Tips for Painting and Drawing on Wood Placques

Although most artists use regular drawing paper and linen canvas for drawing, as well as painting in acrylics and oils, I've found wood to be an even better surface for my artwork. Painting on wood is not a new technique, but dates back centuries, the most popular form, being "panel painting."

Not only can you paint of wood, but it's also suitable for pencil, pen and ink, as well as color pencil drawing.

Before beginning a drawing or painting, be sure that your wood is smooth and free of nicks and imperfections. First, sand it down until it's smooth. However, if you buy your wood plaques from most arts and craft stores, it's already prepared for drawing and/or painting.

Pencil drawing----You can find wood plaques at most arts and crafts stores such as Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and A.C. Moore. Wal-Mart also carries wood in shapes of circles, rectangles, and squares. Plan your drawing, and then lightly pencil in your drawing. I prefer to first outline my designs in a mechanical pencil (which works better as the lines are easier to erase and you don't have smudges. When you're satisfied with your basic drawing, do your shading and other pencil techniques.

Once you're finished with your design, spray it with spray fixative. You can also used mixed media such as watercolor, colored pencil or pastels to add color. Just be sure to let the pencil drawing be dominant, only adding light color.

Pen and ink---Pen and ink is one of my favorite mediums to draw on wood. Again, first lightly pencil in your design. If you don't feel confident drawing freehand, then use a gridding method. (See an earlier article I wrote on gridding (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/292685/learn_how_you_can_set_up_a_gridding.html).

Then use a fine felt tipped pen (such as .3 millimeter) and fill in with your pen and ink drawing. Making small dots (strippling) is an excellent pen and ink method for working in miniature drawings. (Although Rapidiograph pens work best for paper, fine felt tip pens are better on wood.) Again, you can combine your pen and in drawing with colored pencil, watercolor, and pastels to add color. However, many artists feel adding color detracts from the beauty of the pen and ink drawing. (See photo of my pen and ink woodpecker drawing.)

Acrylics---You don't have to paint with expensive acrylic paints when you paint on wood. Craft paints do an excellent job and are much cheaper than professional acrylic paints. They come in a variety of brands such as Delta Ceramcoat and Apple Barrel Acrylic Paints. When painting on wood plaques sold in craft stores, you'll want to think "miniature" in your painting. In other words, leave out some of the larger details you'd include if you were painting on a larger scale. (See my miniature mountain scene on wood.) You can also paint in oils on wood and have exceptional results.

Finally, an added bonus of drawing or painting on wood is that you do not need to worry about framing. All you need to do is hang it.