Why I love using wooden artist panels for my acrylic paintings

‘Introvert’ was painted on a wooden artist panel

I am always looking for the best surfaces to paint on. When it comes to acrylic paints, I have found that wooden artist panels are my favourite. There are several reasons why I love using wooden artist panels for my acrylic paintings.

Wooden artist panels are durable and long-lasting. Acrylic paints are known for their ability to retain their colour and vibrancy over time, and painting on a wooden panel allows me to take advantage of this characteristic.

It is important to me that my artwork will stand the test of time. Further, if people are willing to invest their hard earned money in my paintings, I want them to be able to enjoy it for years to come.

Since wooden panels provide a strong and stable surface to paint on, with little to no flex, there is reduced potential for acrylic paint to crack. In contrast, fabric surfaces like canvas and linen, may deform a little no matter how tightly they are stretched. The stretch may also slacken slightly over time. This provides the opportunity for paint to crack.

Ultimately, a happy collector is one that may come back and purchase more work. Therefore it is extremely important that my work does not crack, discolour or fade over time to ensure satisfied customers.

The only drawbacks I have found using wooden artist panels is that the resulting artwork, when framed, can be quite heavy. Depending on where and how you plan to display your work this could be an issue. It means that it is impossible to use stick on wall hooks and rather needs a proper hook or picture rail to ensure your masterpiece doesn’t come crashing to the ground.

Similarly, a wooden panel is much more difficult to ship. It is much less flexible than the stretched canvas or linen alternative. A stretched canvas can be taken off the stretcher bars, rolled up and posted in a tube if necessary. This will vastly reduce the cost of posting your precious painting to an interstate or international collector. However, if you are selling your artwork already framed, this will be less of an issue. The additional weight of the panel may still increase the cost of postage though.

In conclusion, wooden artist panels are a great choice for acrylic painting due to their durability and ability to retain the vibrancy of the paint over time. They provide a stable surface with little to no flex, reducing the potential for paint to crack. The only drawbacks to using wooden panels are their weight and difficulty in shipping. However, these drawbacks may not be an issue depending on how the artwork will be displayed and sold.