How do you apply gesso

Step 1 — Begin with a clean unprimed canvas. Wipe down your surface with a light, damp cloth, or rubbing alcohol. Make sure your cloth is NOT soaking wet as it will take longer to dry.

Step 2 — Pour the gesso in a bowl or shallow container and dip in your wide brush. Make sure to close the bottle of white gesso to avoid drying it out. Step 3 — Brush a thin layer of gesso with consistent patterns.

You can brush all in horizontal or vertical motions on the canvas. Step 4 — Allow 20 minutes to 1 hour for the gesso to dry. Touch the surface of the canvas, If the gesso has lift, it is not dry.

Check again in 20 minute intervals and then prime your canvas with gesso again. Step 5 — Sand down the thin layer of gesso. Do not apply a lot of pressure. The gesso by breathing color clumps when sanded. This makes it easy to use and work with on your canvas. Step 6 — For most artists, one layer of gesso may be enough. Prefer more of a textured surface? If so, repeat steps as many times as you like.

If you would like to print this guide for reference you can download it here PDF. View our article: What is Gesso Used For? Gesso is a binder used to prepare a surface, typically canvas, for paint. It prevents the acrylic paint from absorbing directly into the canvas. Today the word primer and gesso essentially mean the same thing. Gesso is what you apply to an untreated canvas before you paint.

This method is called priming a canvas. There are several factors that contribute to gesso drying times. Thank you Will for sharing the information. If the canvas is white, it has gesso painted onto it. Oil primer gesso used specifically for oil painting takes longer to dry. Acrylic gesso is quicker to dry, you can usually apply two coats in the day, but ideally a 24hr wait before painting ontop. An old pair of tweezers can can be handy for picking out any rough brush hairs.

How do you know what good quality brushes are, I usually buy mine from Micheals. I was afraid of that it might crack when I finally stretch it.

Hello Mr. Kemp, I just received my very first piece of canvas and I am so excited to create an abstract. As I am no artist I have no idea what to do first except to use the gesso, do I stretch the canvas first or wait? What all should I purchase? Is there any preference on paint and brushes for the first timer? I would actually like to do a self body painting on this canvas, any suggestions as to what I should do? Thank you for your time,.

I always recommend starting with an artist quality white and then building up your paints from their. Have a look at this article on a beginners paint palette. What are your thoughts on using an acrylic medium in the place of gesso for priming a canvas?

I am experimenting with leaving a raw appearance to the canvas, while maintaining a proper seal. My concern is that the medium is not of adequate strength to provide a solid, long-term base for the paint ie might flake because not fully binding to canvas fibers. I am using acrylics with the occasional oil stick currently to be used over the acrylic medium. Traditionally, rabbitskin glue also known as hide glue was used to reduce the flexibility of canvas before painting.

Although the rabbitskin glue does reduce flexibility, it is extremely brittle. It is hygroscopic, which means that it will always be water-soluble. Even when the glue is completely dry, high humidity will re-introduce water into the film, causing it to soften or swell up.

Over time, this constant swelling and drying of the film can cause severe paint-film cracking and delamination. GAC can be used in a similar fashion for stiffening canvas. Although the GAC will not quite achieve the stiffness of the rabbitskin glue, it does not remain water-soluble.

Apply one or two coats directly into the raw canvas, coating both front and back for maximum stiffness. It is imperative that it be applied directly to the raw canvas.

Since it is an acrylic polymer, it is not hygroscopic. Note: Since GAC is brittle, it is important that it not be rolled tightly, or bent back upon itself. This will cause cracking of the polymer film and may transfer cracks into additional paint layers.

This is especially a risk with cured oil paints. Im a total newbie. I want to paint both oil and acrylic, but doing acrylic for now. What can I use to keep the paint moist enough to work on for a lengthy time.

For on your painting you can add a touch of acrylic retarder, which helps to stop the paints dry quite so quickly. Do i need to prepare the canvas beforehand or apply more coats? I need to keep bright vibrant colours,so opaques are out of the question. It depends on the effect you are after with your painting, have a solid gesso ground will make it easier to apply paints to the surface.

If you are using student quality paints these can often need more coats for the same coverage you would achieve with artist quality paints. Hi will, This site was very useful and i mean it. Many people after seeing my painting want me to sell them but i am afraid that it wont be nice to give them such an unprofessional painting and i dont even know how long it will last.

I am very new to canvas so wanted your suggestions. You usually apply gesso when the canvas is horizontal, so on a table is just fine. To hold the canvas in place most artist use an easel — either a tabletop easel or stand up easel. Hello, I will paint with geomatrical shape by using arcylic. So,it is should have toned ground for it background because it does not landscape drawing but just geomatrical pattern. Hi Will, Thank you so much for the website. It has been so helpful and resourceful.

