If you are looking for an archival alternative to the traditional painting surfaces, wood surfaces are the best next thing to try. Wood painting is best for rigid media and it works mostly against the other surfaces.
If you are a wood painting enthusiast and you are strapped on what brand of painting wood you should work on, here are the top best we have picked for you. You will not only enjoy working on them, but you will also be amazed by the sheer elegance and refinement they have to offer.
Blick Premier Wood Panels
Hardwood panels have been the best painting support since the 14th Century and Blick has taken this quality mantle to the next level with its Premier Wood Panel. With strength, stability, and perfect smoothness up its sleeves, you can never go wrong with this one. It is one of the best quality available in the market today at a very reasonable price.
This 4mm solid basswood surface is braced by a solid basswood cradle. Its fine, uniform characteristics make it the best among the best available in the market today. This wood for painting has proven stability over time and limited wood grain.
Each panel has been crafted precisely and meticulously sanded on all sides. All that remains for you to do is to prime it with whatever ground that appeals to your taste. These wood panels popularly support heavy paint applications and encaustics. This is because of their rigid nature and inability to bow.
Blick Premier Wood Panels are also great for mounting purposes. If you have photos, fabrics, papers, prints among other arts you want to mount on a stiff surface, this is your surface. While purchasing any wood panel, ensure that both sides have been primed for long-term stability.
Pros
- They are of great quality.
- They have great stability.
- They are very well done with a smooth surface.
- They are lightweight.
- They are stiff enough.
- They are ready to paint.
- They work as well with mixed media projects.
Cons
- The corners are not square.
- They are warped and don’t lay flat on the ground.
- They come in irregular sizes.
Ampersand Encausticbord
This masterpiece wood panel in a genius creation between Ampersand and R&F Encaustic. Each bord begins with a 1/8 Ampersand’s Hardboard which is the finest pressed wood panel available in the market today. It is made in the United States with the finest quality hardwoods available.
They feature a ready to use surface that meets the unique demands of encaustic painting and mixed media. Their acid-free nature is highly absorbent and holds tight to layers of wax and collage without cracking or separating. This wood panel works best with any combination of mediums to produce incredible textures, colors, and patterns.
Encausticbord is available in various sizes and profiles. They are designed to resist warping and moisture penetration. They are also made with the signature baltic birch cradles ready to paint, stained, or to be used in their natural state.
Pros
- No priming is necessary.
- The surface is smooth and absorbent.
- They are affordable.
- They are easy to work with.
- Their quality is superior.
- The construction is sturdy.
- They bond easily with wax.
- They hold up to heat and modeling.
Cons
- They have splinters.
- They chip on the corners.
- The delivery is not careful with the package.
America Easel Clear Gessoed Wood Panels
These Clear Gessoed Wood Panels are created to save you a lot of preparation time in the studio. They let you retain their natural beauty of wood ground background while working on them. These wood panels have been expertly primed with the clear ground which offers superior paint adhesion.
They are finely crafted with 1/8″ thick Baltic birch face. Its solid poplar cradle is smoothly sanded to lend stability to the face. It also ensures against warping, stretching, and flexing. Its profile is impressive and does not require framing for an elegant presentation.
Both the cradle and the face are primed making painting around the edges very possible. They virtually accept any medium and are ideal for showcasing finely detailed brushwork. These awesome wood panels are proudly manufactured in the United States.
Pros
- They are primed.
- They are smoothly sanded.
- They do not warp, stretch, or flex.
- It does not require framing.
- The accept any medium.
- Let you retain their natural beauty.
- It saves a lot of prep time.
- They offer stability.
Cons
- They are expensive.
Baltic Birch Panel
This wood panel is very popular among wood painting artists. They offer a very firm smooth surface to work on. Baltic Birch Panel comes in neutral colors, their surface is very strong, and they are very affordable and pocket friendly.
Their very smooth expertly sanded surface and edges make these wood panels ideal for detailed work and projects. These wood panels work with various mediums such as oil, acrylic, and encaustic paints. These wood panels are also great for mounting purposes. Prints, canvases, collages, and other mixed media artworks just work as excellent in them.
Baltic Birch Panels come in various popular sizes including square sizes. They also come in convenient packs of five panels each panel measuring 1/8”, 3-millimeter thickness.
Pros
- It is very popular.
- They have a firm smooth surface.
- They have neutral colors.
- Their surface is strong.
- They are pocket friendly.
- They are ideal for detailed work projects.
- They work with various mediums.
- They are good for mounting.
- They come in popular sizes.
Cons
- They are not ready to use; you need to prepare them.
- The sanding is not great.
- The sizing is irregular.
Pebeo Liquid Art Panels
This wood painting panel is designed to contain liquid art materials such as fluid acrylics, glazing liquids, gels, grout, encaustics among many others. These wood panels are surrounded by wood frames with 3mm raised lips.
Pebeo Liquid Art Panels are ideal for specialty paints such as Pebeo Fantasy Moon, Fantasy Prisme as well as Pebeo Gedeo Resins. For maximum archival stability, Pebeo Liquid Art Panels are primed with non-toxic, acid-free white gesso. These panels are bought ready to hang.
Pros
- They are acid-free.
- They are primed.
- They are non-toxic.
- They are bought ready to hang.
- It has great control of liquid.
- The wax does not run off the sides.
Cons
- Boards on the side pull apart.
- They are expensive.
Midwest Studio Birch Artist Panels
These wood painting panels are excellent for watercolors, oil paints, charcoal, acrylics, colored pencils among others. They are superior in quality and versatile in a way that they make the colors pop brightly out of them.
Natural patterns to build on are possible through their smooth surface and wood grain. These high-density panels are cross laminated to prevent warping. Birch Artist Panels are cradled and easy to frame. It is your choice to leave them unprimed or prime them before painting.
Pros
- They work with several mediums.
- They are superior in quality.
- They come with natural patterns.
- They have a very smooth surface.
- They are of high density.
- They are cross-laminated.
- They do not warp.
- They are easy to frame.
Cons
- They are unprimed.
- They are plain.
- The edges can be dangerous because they are not framed.
- They are not lightweight.
What to Consider When Choosing Wood for Painting
Painted wood surface projects elegance and refinement. It is important to first decide on the kind of wood you want to use for painting. Knowing which ones are best for a painted finish is a great way to start making your pick.
You should avoid oak and plywood at all costs while making your choices. This is because no primer or paint will fill the pores in these wood panels unless you fancy a rustic finish.
Some woods for painting are not flexible and they can easily warp. Look for something rigid and does not require any external support. Warping and bending can cause you painting and art to crack and be inconsistent.
If you choose to go for unfinished solid wood, they may contract or expand when humidity or temperature changes and that is not a good thing. On such surfaces, priming is highly recommended. Acrylic gesso can do the job for you perfectly well saving you both time and money.
If you want something stable that can resist cracking over time, you should choose hardboard panels that are made from hardwood. Some of these hardwood panels include basswood and birch.
In Conclusion
It has been said time and again that cheap is expensive, that is not entirely true. Not everything labeled with a high price tag is of superior quality. Most of the best wood for painting panels comes at affordable prices and their quality will blow you away.
Most of them will even come with extra benefits that the expensive ones don’t offer. Such benefits include ready to hang, framed, primed, and patterned surface. Some however will give you priming options depending on the art you want to produce.