Tutorial#1: Proper priming of your wood board (/panel)

or HOW TO KNOW when NOT to start a painting

I am not big on preparation. I hate the boring stuff. Gesso, undercolor, sketching. If I could, I would skip directly to coloring. BUT. If you are like me, impulsive and rushing, you're more than likely to find yourself with a lot of unfinished business.

So here goes, my exceptional tutorial:

1. You prime your wood panel with gesso. If you are sane, you must put there at least 2+ layers. If you're me, you might leave it at 1. Don't.

So, you prime:

You put the base color:

 You blow-dry (see? impatient altready!)

then you sketch:

and you start painting (values, undertones, etc.)

And just when you're right about here, 

you STOP!

Rubbish, no good, don't finish, throw away!

Why? 

(meaning asides from the obvious mid-process state. 

Well, don't judge by that, they all look kind of freakish until shortly before they're done). 

You stop,

because:

The paint just WON'T lay on the panel. Not like it's supposed to. 

So you can't get the result you must get.

And the panel has all these half-raised fibers that look threateningly wild-spirited, 

If you scratch them, they might come off. 

There goes. Bye-bye to my sweet hours spent so far on this piece. 

Err if you must, dear friends. Or if you wish, learn by me. 

Layers of Gesso: 2+
And don't rush.