A new painting has a lot of initial steps before painting can begin. In the case of a still life, I determine the setup, explore the composition with sketches, and a make a careful line drawing. When making a line drawing, I need two or three sessions to detect all my mistakes and correct them. Then comes the transfer, a necessary evil. 

It's necessary because drawing directly on the panel doesn't work well. So I draw on paper. During the transfer, the proportions of the drawing remain intact, but the grace and feeling are lost. Having invested all that time in the drawing, I hate to lose any of it. I have the option, if I've transferred my drawing with graphite, of working on the transferred drawing to improve it. On the other hand, a graphite transfer is usually completed with ink. Erasing graphite under dried ink leaves smudges on the panel, which I dislike on principle. Inking the drawing leaves heavy ink lines. For an opaque painting, that's no problem. 

As I develop my skills, I'm going to want the option of making parts of my underpainting visible in the final painting. That's a good reason to explore other kinds of transfers that don't leave ink lines or smudged graphite behind.

One way I study drawing and painting outside the classroom is to read artists' blogs and watch their demonstration videos. A few months ago I watched a video demonstrating an oil transfer, made by Tacoma artist David Gray. I liked the idea of an oil transfer because the medium on the panel, from the transfer to the final layer, is oil paint -- nothing else. I decided to give it a try.

A few of my painting classmates transferred their drawings to their panels using graphite. Graphite is also a good choice because it's a dry medium, and after the drawing is transferred, it can be refined on the panel. This is a definite advantage. 

Two things are true about artists: (A) they love to talk about materials, and (B) most need to save money. 

So when recent graduate Tenold Sundberg visited the Aristides Atelier last week to talk about his experiences in the real world, the conversation took a brief turn toward materials and expenses. Tenold showed a few paintings that he'd made on "door skin," or thin plywood, and he answered questions. He said the plywood was an effort to save money. Paintings on wood panels also last longer than paintings on stretched canvas.

Coincidentally, in another class I was just starting work on a still-life painting that has a long, horizontal composition. After discussing plywood with my instructor, and getting the green light, I went to a lumber yard Tenold recommended and bought a piece of plywood. Normally I would buy panels at the art-supply store, because they're thin, lightweight, archival, and ready to use. They're more than twice the price of good plywood, however, and only come in standard sizes. For my new painting, I needed a panel that was 9 inches by 18 inches. My instructor, John Rizzotto -- another atelier graduate -- wouldn't allow me to squeeze my composition onto a standard panel. (It's good advice, and one of the many reasons I attend school rather than figuring things out on my own. Just to clarify, I'm not an atelier student; I was there for a workshop. I take classes at Gage Academy of Art.)

I got the plywood home, sanded the edges, and coated it with acrylic gesso on all six sides. After it dried, I sanded the layer of gesso and added another coat. After that dried, I sanded it again.  My studio now features a thin film of gesso dust. Oy vey!

I'm glad to know that I can save money and use better materials to make paintings in any shape I need. On the other hand, preparing my own panel was a lot of work, and it made a mess. So, I'll continue to use plywood for paintings in custom shapes, but for standard shapes, I'll probably stick with store-bought panels. 

I finished a drawing workshop yesterday with the full-time classical students at my school. The instructor was David Dwyer, teaching assistant in the Aristides Atelier at Gage Academy of Art. I enjoyed the workshop so much I spent about 10 hours there each day, trying to make the most of my time. Below is a slideshow of images from the week.