Plein-Air wet canvas Carrier (tutorial)

So, We went painting in Stanley Park last weekend and I needed a way to carry my paintings to and from the park while they were still wet (oil paint). This posed an interesting problem for me. I could buy a 10$ wet canvas carrier, that only carried 2 stretched canvases of equal size, or make something else. I prefer painting on a rigid surface, so my friend Maria mentioned a book she had that had made a box to carry them taped or mounted on boards. Well not being a carpenter or good with a ruler, I modified this idea.

My wet canvas carrier is extremely inexpensive. Each board is only 2-3$ and the spacers are only 5 cents each. here is what you need:

Masonite, or hard boards cut into the sizes you paint on giving a generous space around the edges. Example.: My canvases were around 10x10 on a 12x16 board size.

Rubber Framing bumpers. they have to be the dense rubber kind, not the foam or felt. They need to provide enough space for the canvas, and the paint with some air flow.

a strap and box (optional) the strap holds it all together, and a box to carry it in wouldn't hurt, but I didn't have one, I just slipped it in my backpack.

Okay, Here is what you do!

Step 1

Take your Masonite, and put about 6 bumpers on it. One on each corner, and one on each side of the long side (seen in the figure to the left). Save one Masonite board that you don't put bumpers on.

As you can see I've also taped on a piece of Primed linen canvas as well.I'd recommend more tape, but whatever works for you. Just keep in mind, the space is limited so the flatter the better.
The Linen I bought in a large roll, and cut into the desired pieces. It's 7 oz, clear primed. I got it at Opus Framing and art. Regular price at the time of purchase was a steal at $215 for 5ft by 10 metres. I got it on sale, and split it, and the cost with a friend. I had 5 meters for $75 and it will last a LONG time! LOL!

Anyways, add the bumpers to as many boards as you think you can carry comfortably. each board will hold one canvas, unless you put one on the back of each as well, but if you do an impasto technique, you might find yourself wanting more space, or having paintings rub and transfer. It's best to leave enough space for the slight bowing that accidental pressure will cause.

Step 2

Once you have all your boards done, you just have to stack them together (see above photo) as you can see it leaves just enough space for the painting in there. but the top is exposed. Good thing you saved that piece of extra Masonite. it becomes your lid. you just lay it on top of the top boards bumpers, sealing everything in.
Now I experimented, because I ran out of Masonite and I wanted more paintings, and so I tried Chloroplast... No go... It's not rigid enough to properly protect the paintings. so Pretend in all these photos that the white board is actually Masonite!
This is the result of using Masonite.. .don't worry. I had put a bad painting there to test, it didn't ruin anything wonderful haha.

So anyways, heres the final bundle. (except the top would be Masonite). Everything is safe, now you just need either cord, or belts to strap it together. I used a belt, and cinched it around the 2 edges. Just make sure you wrap the belts or straps across where the bumpers are. If you don't you are creating pressure where there is no support. you will cause bowing and put pressure on your wet paint!
It's that easy! Granted this is a rather rudamentary thing, but for hardcore plein-air painters you could probably invest in a box or some kind, and get some grooves cut to slide your boards in, but for people with limited budgets and time, this would be perfect. I use it and its grande.

Hope this was useful!

If you want to make panel carrying boxes, I found a couple tutorials on that as well:

Wooden box

Foamcore box.

gouache

I thought I'd write a little bit about the gouache I use, and how it can be used. Not many people know this, but gouache comes in 2 forms. There is a and polymer emulsion gouache and a gum Arabic gouache. The main differences are that the gum arabic gouache can be rehydrate once dry, and you can make adjustments to your painting, and the polymer emulsion based is permanent when dry. Gum Arabic is the based used in watercolours, so you can use that as a guide to remember which one can be adjusted later. Gouache is almost always Matte in appearance, and depending on techniques can be painted like watercolours, or like acrylics. Its a very diverse medium!

The gouache I use is Holbein Acryla Gouache. Its a polymer emulsion based gouache made by Holbein (the German named company from japan lol). they're artist quality designer paints, and they come in sets or individual tubes. they have 2 series, A, for all the colours, and C for the metallic and some odd balls. one of the nice features of the packaging is the wide range of information they give you.

