surfaces

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Essential artwork surface materials, stretching tools and accessories are all now available to purchase online! Click here to visit our online store.

John Jones produce bespoke fine art panels for professional artists, students and hobbyists. These high quality painting panels are available in any size to museum standards from our London workshops. The key benefit of artwork display panels is their rigid quality. As with work on canvas, it is extremely important to ensure that painted art panels are not exposed to extreme temperatures or humidity, so as to prevent the risk of the artwork panel board cracking or distorting.

Wooden Artist Panels
John Jones wooden art panels are produced from high quality Birch Ply wood, Gaboon (Redwood Ply) or a Low Emission Ecologique MDF face with tulip wood supports. These painting panels are all available in a variety of thicknesses and each art panel can be supplied with either plain or rounded corners. As a threatened species, we no longer stock Mahogany wooden artist panels.

MDF Artist Panels
Many artists opt for MDF painting panels as a cost efficient solution that still provides a rigid, smooth surface to work on. However, recent conservation tests have shown MDF wooden artist panels to contain a large amount of Formaldehyde, a substance that releases emissions which react with paint chemicals, yellowing the surface of artwork. Formaldehyde is naturally contained in all MDF, so the amount present cannot be controlled.

John Jones artist panels are produced using a safer alternative which is lower in emissions but still has all the benefits of regular MDF. Low Emission Ecologique MDF looks and feels like MDF, weighs the same amount and has the same level of absorbency, however it does not contain the Formaldehyde which can cause yellowing. These art panels are suitable for painting, drawing and collage and also have an economical price.

This type of professional art panel can be made in depths of 3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8” and 3/4”, and can also be produced to a circular or elliptical specification.
Any John Jones art panel can also be wrapped with our extensive choice of artist canvases and linens.

Welded Aluminium Artist Panels
An Aluminium painting panel is different to canvas, in that it is rigid, light and ultra-smooth. These lightweight artist panels can also be etch-primed, providing a slight tooth for paint to grip to, which is solvent based and incredibly durable. The artwork primer is ideal for oil painting and acrylic painting as it is naturally white in colour and slightly absorbent. If you prefer a bright white panel finish, we can add a coat of oil or acrylic primer to the etched surfaces of your metallic artwork panel. Alternatively enamel paint can be applied directly to the raw aluminium. This is a slippery surface, which is ideal if you like to move the paint around. This artist panel also looks great if areas are left exposed, as it won’t tarnish due to its resistance to oxidation.

We can make aluminium art panels up to 4 x 2 metres to depths of ¾”, 1", 1 ½”, 2" or 4" (although 4" deep panels are heavier). As with our metallic artist stretcher frames the aluminium panels are lightweight and will not warp or change in any way. We can also make custom aluminium artist panels in a variety of unusual or bespoke shapes.

Floating Aluminium Artist Panels
A Floating Aluminium artwork support is similar to an aluminium artist panel, however the sub-frame is set back from the edge of the aluminium sheet. This means that when the artwork is mounted on a wall, the surface appears to float. This has all the same qualities as a regular professional artwork panel, but visually is a more delicate solution. John Jones can also cut aluminium sheets to virtually any shape or size.

Gesso Artwork Panels
A Traditional artist Gesso is a mixture of Rabbit Skin Glue and Whiting applied to give a soft and slightly more absorbent surface than acrylic artwork primers, due to its chalky quality.  Gesso is the ideal surface for wooden art panels as it dries as a hard layer which can then be built up to your desired finish.
We can achieve a beautifully smooth artwork panel finish in our spray booth by applying two layers of gesso over a layer of sealer, which means no brush marks and a soft consistent finish.

We can also make gesso prepared surfaces on two types of artwork support;
The first Gesso tablet is 5/8” Ecologique Low Emission MDF sheet with slightly rounded edges which sits flush on the wall with pre drilled keyhole slots for hanging.
The second type of gesso tablet is ideal for working to larger sizes and uses a thinner sheet of Ecologique Low Emission MDF,  Birch Ply or Gaboon (red wood Ply) typically ¼” which is then supported with a more substantial tulip wood subframe. This method is recommended on artwork panel sizes over 30”.

Paper Artist Panels
John Jones can mount any type of paper onto a variety of artist panel surfaces of different thicknesses.
Our fine art paper panels consist of three elements:

1. Substrate

The artwork panels we use consist of a paper honeycomb core, faced with acid free buffered paper to produce a lightweight and rigid artist’s panel. Buffering with Calcium Carbonate raises the Ph level in the material, enabling it to last much longer before succumbing to airborne pollutants. Honeycomb board is favoured by professional artists working on a large scale as it is an extremely lightweight art board, has archival qualities and is ideal for providing a sturdy, rigid support to work on.

2. Dry Mounting Process

The John Jones specialists use a pressure sensitive archival film to mount the selected paper to the front of the artwork panel. This is a water based acrylic adhesive, coated on both sides of a 0.5mm polyester film providing a permanent bond.

3. Drawing Surface

As bespoke picture framers, we have a strong knowledge of archival artist papers and processes and can advise according to your specific requirements. We have a close relationship with leading international paper mills and have access to a range of the very best 100% cotton artwork paper.
All of our fine art paper surfaces are buffered with Calcium Carbonate to help protect finished pieces of work from discolouration caused by acids present in pollution. The surface is also coated in gelatine making it strong and resilient.

John Jones produce a diverse array of artist panels at our artist surfaces workshop in north London. To discuss which painting panel is best suited to your artwork, please contact a member of our team who can advise on the best art panels to meet your needs.