I usually paint with acrylic on canvas. Can you advise on approach to painting on clayboard?

Question

I frequently use acrylics as water media, too. Should I approach clayboard any differently? Also, what should I do in order to display it? (framing, hanging, etc.)

Answer 1

Painting acrylic in watercolour style on Clayboard wouldn't need any special preparation, but be prepared for some surprises - the clay won't absorb paint very well, but a thin layer would hang on long enough to be considered "permanent". You'd get some interesting effects, similar to painting on Yupo paper.

I would strongly advise a final varnish, but please select a good non-yellowing varnish because I've seen some spray varns go yellow on clayboard (no one knows why...) After varnishing you could hang it without glass, but realistically the delicate surface shouldn't be exposed like that... far too easy to scrape.

Behind glass would be the safest place for it, either behind a mat or with a spacer between the glass & the image.

If you decide to paint traditional style with acrylics, I wouldn't recommend clayboard - you may as well use masonite at half the price.

Acrylic inks looks awesome on clayboard, they seem to stick better. But I've only seen it used as accent colour, not covering the entire board. I'm just not personally convinced about the longevity of acrylics on a relatively non-porous surface.

Answer 2

this link... http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205926 offers a wonderful discussion on clayboard techniques...