Permanence: They use a star rating for the permanence of the colours. 0-4 stars. 0 stars is a fugitive colour that will fade, 4 stars is a permanent colour. Gouache are a little notorious for not being light fast since it was created for designers and used for painting backgrounds for animated films, so the permanence wasn't an issue, the images were reproduced on film or in printing, but they've come along way in becoming an artistic medium and they've developed much better permanence for these paints.

Pigments: They list the pigments used to make the colours, so its easy to identify your paint colours. For example, you could look on the back of the tube and see the pigments used to make a certain mix colour, and then get just those colours to mix your own. Its a potential money saver, since you don't have to keep buying tons of different tube colours, you can just buy a few colours and mix the rest.

Munsell Score: They list the munsell score of Hue, value and chroma on each tube so you can more easily control your colours (again, these were made for designers, so that's of value to them but maybe not so much to painters of other types, but good to know)

These paints are water soluble, meaning you can mix them with water to paint with them, or you can mix polymer mediums with them for different looks. They are matte, and opaque. you can paint with them on a variety of surfaces. Illustration board is one of the best surfaces, but you can also use Bristol board, watercolour or print paper. Its fantastic for mixed media work. I've used then with my airbrush (and in my airbrush), watercolours, markers, pencil crayons, acrylics and painted sculptures with it. Its extremely versatile.

Here are some of my works that have used gouache in a variety of ways.



Hope that was a little interesting to someone.
Thanks!

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Now playing on Winamp: Ralph Fiennes & Amick Byram - The Plagues

Oil Painting - the basics

Oil Painting is something I stopped doing years ago, and now that I've gone back to it, I cant image why! Its an extremely versatile painting material, and the look of oil is amazing!

The basics:
What do you need to get started oil painting? I'll not dwell on this too too much, but there are some common misconceptions that I must clear up!

• Paint: Artists Quality! I know student paints are cheaper, and in most cases you never see a problem but if you plan on mixing your colours, this is where student paint becomes your enemy. If you don't mix, no worries! My favourite oil paints are Gamblin, Windsor Newton, and Holbein. I use all 3, and they're all great! I never stick to one specific brand personally, because some lines have certain colours you cant get in other lines. The important thing is to have a paint you like to work with.
• Brushes: Most oil painters use natural hair brushes. I don't. Why? Animal cruelty... enough said... I'm confused by people who won't buy a fur coat, but they'll buy a fur brush... Some brushes are fur used as a by product of the food industry though, so its not so bad but I still avoid it. At least the whole animal is being used in those cases. There are of course some cases where only natural hair will do, and that is Encaustics. Synthetic brushes melt with the heat of encaustics, which is not good of course. That aside, you can use Natural hog hair brushes, or synthethic brushes. Look for a bristle stiffness that will support the weight of the heavy paint, and will hold sufficient paint to work with it. I use the Opus Brand Mezzo brushes for my painting if i use brushes, but I tend to use knives more. Find something that works for you
• Palette and painting knives: Some people use them, some people don't. Mixing paint is a hekuva lot easier with a small knife on your palette though. brushes for mixing can be a painful process, especially if you are mixing lots of colours. I like liquitex palette knives myself. If you are buying knives, avoid any with joints. if they're gunna break, that's where it will happen.
• Palette: anything will do, but I personally enjoy the peel off palettes. I'm limited in space so mines a small one. I've tested it too, if you mix Alkyd with your paints, you can peel it off the palette cleanly. alternatively pour some alkyd liquid on your palette and when it dries it will pluck them all up. Peel off palettes are a more environmentally friendly, and YOU friendly way to clean up. I'll talk about that later on.
• Solvents: Fuck Solvents. Use Odourless Mineral spirits to paint with, and clean your brushes. They Evaporate less than paint thinner and are therefore 60% less toxic. meaning you can paint 60% longer without feeling ill effects, and its odourless. Oil paint does not need to be a stinky toxic process. Still work well ventilated, and you are good to go. Odourless Mineral spirits.
• Mediums: Some people paint straight from the tube, but I like mediums! I use Gamblin Mediums because they rule! More on that later!
• Painting Surface: Stretched canvas or my personal favourite, cradled panels! I like the rigid surface. Pick smooth un-warped panels (unless you feel like repairing them) and pick tight stretched, triple primed canvases! (or stretch your own).
  

