Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

Apart from the excellent product, I'd like to mention the packaging and shipping of this product. Since I live in northern British Columbia, Canada there is a lot of handling of this package and when it arrived it had a few gouges down into the second layer of packing material so I thought it might be damaged but when I opened it on the front deck, it was perfectly protected and in pristine condition! I was amazed at the professional job the packagers had done. Great job!

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

As I said earlier, Claybord is a good product. Not only that, however, when some of my order arrived damaged, Blick quickly rectified the situation, replacing my damaged items quickly and cheerfully. Great products and great customer care.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

I love Ampersand's Claybord. I use it as a surface when I paint watercolors and egg tempera paintings. While the initial application of color to the surface is difficult, subsequent layering techniques are great. I love the ability to lift color from the surface as well. Filbert rake brushes are indispensable when painting with this surface.
My most recent shipment from Blick, however, was disappointing. Of the seven Claybords that were shipped, three arrived damaged. I hope that future shipments will be better.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

I have not used the boards yet, but I did extensive price comparison and was happy with the deal at Blick's. The materials arrived in good condition andI cannot wait to start painting.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

I love the product that I purchased. I love that the supplies came fast. And I love the price I paid for them.

However - this is the second time some of my clabords have come in chipped on the sides or corners. Not sure if this is a packaging issue or if they just randomly have chips in them from time to time. Seems like those shouldn't be sent to customers and should, instead, be sent back to Ampersand.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

The claybord surface is unevenly absorbent -- small areas of the surface are less absorbent than in other areas leaving unsightly blotches of uneven paint which are difficult to even out even with successive layering. This is problematic because one never knows exactly in what area of the surface this will occur until it happens. Successive layering of paint only tends to make the problem worse since applying successive layers onto the area tends to lift the previous one! Finally, I thought applying a layer of gesso to cover the entire surface to address the absorbency issue seemed like a good idea -- until I noticed the gesso developed thin cracks in a few places. Lesson learned: I'll prepare and apply my own gesso grounds on hardboard next time. It is far cheaper and more predictable than what I've gone through with this product. What a great disappointment.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

It's the ideal surface for the type of work I do which requires lots of masking tape. The only criticism is the large size is prone to shipping damage due to the packaging. I sent one back only to have the replacement come with minor damage as well.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

I am a professional wildlife painter and find Ampersand Claybord is a beautiful product to use as I can achieve a lot of fine detail on the smooth surface and a lovely lustrous sheen when using gouache or watercolour.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

I use this for creating very smooth and detailed geometric acrylic paintings. It's an ideal surface for artist tape. It responds exactly the way I expect it to. I only wish it came in even larger or custom sizes with a few more profile options.

Comments about Ampersand Claybords:

I really like what can be done with these. They are very versatile. I've only had one problem with one being damaged from the many that I've ordered. It was 36" by 48". The large ones have less padding when shipped, so I would make sure and order ahead of time if you have a deadline. I'm waiting for my replacement to ship. It's on backorder. I've never had a problem with the 18" by 24" or smaller ones being damaged.