Join Me For A Real-Time Experiment

Preparing A Cradled Wood Panel: Part 1

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As many readers of this blog already know, I have been experimenting with various techniques using a photograph as a starting point for hand-embellished artwork. In addition to that, I have also been doing a good deal of thinking about how to present more traditional photography in non-standard ways. Traditional matting and framing is very expensive, creates a barrier (the glass) between the artwork and the viewer, and, some might say, appears a bit dated. My encaustic work often starts with attaching a photograph to a cradled wood panel before I apply the wax medium. I recently began to wonder what would happen if wax weren’t applied and the photograph was simply presented on a three-dimensional board without a barrier. This, then, is that experiment.

I have not tried this presentation before, so don’t know how appealing the final result will be, but, obviously, I have high hopes. I thought it might be interesting to bring you through the process with me in more or less real-time and, if the results are appealing, you will also have an instruction manual on how to do this yourself. So expect a few posts this week about this subject as we see how this comes together.

Let’s get started!

I have talked about cradled wood panels in prior posts, but I’m not sure how many readers know what they are. I decided to do this experiment in a reasonably large size (I’m all in) and bought an 18x18-inch cradled wood panel. These can be purchased from any of many online art store websites, but I like to support my local art store (Artists & Craftsman Supply) and therefore bought it there.

There are many brands of these panels available. I happen to like the American Easel brand because they are a bit heftier than some of the others, and they are manufactured in the USA. This particular panel, which can be displayed without any further framing, costs approximately $20. That is a lot less than a comparably sized traditional frame, which I estimate would cost three times as much, and perhaps more once the matting and glass are included.

The top view doesn’t reveal why this is actually a three-dimensional object and not a flat panel, so let’s remove the packaging and flip it over.

Now you can see how this is a three-dimensional object. The flat panel portion is mounted on a wooden frame. The depth from the front panel to the back of the wooden frame is 7/8 inch, though these types of panels are available in several widths, ranging from 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches wide.

Though one aesthetic is to leave the panel in its raw, unfinished state, I prefer a different look and like painting the sides of the panel black. Some artists paint the sides after the artwork is complete, but I would never personally try that for fear of ruining the artwork on the front. I paint prior to doing anything with the panel.

In order to do this, I need to tape off the front:

Don’t worry about the tape gping over the edges. We can take care of that with a small hobby blade.

And now for the back.

Why tape off the back? The answer is that when hanging this type of panel, it looks best flush against the wall (I will show you how to do that) and if there is any black paint on the back it can rub off on the wall when hanging, even if the paint is dry. Not a good look! So let’s be neat.

In this instance, the back edges of the frame are a bit rounded, and that portion might be able to be seen from the side. The rounded portion also does not touch the wall when hung. That is the reason for the small gap between the edge and the tape that you can see in this rear view. Remember, we want to be neat, but none of this needs to be perfect.

OK, I am now going to bring the panel to the basement to paint the exposed sides. I am going to use a coat of primer and two coats of flat black latex house paint. It will take a day or so to get done, allowing the sides of the panel to dry between coats. The actual work time is only perhaps ten or fifteen minutes. It is the drying time between coats that takes a while. I will show you the results in the next installment!

Feel free to comment or ask any questions you might have about this process.

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