Saturday, March 29, 2014

About wet paintings

An array of panel carriers

I often get asked practical questions by readers of my blog and I've decided that once in a while it would be a good idea to answer those questions here as there may be lots of you wondering about the same thing.
Today Pat asked "  how do you get your wet paintings back from abroad?  Also I've noticed that your painting s seem to go into galleries quite quickly.  I'm put off oil painting by the problem go what to do when they're drying. What's your secret?"

The first thing to mention is that oil paintings may be drier a lot sooner than you realise - touch dry anyway. If you paint quite thinly (as I do) a painting can be touch dry in as little as three days. You can further speed up the drying time by adding liquin or using alkyd paints. Some people just replace their white oil paint with Underpainting white or Alkyd white and mix with ordinary oil colour, some use all alkyd colours.

That said, you still have the short term problem of carrying your wet paintings from the site, and I'm going to assume here that you're painting on panels or boards.

The photo above shows an array of wet panel carriers, this is where I tell you that you're spoilt rotten in the USA to be able to buy all this kit. All except the black one at the back (home made by my friend) were manufactured and sold in the USA and pretty difficult to get hold of if you're here in the UK.

But don't worry! There is a perfect and inexpensive solution and it's so easy when you know how :-)

It's the Ken Howard matchstick method!

Maisie's getting quite good at placing the matchsticks now,
after extensive training

You can buy matchsticks without the heads in their hundreds or thousands online (people who make models use them) so no need to be cutting them up!

On the back of your board stick one matchstick close to the edge, in the centre of each side. On a large board I stick two on the longer sides.


This is one of the things I prepare before going away on a trip. I also take with me some matchsticks and a tiny pot of pva glue in case any fall off en route.


Now as long as you have at least two boards of the same size this method really is foolproof. You use a clean board, or a dry painting, to stand on top of the wet painting just finished. You then put a little tape on to hold them together and hey presto - there's a small gap in between to keep your wet painting safe and protected.

You can stack up as many as you like in a pile, as long as they're the same size -

All safe for travel

And if it's raining you can wrap the stack in a carrier bag or bin bag.
I use boards that are at least 4mm thick and this method works perfectly. If you use something a lot thinner it may not work so well as the panels could get squished together in transit. But this is the method I use both for day trips and flying abroad trips and I've never had any problems with it. I love it because I can take as many different shapes and sizes as I want, as long as I have at least two in each size.





14 comments:

  1. Thank you Haidee For taking the trouble of showing us your tips. All the best.
    Vic,

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    1. You're welcome Vic, thanks for your comments :-)

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  2. How many boards do you manage to transport by 'plane, Haidee? And then there's the easel, materials, etc.....

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    1. Hi Sue, I take as many boards as I need which is usually three for each day plus a couple of extras! I pack my boards in my hand luggage as they're heavy, and hand luggage weight allowance can be as much as 23 kgs (BA). This saves room in my hold suitcase for the other heavy stuff - Open Box, tripod, paints, brushes etc :-)

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  3. Sorry Haidee you are going to regret this!! I am wondering if I can take my ordinary oils abroad, and this would include a solvent? I like them so much better than the water soluble ones I've taken in the past. Thanks :-) x

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    1. Hi Sheila, of course you can take your ordinary oil colours as long as they are packed safely in your hold suitcase. Wherever possible buy your solvent when you reach your destination, you can't fly with turps etc. When solvent buying abroad really isn't possible I take a small bottle of Zest It, again well wrapped and in my hold luggage.

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  4. Just read your article on Jackson's blog linking to this post. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. I've learnt so much from you :-)

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    1. You're more than welcome Tanya, thanks for taking the time to say so :-)

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  5. Thanks for the matchstick technique, I'll certainly try that; and I've come across canvas carriers of various kinds. What about the brushes and palette? How do you stop the mess getting everywhere from those? I presume you take a tin or jar of solvent and a rag, and clean up in the field, then put the rag in a plastic bag?

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  6. Great tip, but why do you put clean boards between the paintings?

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    1. Hi Joanna, no there are not clean boards in between. You just need one clean board (or dry painting) for the top. In the picture above, I have shown a stack of paintings with a clean board on top.

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  7. This is so simple and obvious now you've explained it! Doh! I'm about to get some lightweight Raymar carriers via my husband who'll be visiting the States, but this is a brilliant solution in the meantime. I mention Raymar because they also make extra light, featherweight panels for en plein air, not sure if it's a new line of theirs but in case they might be useful for you, and others, Haidee?

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Thank you for your words!