I am reading it everyday and try to learn more about my favorite old master and impressionist painting techniques. You have helped a lot! Thank you and please keep doing what you are doing for this online art school. It is indeed wonderful. Hi Will Thanks for all the tips! I was wondering if you could give me some advice please?

I have made a few of my own stretchers which I have painted on and I am now wondering how to finish off the edges on the back. I have been left with raw, fraying edges and staples on the cotton canvas. Could you recommend a high-tack tape or something like that please? I an trying to achieve a professorial finish.

Hi Lindsey, the best thing to do is get a roll of brown framers tape, you can run this over the back of the frame and it will look sweet. Have a look at these frame sealing tapes.

I always go for the self adhesive rather than the gummed version. I am looking to paint a large canvas; 4 feet by 8 feet. If I buy a canvas painters drop cloth and size it and put on three coats of gesso and then stretch it on a frame, would that work for painting with acrylics. Any advice on creating a bit more of a rough surface? Thanks for the reply! Another question, could I mix something like sand or something into the gesso to give it texture?

Something like beach sand? I have a little bit from Redondo Beach, California in small mason jars in the bathroom, and could use a little bit from that mixed into the gesso, if this could work. I just happened across this site which is fantastic and I am interested in painting across a map of Wash ington DC as part of a wedding gift. What should I do to prepare the map to take acrylic paint? Any thoughts? Cheers, Will. I applied my first coat of gesso on 12oz cotton canvas. I forgot to dilute the gesso with water on the first coat.

In your experience do you think it will crack over time? Thanks for help. Most small pots come in ml. I never tried the single sheet canvas that is tear away like drawing pages. So I started to paint on a sheet of canvas and found it was very difficult painting. I was using acrylics and my color and detail became lost soon after applying.

After completing half of my subject blue jays I realized that i had painted the opposite side of the gesso. Is this the cause of my burden? It is to be a gift to my Father. The reason I used the tear out canvass to begin with was due to shipping. I have applied generous amounts of paint and it still seemed so grainy. Yes that will be the issue scott, the raw canvas will make it harder for the painting to flow on the surface.

Hi… Let me say you thank for you kindly support, advice and shared experienced with us. Sometime I surf on your site for tips and trick, is a amazing island of wonder! Could you suggest me some advice for using canvas instead paper for watercolor?

My first proof were a stunning disaster color creates stains on the canvas and spreads everywhere. My first, albeit not very helpful advice, would be to stick with watercolours on paper for the best result. If you want a harder surface to work onto you can mount watercolour paper onto a wooden board.

You can use soft-gel gloss or spray mount to attach the paper to board. Its very generous of you to share your amazing knowledge and skill like this. Second off all, do I need to size MDF board before applying gesso? I have been using a sealer mixed as recommended with my base coat but the paint absorbs VERY fast! It makes it very difficult to and time consuming to produce anything. Is there any other way to prepare wood for painting?

After your response I googled all kinds of gesso and there are a lot! What are some good kinds for wood? I am on a small budget so am looking for the best bang for my buck. For my drawing supplies I shop at Dick Blick online. I noticed they have a line of artist acrylic paint and gesso and a variety of other things. Hope you find the tutorials helpful. Hi Will! Your blog, indeed is very informative and encouraging, am passionate about drawing and i know that i have good skill, have worked with pencil colors and soft pastels and the out come is really good, people have told me why dont i pursue this sill on professional basis.

The problem is that am not sucessful with either water colors or acrylic paints, as soon as i have brush in hand, am not able to create a painting…i have bought pre-primed canvas Titanium Fine Art trade mark canvas and want to pursue and pidilitte paints…please can you guide.

The best place to start is with a simple two colour painting, get used to holding the brush and making brushstrokes, and then you can introduce more colours as you progress. When i look at it at a different angle, it looks patchy, but straight on it looks normal. Should I be unable to see any light through the back of the painting?

Or can I just start painting? What a wonderful website!!! So I bought a roll of 2. The plan is to make two painting with this using acrylic paints. I have black gesso.. Is this possible or do I really have to stretch and painting like that?

I have down it before not have the tools yet. Guess I need some stretching bars etc? I was kinda hoping to just do the painting and then pay someone to stretch, mount or frame etc.

Hi Wendy, here is a simple demo on how to stretch a canvas so you can see how the different elements all work together. Cheers wendy. If you keep on unpicking the staples from the stretched canvas every time it would also be very time consuming to do this every time you painted. Hope this helps,. I want to prime my board with Gesso. Do I sketch my drawing before or after applying the gesso primer? I am using a charcoal pencil. Hi Will, I am new to the world of acrylic painting.

