Description
Ampersand Museum Series Claybord is a premium surface crafted from 3mm true artist hardboard, featuring a unique kaolin clay ground formula that offers paintability similar to the clay gesso grounds used during the Renaissance. The ultra-smooth, highly absorbent finish ensures that paint colors remain vibrant and true. Artists can work the surface by applying paint or ink in thin layers, then remove or reapply it, or even scratch through the surface to add contrast, texture, and fine details. This versatility makes Claybord a favorite among both fine and graphic artists.
Each Claybord panel is hand-built with a cradle made from high-quality 13-ply birch plywood, providing maximum stability and a clean, finished look. The panels are available in both 22mm and 38mm cradle profiles, with the latter offering more flexibility for hanging and framing. The cradle can also be painted, stained, or primed with gesso to extend the artwork around the edges.
Ampersand's proprietary Archival-Seal barrier technology ensures the longevity of your artwork by preventing support-induced discoloration. The panels are made with high-density hardboard sourced from U.S.-grown, renewable, and FSC-certified Aspen wood fibers. Claybord is eco-friendly, formaldehyde-free, and crafted by hand in the USA, making it a sustainable and archival choice for artists.
Claybord is ideal for a wide range of techniques. It accepts paints and inks applied with brushes, sponges, palette knives, airbrushes, technical pens, and many other tools. The surface is also perfect for printing, image transfers, and mixed media experimentation. Artists can manipulate the surface to adjust tonal values, add fine details, develop highlights, and correct mistakes. Tools like Ampersand scratchboard tools, hobby knives, etching tools, sandpaper, oil-free steel wool, and electric erasers work exceptionally well on Claybord.
The 7 to 10 mils thick clay coating allows for various techniques, including sgraffito, where artists can cut into the surface to expose the white clay ground beneath. The absorbent surface allows for the use of abrasives like oil-free steel wool or sandpaper to remove pigment without damaging the finish.
Claybord is versatile, accepting a wide array of mediums, including India inks, pigmented and alcohol inks, egg tempera, acrylics, collage, pencil, pens, airbrush, photo-transfers, casein, watercolor, gouache, and more. It also bonds well with adhesives for mounting paper and fabric.
Please note that because Claybord is finished with an industrial sander, very thin glazes or washes may reveal slight, circular sanding marks. For a perfectly smooth surface, we recommend using fine sandpaper or oil-free steel wool before applying paint.