessobord is comprised of a tempered hard board that is coated with high-quality gesso.

The hard board is unique; rather than being impregnated with the thick tempering oils normally used in hard board manufacturing, Gessobord contains a plant resin. The hard board is sealed with two applications of acrylic emulsion, coated with gesso, and then sanded to an even surface with a light tooth that is suitable for all types of painting techniques. Gessobord is durable and long lasting and, because of the plant resin, it eliminates the leaching and adhesive problems associated with traditional tempered hard board such as Masonite.

Although Gessobord is ready to use, some artists may elect to re-gesso the surface for their own particular purpose–high impasto, eggshell smoothness, etc. Unlike brush painting, the airbrush artist must work on a surface that is durable enough to hold up to repeated masking with self-adhering stencil materials such as frisket film and drafting or masking tape. When the masking material is removed from the surface, you don’t want the adhesion to lift or pick the surface as is common when working on paper.

Unlike paper, Gessobord does not buckle with the application of wet paint. It will not tear or crease, although–as durable as it is–you would not want to drop it and damage an edge or corner. Gessobord has a neutral pH and will not yellow and gives extremely good adhesion for paint applications with acrylics, oils, and tempera or casein artist colors. The surface can be worked back into (scumbling), scratched through (scratchboard) and erased without damage.

A finished painting on Gessobord can be varnished or clear-coated for both oils and acrylics. And the end product is easy to frame, since it is available in several standard sizes. If collage is incorporated into the artwork, the board surface is receptive to gluing. Gessobord is easy to store because it is thin and flat, which also makes it convenient to ship artwork.

See your retailer and try airbrushing on Ampersand Gessobord. You’ll find it to be a suitable and reliable surface for airbrush painting. Visit www.ampersandart.com for more information.