making panels

For the past few days I've been preparing panels for more little oil studies. These 8x10 inch wood pieces are first painted on the backside with black acrylic. Next, I turn them right side up for two coats of white gesso applied with a sponge roller. When they are dry, for the final coat of gesso I mix in acrylic paint colors to make sure I cover the entire area instead of painting white on white. I use a brush instead of a roller for this final layer. After they dry, I'll sand them lightly.

When I worked in colored pencil, there was the preparation of transferring a line drawing to my paper, usually using the illumination method (window or lightbox). For pastel, there was joy in just walking up to the paper with pastel in hand and making marks - no guidelines. Now, for these little oils, I am going through the whole process of making the ground and I am finding it to be a mental as well as physical preparation for the work to come. I don't think I'll be making my own pigments - but you never know...