Ampersand Panels reach the UK - at long last!

Virtually the complete range of Ampersand panels are now available in the UK - from Jackson's Art Supplies.  

They are the business!  There are surfaces for every type of art medium (see below) and some work work well with more than one media.

These are the ones which are now going to be available in the UK:

• Aquabord - for watercolour. Check out 
• Painting in Watercolor: An Exercise using Aquabord™ with Karen Vernon
• Aquabord 2.0 Revisited
• Artist Panel - which comes in three different surfaces: Canvas, Basswood and Smooth
• Claybord - for ink and egg tempera (and a variety of other media). Check out 
• Graphic Media: Pen and Ink on Claybord™ and 
• Claybord used as Scratchboard
• Acrylic Painting on Claybord by Rock Newcomb
• Encausticbord - a new product for use with hot wax
• Gessobord - for those who like their boards with gesso already applied
• Pastelbord - for artists working in dry media who like a sanded surface eg pastel and coloured pencil artists. Check out 
• Innovative Pastel Methods on Pastelbord
• Scratchbord - for those who like to scratch at the surface to produce an image

I've imported Pastelbord in the past from the USA. It's a great surface to work on and I love the fact you can prder it in different sizes and colours. However what is so very impressive is the rigidity of the board and the fact it does not warp in any way and they can be framed without glass so long as the surface is robust (eg oil and acrylics) or sealed with a varnish (e.g. watercolour and coloured pencils).  Plus all the boards are eco-friendly and safe for artists to use.

For your further information on the Ampersand website there is

• a great FAQs page
• plus a Technical page gives you a summary of what art media works with which board. Just in case you miss it, this is their summary of how to choose the best board for the media you prefer to use
• plus the AmpersandArtsSupply Blog for features on what artists have produced using the different panels and lots of useful tips eg Resources for Framing Panels

Media	Product	Discussion
ACRYLICS	Claybord Gessobord Pastelbord	We highly recommend using thin washes of acrylics on Claybord. Or, try Gessobord for a less absorbent panel or Pastelbord for a surface with more texture and a toned ground.
AIRBRUSH	Claybord	Claybord is ideal for airbrush.
CALLIGRAPHY	Claybord	Ampersand recommends Claybord with this medium.
CASEIN	Claybord Gessobord	Claybord and Gessbord are both appropriate for use with casein.
EGG TEMPERA	Claybord	Use egg tempera on Claybord. Compare with panels you are preparing yourself.
ENCAUSTIC	Encausticbord	Encausticbord is made for the unique demands of encaustic painting.
GOUACHE	Aquabord	We recommend Aquabord for use with gouache.
GRAPHITE AND COLORED PENCILS	Claybord	Use graphite and colored pencils withClaybord.
INKS, INDIA INK, COLORED INKS	Claybord Scratchbord	We recommend Claybord with inks because they can be easily erased and manipulated.
MARKERS	Claybord	Use Claybord with markers and frame without glass.
OILS AND OIL STICKS	Claybord Gessobord	We recommend Gessobord for use with oils. Claybord may also be used but is very absorbent..
PASTELS	Pastelbord	We recommend Pastelbord for working with all types of pastels.
SCRATCHBOARD	Scratchbord	Use Scratchbord as a professional alternative to scratchboard paper.
WATERCOLORS	Aquabord	Use Aquabord, similar to cold press paper, for very wet watercolor washes.

 Summary of how different media work with Ampersand Products

Do also:

• read this blog post on the Jackson's Art Blog - Ampersand Painting Panels are Extraordinary Surfaces for Your Art - which explains all the different surfaces in detail.
• check out the new Ampersand page on the Jacksons website

Ampersand Panels are  hugely impressive - and I'm sure a lot of artists are going to want to try them for themselves.

NOTE: A more limited range of Ampersand Panels are also available from Ken Bromley Art Supplies.