To apply gesso to your canvas follow these simple steps:
What is Acrylic Gesso Used For?
You’ve heard about gesso. You’ve seen ads for it. But it’s possible you’re new to the method of applying your own gesso, or even completely new to painting with acrylic. So, what is gesso, and how do you use it in your next canvas art project?
In most basic terms, gesso is a fluid primer. You wouldn’t dream of painting your car without first using a base. For the same factor you shouldn’t attempt to apply paint on canvas without it. Liquid in the bottle, it dries to produce a small textured surface area. Artists agree that the best degree of prep can make a big difference! Especially in the way the acrylic paint sticks to the canvas
IS GESSO AS A CANVAS PAINT PRIMER NEEDED?
This binder is an essential enhancement to your art supply tool box. The use of canvas primer alters the tool you’re dealing with. Left in its raw state, the unprimed canvas will soak up acrylic paint. This causes the production of art work that features spotty areas.
When you paint on canvas for your project, use acrylic gesso to prime it first. It creates the base ground, preparing most types of surface areas for paint. Sculptors have used it to prepare their sculptures for bronzing applications. Referencing a painter handbook may recommend the use of this white pigment. Start your art project faster by using ready-made acrylic gesso. You can even apply the primer on rubber.
If you intend to produce art with accuracy, gesso is essential.
HOW THE OLD MASTERS MADE GESSSO
Making gesso has altered over the centuries. When the Old Masters worked with oil paint, they used primer on their canvas. Back then, it was an item derived from animal skins rendered glue binder. They applied it as a binder for egg tempera. Doing so caused a glue-like mix spread over the product. It would provide “tooth” to the surface area. The primer also enabled paint to adhere to the surface. This allowed for skilled layering.
There are no gesso substitutes for the acrylic painter that knows. When dealing with a canvas of any type, you’re dealing with a fabric. Consider how much of your acrylic paint the fabric takes in. Without gesso, nothing prevents the paint from saturating into the weave.
What is gesso used for when you don’t desire that outcome? For beginners, it seals the fibers of the canvas. It won’t soak up the acrylic paint as an unprimed canvas would. That’s because gesso gets absorbed rather than the liquid paint. Besides that, it produces a slight structure. This process enables the paint to stick to the canvas with accuracy.
The most critical aspect is the degree of control that this binder offers. Include one layer of it, and you could get some soaking. Including more layers increases the likelihood of preventing it. Best of all, you can vary the use based on the artwork you intend to produce. This tool is an ally for the artist that demands precise brush stroke control.
Is it feasible to prime your stretched canvas without the use of gesso? Some enthusiasts have played with different solutions. They tried watered down matte polymer featuring some uses for it. Caution: it will not provide the canvas the tooth or bite that makes the paint adhere. It’s fair to say that gesso is the best solution for prepping a surface area.
Is Gesso Necessary?
There is a temptation amongst beginner artists to start painting without using gesso. After all, applying gesso (as we will soon find out) can be a time-consuming exercise and canvas can be purchased pre-primed. Even still, applying gesso is a worthwhile task.
Gesso is the medium that provides an even painting surface. When dry it forms a ‘tooth-like’ texture for acrylic or oil paint to leave the brush easily and for it to adhere better to canvas or other surfaces. Without gesso there would be nothing to prevent your wet paint seeping straight through the fibres of a canvas or any other absorbent surface.
Gesso provides the protective barrier between the paint and the surface.
Canvas, by its very nature, is not a smooth surface due to its weaves. If your canvas is raw you must prime it with gesso a few times before painting otherwise all your painting effort will be a complete waste of time and money. Even if your canvas is pre-primed you should consider applying additional layers of gesso.
Not only will your paint sit better on a well-primed surface, but your colours will appear more vibrant. With a solid foundation in place, the life span of your artwork is increased.
Gesso can be used to protect and enhance surfaces such as canvas, paper, wood and board -making them less absorbent and smoother.
If you plan to use oil or acrylic paints on any absorbent surface, you should apply gesso before doing so. Oil paints, in particular, will penetrate unprepared (or insufficiently prepared) surfaces easily due to their solvent-based properties.
Note: If you are painting with watercolours, gesso will not be required. This is because you will want your surface to be able to absorb the water in order to be able to mix colours and water.
Types of Gesso
To appreciate the different qualities of acrylic gesso it is worth understanding the function of each of its key ingredients.
- Titanium Dioxide – this is the pigment which gives the gesso its white colour.
