Painting in different art colors can be on various painting substrates, for example wood, stone, canvas, cardboard, different types of paper and more. Not every substrate is suitable for every type of paint - you must know and consider the features of the color in which you intend to paint, adapt a suitable painting substrate and make the necessary preparations if any.
Main painting substrates
Canvas fabrics
Canvas fabric is made of cotton or linen and is woven in a simple way of double and double. Canvas fabrics are the popular substrate for professional painting. Before painting with oil paints on canvas, it is customary to cover the canvas with gesso, which prevents the paint from seeping into the fibers of the canvas. Canvas for painting comes in different forms; Rolled up for free use, stretched on a wooden frame, flat on a carriage and as 'papers' in a drawing pad. The lower the weight of the canvas, the better quality it is for painting. Canvas fabrics are suitable for painting In oil paints, Acrylic, Gouache and also Watercolor.
Drawing paper
The most common and available painting substrates are different types of paper. There is a very wide variety of paper for drawing and painting. They differ in size, weight, raw material from which they are made, in their texture and roughness. Almost all types of paper are suitable for painting and drawing in dry media such as pencils, charcoal, ink, markers, oil pastels and soft pastels. To make paper suitable for painting in wet media like Gouache, Watercolor And acrylic It should be thick paper starting at 200 grams and have a permeable non-permeable absorber. Such paper is usually called watercolor / watercolor paper and is suitable for painting in all water-based paints. Thick sanded paper (smeared with a substance that prevents water or oil from penetrating) is suitable for painting In oil paints.
Simple paper Consists of wood chips, water, starch / resin (which adhere to the wood fibers and bond between them), with optical brightness additives for white paper, or with the addition of color pigments to colored paper. Simple paper suitable for sketches and quick drawings in pencils, pens, markers, pastel oil paints and more. This paper is not suitable for painting in wet colors.
Chromo paper It is a simple paper that has undergone further processing such as kaolin coating and polishing and has a smooth and glossy texture. This paper is used for printing color images. Because it is smooth and polished, less suitable for drawing in pencils, charcoal and pastel, but can be suitable for painting with markers and ink.
Bristol board Is uncoated paper with a machine finish. Bristol paper is smooth and suitable for drawing with pencils, pens and drawing with markers. It can also be used for painting in gouache.
Wood-free paper Is a paper in which the lignin in the wood pulp is broken down by reaction with chlorine dioxide, leaving only cellulose fibers. There are also papers made from cotton fibers, linen fibers, or the aspartame plant. Wood-free paper is paper that does not yellow over time.
Fine paper Consists of wood chips boiled in a mixture of chemicals, which break down the various wood components and leave only the cellulose. Fine paper for painting is divided into different types of paper:
- Paper with a fine grained finish, without wood fibers, without acid, suitable for use with Efron, Ink, coal And soft pastel.
- Cold pressed paper, without acid, without optical brightness additives, against mold and stains, washable with a brush, suitable for use with Watercolor paints And gouache paints. Such a paper weighing 300-400 grams is absorbent and flexible, suitable for use with Acrylic.
- Paper with a canvas deficit, without acid, without optical brightness additives, with the ability to absorb water, bonding and oil evenly, weighing about 300 grams, suitable for use with oil colors And oil pastel.
