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Is acrylic paint suitable for use on cardboard?
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- This topic has 3 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 4 months ago by chaz .
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June 18, 2005 at 9:36 pm #985067
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Hi. I asked this question in oils but I thought I’d ask in this forum too since I am still using my acrylics too. The question is could I paint on gessoed cardboard? I am starting to paint only on gessoed illustration board like Vallejo for a smooth surface and it is like cardboard in a way only acid free. I have some gesso and cardboard is free. I am not under any craziness that my stuff will be in a museum so only 80 years of ‘archivability’ or whatever is fine by me. I am almost certain that a painting in either acrylic or oils would be fine on cardboard for that time. Acrylics might even be better since it is a plastic and seems to be more durable. Anyone tried it? What do you think? Thank You
June 18, 2005 at 9:53 pm #1053483
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You can paint on about anything, styrofoam trays, boxboard, cardboard, TP, papertowels, brown paper bags, typewriter paper,old pizza boxes. Some will last a while but don’t expect much. Acids, additives and other things may affect the colors eventually and most certainly the durability. Chances are they will last longer with acrylics than with oil since the oils tend to deteriorate fibers if not primed or properly cared for.
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June 19, 2005 at 6:07 am #1053484
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Cardboard has an unusual texture which isn’t immediately apparent. If you put one coat of gesso on it and then paint in acrylic, the texture is visible and in my view it’s not very pleasing. I suggest you give the cardboard two or even three coats of thick acrylic gesso, making sure you use a stiffish brush to give an interesting surface which will obliterate the underlying cardboard texture.
June 19, 2005 at 9:38 am #1053485
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I did a bunch of acrylic paintings on cardboard for awhile when I was too poor to buy canvas. If you do use cardboard, I wouldn’t use the corregated kind, because the texture of it really does show up a lot later. I’ve also found that after awhile the cardboard starts to bow towards the side you painted on. You can counteract this a little by painting a big “x” with gesso across the back after you have primed the front. I think it depends on how much water you put on the surface and how thick the paint is.
Another thing is that unless you put your painting in a sturdy frame and possibly with glass over it, cardboard is really hard to display on the wall and have it look nice.
I’ve done a few paintings that I turned out to be really happy with, and I really regretted doing them on cardboard because of the non-permanent look of the material. If it’s a painting you’re going to care about (not that you can always tell this when you start) I would definitely recommend paying a little extra for a piece of canvas. I think it’s worth it.
Cardboard, I’ve found, is absolutely great for paintings that you’re doing just for practice or learning purposes, because you can’t get much cheaper than cardboard! (See “Handyman Still Life”, a painting I did on cardboard last year that might be worth millions if only I had used canvas. Sigh…)
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Cardboard stands for any heavy-duty paper; therefore, the term is slightly avoided in the industry due to its vagueness. Cardboard art, however, is an art form that, besides the term’s ambiguity, denotes good posters/paintings made from different types of this material.
Cardboard has a porous surface, making it difficult for some paints to adhere. Acrylic and spray paint are among the best paints for cardboard. But for the best results. And that acrylic painting on the cardboard can be very challenging, even with a paint primer; if you try painting with a thick layer of acrylic, you could risk letting the water seep in. However, you can still use acrylic paint on your cardboard if you don’t dip your paintbrushes or sponges in water before and after using paint.
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Maryam Bahman was born on April 24, 1985, in Tehran. She has a master’s degree in animal physiology from Tehran and has been painting since 2010.
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Prep the Surface Properly
The key to painting on cardboard effectively is to prep it properly. There’s a reason artists use proper canvases and specialist paper for painting: Untreated cardboard doesn’t make a perfect base for painting. It’s porous, so it soaks in water, making the surface warp and become uneven for little masterpieces.
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To avoid this, apply a primer to the cardboard before painting. Of course, if you’re just playing around with the kids and don’t intend to keep the cardboard artwork, there’s no need to go to the trouble and (minimal) expense of priming the cardboard. If you’d like the artwork to have a longer life, priming is a good idea.
Prep the cardboard with a gesso primer. Gesso looks a bit like white acrylic paint but thinner. It dries hard and smooth when applied properly and will prevent paint from soaking into the surface below, so it makes a good base for painting onto all kinds of canvases, not only cardboard. Using a flat brush, paint the gesso onto the cardboard in long, smooth strokes. For best results, apply a second coat after the first has dried, painting in the opposite direction from the first layer.
Leave the gesso to dry completely before you paint over it. This may take as little as 10 minutes, although artists recommend leaving gesso-primed surfaces for up to 24 hours for best results.
