Guillem Ramos-Poquí

STAGES OF PAINTING THE ICON OF CALVARY
London 2009

Stage 1: THE PANEL

With Robert at Bird and Davis Ltd factory, in London Camden Town,
where Robert made the 1.58m x 1.22 m stretcher and covered with linen

You can see now the back of the stretcher,
with the MDF and the reinforcemetn bars

Cross section of panel showing the linen canvas and strecher:

A: Raw Linen canvas (ready to get the size and the gesso).It is
laying over B (not glued to it), the back of which is prepared with acrylic
E: the wooden stretcher
D: One of the strecher's (reinforcement) wooden bars
B: a thin piece of MDF board, to provide a rigid support for the canvas
C: wood the same width and shape as the strecher bars, filling in the gap
between MDF and bars, to reinforce rigid surface provided by MDF layer.
C is glued to layers B and D, but not to E, in this way allowing for possible
canvas expansion during priming (in which case the wedges will be used)

Detail of the strecher, showing the thin MDF (Medium Density Fibre Board)
and the bars to ensure the linen canvas (fixed to the back with staples) is a rigid support.

This shows that it is possible fora person to carry the panel when, if it would have been solid wood
(or todays alternative 3/4" ply), it would have required two or three stong man to move a panel this size around!

With the board for the Calvary, ready to start work:
G. Ramos-Poqui in the "art studio" in London W9,
the Hall of St Luke's Church, with Fr. Alastair Thom,Vicar. 30th September 2009

NOW GO TO STAGE 2:
PREPARING THE PANEL WITH GESSO