After having made a bunch of new panels, and then going on a one week trip with them, I have decided to adjust what sizes I will use and buy in the future. Though there is a very sensible order to the standard US panel sizes, 8x10-16x20-24x30 are all the same relative dimension as are 9x12-12x16-18x24, and with this system it is very easy to make a useful color study for a more important larger project. The problem is that is doesn't offer much variety for sketching and none of it is very panoramic. I am also currently carrying around two separate raymar wet panel carriers, 8x10 and 12x16, a great tool I have discovered since I got back to the states, but transporting two is annoying. I sat down with a pen and a calculator to see if I could come up with a set of sizes that would be as easy as possible to frame in the US and Europe, all fit in one panel carrier, and offer me a better array of dimensions. Moving between inches and centimeters is never convenient, and the following sizes allow for one centimeter or less in error, most good frames leave you a bit of breathing room in the event you are using stretcher bars with the added thickness of canvas.
What I came up with was the following; 6x8-8x12-9x12-12x14-12x16. The little 6x8's (15x20cm, a common euro size) are great for quick sketches and easy to throw in my backpack, I don't have a wet panel carrier for them but don't mind, I find them better for 1 hour jobs than 8x10's, just as easy to find frames for, and a touch more elegant and panoramic. 8x12 is basically the same as 20x30 cm a very common size in Europe, and the same size as some of my favorite work by Marc Dalessio. 8x12 is not a popular size in the US but it seems like some people are using it and it is not impossible to find ready-made frames that fit. 9x12, on the other hand, is a very common size in the US and easy to find frames for. 12x14 has a very similar feel to 11x14, and is great for under life size head studies, it is also equivalent to 30x35 cm in Europe. 12x16 is very close to 30x40cm, and both sizes are very standard and easy to find frames for. With my 12x16 wet panel carrier I can now carry everything except the 6x8's, even 12 seperate wet 8x12's as long as they are 1/8th of an inch thick.
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I have also decided to go back to shellacked wood panels for all of my 6x8's, 8x12's, and 9x12's. After looking at my books it seems like pretty much all of my favorite small plein air sketching by people like Sorolla or any of the Macchioli, are on this kind of panel. It looks great, it has a very traditional and natural feel to it, and almost no other painters are using them today. The key is to get wood that is as light in value as possible and use refined clear schellac (available both in the US and at Zecchi) otherwise as the picture ages and goes transparent it will turn dull like a lot of work on dark grounds from the 17th century. Also, you can tint clear shellac with a touch of oil paint which will be permanently held in the surface, I tried it with burnt sienna and english red, both were good and my panel was a more usable tone than the strong yellow/orange of natural shellac. Hopefully someone who reads this finds it helpful, now I am looking forward to testing this new array of sizes on my next painting trip!
