Ampersand Art Supplies

Ampersand are an art supplies company based in Texas, USA and since 1994 they have been producing artist panels and boards as an alternative to painting on canvas. It started with the Claybord invented by Charles Ewing, an artist from Colorado, who joined with Ampersand to expand his product further into the market.

Ampersands range of art panels and boards can be suited to a wide range of media from watercolours, oils & acrylics, pastels, mixed media and more. Each surface has a coating to give a specific effect and they are made to a high quality to make sure that your creations will look their best and last a long time.

The Ampersand boards available at Pegasus Art include Claybord, Gessobord, Scratchbord, Aquabord, and Pastelbord.

Ampersand Claybord

A hardboard base with a kaolin clay formula on top (also known as china clay) which gives a smooth and absorbant layer to paint on. This echoes the was renaissance painters used wooden panels which were painted with layers of a similar substance to give a smooth painting surface.The Claybords can be used with many different medias including acrylics, collage, pen & pencil, inks, watercolours and is one of the most versatile Ampersand boards. The media layers can be built up and then scratched or rubbed back with artist tools to create texture and detail.

All the Claybord panels are protected with Ampersands Archival-Seal barrier technology that seals the wood to stop the surface becoming discoloured. The wood is sourced from renewable wood fibres grown in the US and is free from formaldehyde.

Ampersand Gessobord

is made from hardboard with the Archival-Seal and then layers of gesso to create a great surface for acyrlics, oils and mixed media artists. The high quality gesso surface is acid free and gently sanded back to leave a board that is suited to many painting styles, whether you are using a brush or palette knife. This Gessobord is also made with wood from renewable US wood fibres and free from formaldehyde.

Ampersand Aquabord

This archival quality board is the one for watercolours with it's acid free surface made using clay, it is absorbant but also allows the colours to hold their vividity. The surface is a finish similar to cold pressed watercolour paper but you can also easity lift colour off the Aquabord to create layers and highlights. The advantage of using a board for watercolours is that there is no need to worry about paper tearing or becoming distorted and the Aquabords are made in the US using eco-friendly.

Ampersands Pastelbord

A hardboard coated with a gesso and clay surface and a fine marble dust that gives an exceptional finish for pastels. The pastelbord is a pH neutral board that is much more versatile than durable then pastel paper. Available in various colours and can be used with other media such as acrylics.

Ampersand Scratchbord

Has a layer of india ink over a clay surface on hardboard, providing a strong and high quality base for your artwork. Scratch away the ink layer to reveal the white surface behind and you can even add additional colour to give more detail or shading as required. We also stock a selection of ampersand scratch tools and inks to get you started on creating your scratch work.

Alongside the artist boards we also have the Ampersand Artist Panels in super smooth, textured canvas and unprimed basswood. The super smooth Artist Panels are great for achieving a fine detail, the textured canvas Artist Panel gives look of a canvas and superior paint control with the performance of a panel and the basswood Artist Panel is sanded smooth and unprimed ready for the seal and priming of your choice.