What a funny picture to post....but that's what I've been doing today. Preparing panels so I can paint something on them. I have masonite and mdf board cut to size, most of today's panels are around 20X24. I coat them with white gesso three times, back and front and if I don't like the way the front looks, I coat it again before I paint on the surface. I don't sand between coats as some artists do because I like the brush marks that show through.

I also don't mind the white of the support when I begin a painting. You'll hear many artists say they hate the white of the canvas. I love it, when I see a new white canvas on my easel, it's a new beginning... a fresh start.... a chance to begin again. At this point, I haven't messed anything up, there's nothing to correct, no riddle to solve and nothing to do but improve upon what's there.

I've done 10 panels today, both sides three coats. It's been a long day and kind of boring. Sometimes I can do boring, if it's leading up to something. That's what these panels will do, lead me to something new. A new way of mixing color, a new way of holding the brush to apply that color or a new subject to paint.... I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning!
donna