Aquabord review by Sandra Strait

What if you had a warp-resistant, tear-proof, shrink-proof, and buckle-proof surface that allowed you to frame your watercolors without glass? Museum Series Aquabord Panels from Ampersand Art Supply does just that.

So is this marvelous surface the same as painting on watercolor paper? Not exactly. But it gives you bright color, glazing to infinity, and you can wash away mistakes or even your entire painting.

It does require you to rethink your techniques, but dang… all of the above sure made me eager to try it.

What is Aquabord?

Aquabord is a warp-resistant Hardbord panel, coated with an acid-free clay and mineral. The texture is similar to cold-pressed watercolor paper, but highly absorbent. The close-up above makes it look rougher than it actually is.

They’re good for acrylic, casein, gouache, ink, mixed media, and allow scratchboard techniques.

The Hardbord is 1/8 inch thick, *FSC-certified, and protected with Ampersand’s proprietary Archiva-Seal™ to prevent yellowing. It has no wood grain, so no worries about it cracking or splitting due to temperature changes.

Ampersand uses no formaldehyde or harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

*FSC certification ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits.

These panels are available in sizes ranging from 4x4 inch to 24x36 inch. They also come in cradle format as well as the 1/8 inch panel.

 

Painting Techniques On Aquabord

Painting on Aquabord is different from painting on watercolor paper.

Fortunately, it isn’t difficult or too different. The nice thing about being able to wash away your painting is that you can play on one panel many times until you figure it out.

You can seal your finished watercolors or gouache. Use several light coats of spray varnish or fixative. Be careful not to spray too closely, or you might dilute some of the color. Spraying doesn’t protect the painting from scratches, so keep your painting where it won’t come into contact with anything sharp.

Ampersand gives you lots of tips at the website. I’m going to list some of them here, so you can get an idea of how Aquabord works.

• Air bubbles get trapped in the clay — release them with a heavy water wash before starting to paint.
• Less water equals more control, damp into damp is better than very wet.
• Use paint that is about milk thickness.
• Float paint onto surface with a light touch rather than dragging the bristles across the surface.
• Let layers dry completely between glazes.
• Only scratch when dry, not when wet.
• Draw on Aquabord with pencil, if desired.
• Use hairdryer, if you want to speed up drying.
• To lift color, let paint fully dry. Use a stiffer brush, wet, blot brush, and lift.

 

The Scratchboard Technique

You can scratch on watercolor paintings to suggest sparkles on water or texture of various kinds. It does run the risk of scraping too much and you can overdo it.

With Aquabord, you can scratch to your heart’s content. You can repaint, re-scratch, and repeat as needed.

You need a sharp-pointed instrument, such as an X-Acto knife, or awl. It is neither super-easy or super-hard to do. You aren’t likely to accidentally scratch the surface, but a little pressure on a sharp object allows you to remove some of the clay.

 

Aquabord Painting Examples

Usually when testing a new watercolor paper, I try to destroy it, by overworking it severely. But Aquabord is different enough that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to test.

 

So, I just painted these two women, following the tips and techniques from the Ampersand Art Supply above, as closely as possible. And it wasn’t as different from paper as I thought it would be.

As with most watercolor, it’s in the water-to-paint ratio and in letting it dry properly before adding more layers.

The water to paint ratio was a different than I’m used to. The Aquabord took longer to dry than I’m used to. But it’s harder to overwork (if not impossible) because you can just wash away what you’ve done, and start over.

 

Lifting color is extremely easy on this surface, so it might be frustrating for some. I live to lift color, so I had no problem.

 

With this example, I did my usual lifting, repainting, and lifting that you can with Aquabord. I was able to get crisp edges, bright color, and use scratchboard techniques.

 

For another example, I just painted without trying to test anything, but using all the techniques I’d been playing with.

Overall

Museum Series Aquabord Panels from Ampersand Art Supply are Hardbord panels coated in acid-free clay and minerals. They won’t tear, shrink, or buckle, and they are warp-resistant.

It is extremely easy to lift color — to the point where you can remove your entire painting if you wish to. You can keep glazing, adding layer after layer of paint without losing clarity, brightness, or damaging the surface.

Painting on Aquabord is different from painting on watercolor paper, but mostly calls for a difference in the water-to-paint ratio so that you only lift color when you want to lift color. You can wash away or use the scratchboard technique to get lines of white, for highlights, sparkles, or lighter areas to paint over.

Your finished work can be sealed with a spray varnish or fixative so that color can no longer be lifted, and it can be framed without glass.

 

About Sandra Strait

Sandra Strait is a self-taught artist who dances about with all sorts of artistic mediums. Her main loves are Watercolor, Zentangle, and Ballpoint pen. The subjects of her work are many and varied and change at whim. On her Life Imitates Doodles Blog, she posts a list of resource links for Tangles, Tutorials and Giveaways three times a week. She also write reviews, holds giveaways, and shares her art work.

 

Read the original review here.  

Learn more about Ampersand Aquabord here.