painting on paper

[Enyaw]

.... a little trick I use when painting on paper on my easle. I use glass and tape the paper in the top corners. The glass is in front of a panel for support. Once I am finished with the painting I can remove the tape and the painting stays intack as the paint acts as a sealer. I then paint the corners and using my old friend the nail punch I sign the piece and then use my palette knife to slip under the paper and break the seal. From there it goes to a drying rack.

 

[Artyczar]

Good to know!

 

[Enyaw]

When I first started I used to tape the paper all around to a wooden panel so I would lose part of the paper having to cut it off after the painting was done. I put the glass there so I could also use it as a palette if I wanted to put a few globs of paint when blocking in. That way I didn't have to keep stepping back to my pallet on my desk top which I do when painting after the block in. One thing lead to another so then I tried just the taping corners so I could use the whole panel and voila .. two birds with one stone. Last of the great white hunters.

 

[KreativeK]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Bongo]

Not to put too fine a point on it (pun intended) what you have pictured is a center punch, not a nail punch. A center punch comes to a point, a nail punch has a "dimple" on the end. I use the end of a brush handle to scratch my signature into the paint -- same principle.

 

[Enyaw]

... no .. nail punches have points .. old nails used to have a dimple in them so the point of the nail punch sat in it and drove it below the surface of the wood .. .. google it if you don't believe me .. you are talking about a nail set punch .. different animal .. I actually filed mine down to a finer point so I had a ball point punch

 

[laika]

I've got a sheet of the Arches oil paper. Maybe I'll try your method when I get around to it. I use a number 118 Speedball scratch board tip on a wooden nib holder for my paint scratching needs, so I'm staying away from the punch controversy ;-)

Do you also use a tempered glass palette? Did I get that great idea from you somewhere? I've been using the glass from old microwave ovens lately.

Edit: Haha! That was you, wasn't it?!

 

[Enyaw]

Yup. I an using a door glass that I had cut. It is about 1/4 inch thick. I have tempered glass in my plain air box.

 

[Bongo]

... no .. nail punches have points .. old nails used to have a dimple in them so the point of the nail punch sat in it and drove it below the surface of the wood .. .. google it if you don't believe me .. you are talking about a nail set punch .. different animal .. I actually filed mine down to a finer point so I had a ball point punch

"Nail punch" and "nail set" are different words for the same thing. They have a dimple at the end to drive a nail below the surface of the wood --if you don't believe me - then you can google images for "nail punch" every single picture shows a punch with a dimple on the end. Now you can google images for "center punch" every single picture shows a punch with a point on the end.

Please explain how you would use a punch with a point on the end with nails?

 

[Enyaw]

ok, so some call it this and some call it that. Mine has a point and I have used it over the years to push finishing nails below the surface of wooden base boards by putting the point into the dimple of the finishing nail. My dad called it a nail punch when he gave it to me 55 years ago and so it is and will be a nail punch to me until I die.

 

[Bongo]

Wayne that's fine - it was the "google it if you don't believe me" part of your reply that put me off. Maybe cultural differences - but If I read something that is counter to my understanding then I google it first to see if I have it right or wrong rather than tell the other guy to "go google". In fact that is exactly what I did before I wrote my first post.

You can use a center punch to drive finishing nails, you can use it to sign paintings and you can call it a nail punch till the day you die, but if you go into any hardware store - Lowes, Home Depot, True Value, Amazon any construction site and ask for a nail punch they are going to give you a punch with a dimple on the end, and if you ask for a center punch they are going to give you a punch with a point on the end.

 

[Enyaw]

Bongo: I stand corrected.

"google it if you don't believe me" part of your reply that put me off

Actually I meant nothing toward you on that. I googled it and what I found supported nail punch but there are many stories on the internet and some are wrong. I stand corrected. You were and are 100% correct. Enjoy.