Painters use a lot of surfaces to paint their fine art masterpieces. Canvas stitched with wood stretcher bars has been used for a long time and wood panels are even more primitive than that. Wood is stronger, thus has more preserving powers that canvas or linen. There are contemporary painting styles like that of Jackson Pollock which requires pouring paints or some other collage-style painting which can benefit from using a tough and resistant surface like wood instead of canvas. By the way, Pollock did not use wood for his modern renditions.
To make the artwork last-long and hopefully outlive the artist’s lifespan, preparation of artist support is necessary. It is really important to seal and prime the wooden panels before they are painted in order to block the moisture from surfacing and damaging the paint-work.
Read more about Wood Painting at https://5amily.com/painting/blog/preparing-wood-with-sealer-before-painting
