Because these paintings needn’t be removed from the panels I’ve poured gesso over the canvas to a depth of about an eighth of an inch, squeegee-ing it with a piece of left-over masonite to smooth it out. Later I’ll get Joe to sand this down thoroughly to a really nice smooth surface that will be a delight to paint on. I shot the photo using a raking light over the surface to show the thickness of the gesso, so the texture is a little exaggerated.
I’m really looking forward to painting on this, because it’s been a very long time since I was able to do it. The painting experience is even more delightful; the panel surface becomes like glass, and the brush glides over it. The reason I do this is because I dislike the bounce of canvas, preferring wood as a substrate, but I worry about wood because it cracks and warps when the weather changes.