- Calcium carbonate – this is the chalk (sand-like granules) that gives gesso the ‘tooth’ that is vital for your paint to grip onto.
- Acrylic polymers in water – as the water evaporates the polymers have nothing to separate them so lock themselves together. In doing so they trap together the pigment and calcium carbonate particles. This process is known as ‘binding’. Once all the water has evaporated the polymer has created a film; it is this film that forms the foundation on which you apply your oil or acrylic paint.
The key to a good quality gesso is the right balance between these main ingredients. Be wary of the cheap gesso which tends to be watered-down and contain less acrylic polymer, pigment and chalk. This will have two adverse results:
- More time and gesso will be wasted as more layers will be required.
- The film that is formed will not be sufficiently stable and so will be susceptible to cracking and flaking.
Artist and professional grade gesso contains a better balance of polymer, pigment and chalk and thereby offers superior stability, durability and opacity. This means you can expect to achieve better and long-lasting painting results.
Gesso is a medium you are likely to get through quickly when you are applying multiple coats of it and/or working on larger canvas pieces. This often makes the professional quality gesso, as good as it is, uneconomical.
When developing our Zieler® gesso we took all these factors into account to carefully create an affordable, artist-quality, acrylic-based gesso that can be used straight or diluted.
We worked closely with our UK manufacturer and our artists to ensure our gesso gives a high-opacity, a matt white finish with good ‘tooth’.
Can I Use White Acrylic Paint Instead of Gesso?
Substituting white acrylic paint for gesso sounds possible – both contain white pigment and acrylic polymer. However, once it dries acrylic paint results in a more ‘slippery’ surface than gesso. Consequently, your paints will have less ‘tooth’ to grip onto. By contrast, gesso with its titanium dioxide will give you the necessary surface ‘tooth’ – as depicted and magnified below
Acrylic GessoMore Than Just a Primer
Acrylic Gesso, I love it! Not only do I love the feel of a good quality gesso, even opening the tub is somehow laden with possibility.
Gesso is primarily an acrylic primer (sorry, couldn’t resist). It is a sensational product for sealing canvas, paper and boards such as masonite. Be sure to seal the board first with a very good quality acrylic sealer, or acrylic painting medium such as Atelier Binder Medium or equivalent.
If you are trying to save some cash you can use a PVA glue; though don’t expect your painting to be around for hundreds of years.
The sealer should prevent the tannins and acids from the board leaching through and discolouring your gorgeous painting.
After sealing your surface you are ready for the next best thing about acrylic gesso. It has some “body”. This allows you to fill some of the surface in the canvas, paper or board (if you want) or build up some brush strokes or other textures in your surface. These textures are generally thinner than those created with impasto gel or texture medium.
I find it very inspiring to lay out a canvas and throw a couple of coats of gesso on it, knowing that I am setting myself up for the finished painting; even in these early stages. This is often followed by standing back shuffling from side to side waiting for it to dry so I can hurl some paint at it.
When you paint your canvas, you can apply the coats of gesso in several very thin layers (with a rub of fine sandpaper in between) so that you end up with a very smooth surface. This look is often sought after by realist and photo-realist artists.
Your gesso can also be tinted if you are after a ground which has some colour. The impressionists experimented with different coloured grounds to see how the colour affected the painting. You can warm or cool a painting by choosing an appropriate colour.
Acrylic gesso can also be used on watercolor paper. Whilst it is not necessary to seal anything in, the gesso will stop the paper from absorbing too much pigment. You can push paint around without it all disappearing into the paper. It tends to restrict thin colours from “bleeding” into areas you don’t want and will also stiffen up your paper a little.
Another great thing about acrylic gesso is that it can hide some serious sins. Occasionally there is a painting that will fight you all the way, until you finally realise it is going nowhere. Bring out the gesso. Bury it beneath a couple of coats. Bingo. A whole new start, and the evidence of your hideous creation is gone (making sure of course that the “build” from the previous painting isn’t too obvious to hide.) Make sure that you are painting the acrylic gesso over acrylic paint and not oils. The gesso will either not stick or the oils may bleed through.
Knowing you can paint over something that isn’t working, is slightly liberating; and I think takes some of the pressure off you when you paint. Fun. Remember??
Gesso may be one of those things you don’t use often. But knowing how it works, and having a pot tucked away in the back corner, allows some possibilities that may inspire you when you are feeling a bit stuck. And of course, if you are into creating texture, this can be the first place to start.
