Ampersand Claybord 5 in. x 7 in. pack of 3

For a long time, I preferred to use hot press illustration board for my finished artworks, but once I started to use these clayboards I find it hard to return to using it. Pros: - Archival quality. It is nice to know that my art will last for years on this board and still look beautiful. - SCRATCH OUT TECHNIQUE. In my opinion this sets clayboard apart from other surfaces because with ink or watercolor, you can scratch it out with an exact-o knife to reveal sharp white highlights that are difficult to achieve otherwise. - Gorgeous smooth surface. - Sturdy. I can safety transport my work to and from class without worrying about it getting bent. - It will not bend, regardless of how much water is on it. When doing watercolor/gouache, you don't have to worry about stretching paper. I used illustration board for years and for larger pieces, if not stretched and held down, even heavy illustration board starts to bend to the force of the water. - Takes gouache beautifully. The colors look so brilliant. Cons: - Hard to erase pencil on it short of scratching it out. - Gouache dries faster than I'm typically used to but that lessens as more layers are added. - Looks a little yellow when scanned into a computer. Now this is an incredibly easy fix in photoshop but I feel it should be mentioned.

I absolutely love these panels for painting with acrylics. The surface is perfectly smooth, & the backing is firm & solid. I like the size of these panels, too: they're perfect for doing smaller paintings, while still allowing full expression of one's ideas (though in "miniature"). My only complaint is that this time one of the panels was damaged, with the clay chipped off in two places. Normally I wouldn't nit-pick about this, especially given how easily something like this could happen, but since there are only three panels per pack the damage makes 1/3 of the panels useless for anything serious. Nevertheless, I highly recommend these Clapbord panels. Just make sure to check that they're all intact when you receive them.

The product is fabulous but I was disappointed that the top panel had a broken corner. I assume this had more to do with shipping or throwing the box on my doorstep delivery. They are not cheap so I’ll have to figure out a way to repair it as I won’t be able to sell a painting on it now.

Size pictured is 12" x 16" -- size received is 5 x 7. I searched quite a bit and unfortunately overlooked the size description. Seller needs to match the actual product being sold to the product in the photo. ***Update 6/20/2014*** I added stars in order to reflect my satisfaction with the product, rather than my dissatisfaction with the seller's listing. Also, it seems the listing now has the correct size pictured. Claybord is a joy to draw on, I even blogged a bit about my results and I was able to use this small 5x7 size in a diptych. One has to be careful about quickly erasing pencil guidelines, though. And it's not a good surface for detailed acrylic painting, since it absorbs the paint and your piece will be dry before you get to work it, unless you are a fast painter!

I love these clayboard panels. I had not used this type of panel before so bought this small size to try them out. I love them. They have a bit of a texture to them while remaining a bit smooth. Paint goes on smoothly and looks beautiful. I prefer painting on these panels rather than canvas. I used front loading plastic frames that I also bought here on amazon to display the finished painting on these panels. It makes the panel look finished and provides a way to hang it on the wall. The panels fit perfectly into the frames. Nice, high quality item for artists.