Paint:
I wont show techniques just yet, but I will go over the basics of what the tools do, then you can experiment with them to see how each will work with your own style and techniques. Somethings about paint you might need to know:
Titanium white: The best opaque white. good for mixing and covering
Zinc White: A good soft mixing white that is transparent.
There are so many whites, you should experiment to find the one you like. If you plan on venturing into the world of encaustics, be aware, zinc white does not like to be heated, and never heat Prussian Blue ( PB27) because it gives of toxic gasses. Winsor newton has a great colour composition chart.
Try to avoid touching your paint too much, and if you do get it all over you, use a barrier cream. I'm not a fanatic about this like some people, but pigments like cadmium can leach through the skin and cause cancers and stuff. Just be safe.

Little tidbits, lets move on to some fun stuff!

Mediums
I love mediums. I use Gamblins mediums not only because they're the most accessible for me, but because they're awesome. I'll list some of the ones I use, and their features and benefits.

Galkyd/ Alkyd: Alkyd resin speed up the drying time of paint. You can mix it in with your paint to thin your paint slightly and speed up drying time. you can also thin galkyd with odourless mineral spirits up to 50%. Excellent glazing medium! There is also a galkyd Lite which is lower viscosity and has a few different properties. In addition there is a galkyd slow dry, for working wet on wet for a prolonged time. There is also a fun galkyd Gel that will make transparent impasto! also good fun to use! I tend to stick to straight galkyd myself, since my main motivation is to thin the paint, ad speed the drying time!

Cold Wax medium: Cold Wax is one of my favourite things to play with. Its a thick white paste consistency, and is a matte medium. Its filtered beeswax dissolved in Odourless mineral spirits with a little bit of Alkyd Resin. On its own, it dries to a beeswax hardness, so it should be on a rigid support like a cradled panel unless you mix more alkyd into it to make it a more flexible film.
You can see this product in use on my painting Space Cadet. Its mixed with pearlescent pigments. See the close up here. Click to enlarge.(please also note the yellow paint, bubbly and wrinkled. This is what happens when you mix too much linseed oil with your paint.)
You can see it dries semi opaque and is matte. Its fun to mix with paint as a matting agent, or to create impasto or layered effects. You can see it in use more discretely in my 2 Toxic Forest Paintings Green and Purple.

Linseed Oil: Linseed oil is the base for most oil paints (with the exception of the radiant series of Gamblin paint which uses safflower oil). You can use it to thin your paint, but it does slow down the drying time a great deal. don't mix too much either, or you get the wrinkles seen in the above example, and it seems like it will never dry.

For more mediums check out the Gamblin Mediums page. Its great, full of information and has an interactive guide.

Studio Safety & clean up: Disposing of Mineral spirits and solvents can be a pain in the ass. You should recycle them as "Motor Oil" at a recycling facility. While using them in your home or studio I'll give you some quick tips. You'll need 2 glass jars with lids. Ones your Using jar and ones your used jar. you put your OMS in your using jar, this is what you use as you paint and for clean up. when you're done painting, pour all your dirty paint into your Used jar. once all the pigments settle you can pour off the used, but now clean OMS into your day use jar, and continue using it. This way you use less, waste less, and cost less. Gamblin has a great series of articles on studio safety and tips for painters. I highly recommend subscribing to the Gamblin newsletter.

Don't wash your paint down the sink! water filtration systems for our drinking water, which is recycled from all the shit we flush and wash down our drains, is not effective against filtering out particles as small as cadmium, which is toxic if ingested. to properly dispose of your paint, you can either get a peeling palette where you can let the paint dry and peel it out, or wipe out your palette with paper, then throw that paper away in sealed bags in the garbage. better in a landfill than our drinking water. Paint does less damage in a solid form than a liquid. You can also buy disposable palettes, but I find that quite wasteful anyways.

So that's about it, off the top of my head. :B
If you have more questions, or want to discuss, please drop by my forum! thanks!