My question is about gesso. I understand its purpose now, but wonder why would one tint it. What does one consider when choosing a tint. Thank you for the great website. Thankyou for such a treat of a website with all these wonderful tutorials! Hello Will, I have been reading all the comments and questions on this site.

How delightful to find so much knowledge on one page. Thank you. I have been oil painting. I had liquid white on the canvas in question and had laid my first patches of color for the sky when I became ill and had to leave the painting sit dry.

I have managed to remove most of the oils across the sky with turpentine. There is still some color on the canvas What do I do next? Must I re-prime my canvas with Gesso, if so, should I use oil gesso or acrylic? Sincerely, Mari. I work with oils on wood. When I paint I like for it to be slightly transparent for the patterns and the grain of the wood to show through similar to the work of Audrey Kawasaki.

I was wondering how you gesso or prime the wood and still be able to get that effect? Hi Melena you can get a clear gesso that is a resin, then work with layers ontop of that. I sanded the surface before I began painting with oils. I am wondering if I may have sanded to hard over the stretcher and accidentally sanded off all the gesso in those areas.

Does this sound familiar? Is there anything I can do at this point to remedy it? Would it be appropriate for me to dampen the back of the canvas to see if it just needs tightened? Or can I gesso the back of the canvas in the areas that seem to have lost the gesso?

Thank you for your time and consideration! Thanks so much for the tip. I have mistaken the purpose of poppyseed oil and have been using it like paint thinner in the first few coats of paint on two paintings.

Now my paintings are tacky to the touch, blotchy and glossy. I still plan on working on them some more, but I am afraid that they may crack with more coats of paint. I have since done research and now understand the fat over lean process. Are my paintings doomed, or will they dry enough in a few months time to continue working on them? Thank you for your time. I look forward to your response! Sincerely, Alyssa. Hi Alyssa, the poppy oil is classes as a semi-drying oil and often has dries added so will dry eventually its just more slow drying than linseed oil.

I am a complete newbie. Could I use clear gesso on top of it? I want my fabric to stay brown and grainy if possible. Hi Katya, yes you can apply a clear gesso to your fabric, but I would recommend artist canvas so you can pull it tight on a stretcher bar to give you a taught surface to paint on top of. Hi Will, I am working on an acrylic landscape with two foreground mountains to the sides, one midground, and another background.

I was thinking of leaving it but hazing it up a bit. Will a light wash give it a lighter, hazy look or will it smear the work? Is there anything else I might consider? Thank you sir, best of the holidays, and I may try to concoct some of those whiskey macs you mentioned!

Raise a glass to the teacher! Hi Denis, you can use Zinc white, which is a transparent white, this will give a lovely hazy effect.

It has no center wood support. Do I need to gesso the back at all? Thanks Will! I just found your website and will subscribe to it. What a great tool to have in the studio!

My mother was given a very large roll of unprimed canvas. She wants to cut it up and make her own painting What does she need to do to prepare it for painting? She tried coating it with Gesso but it soaked right through.

What can she do? Hi Carolyn, if its acrylic painting she would just need to apply a couple of coats of gesso to the canvas, ideally stretched onto stretcher bars to keep the canvas taught.

Yes, sometimes the first layers of gesso will drip through if it is a loose weave on the canvas, you can then just apply another coat on top. I bought a small canvas and did a sketch on it, just to learn I have to prime it first like I said, completely new. Anyways, can you give me any advice on what brushes or tools will I need. I have just stumbled across your blog in my search for help. I am thinking that you in your wisdom will be able to help me.

I am a photographer, and am wanting to create some painted canvas backdrops. The backdrops would be rolled up when not in use. I have purchased a roll of pre-primed 10oz canvas from an art supplier. My questions are: 1. Do I need to prime it again with gesso to ensure that the paint that I paint on it does not crack when it is rolled up, stored and unrolled again? What kind of paint should I be using? It will be a solid colour on the backdrop not a design. How many layers of paint should I be painting on?

Oh and do I need to stretch the canvas while I am painting it? Or can I just lay it down and paint away? To answer your questions: 1. Acrylics would be best for flexibility 3. Hi Will, Just thought I had to comment on your excellent site.

Thought I might start with an easy L S Lowry copy as there are some readily available. Will let you know how I get on. Kind regards from sunny England [ I wish] Colin Eccles.

Hi Colin, thanks for dropping by and for your kind comments, hope the Lowry copy goes well and you find the site helpful. Hi Will. Just a quick question, can I prime MDF with white emulsion instead of gesso?

Or is that totally insane! Hello Will. I am relatively new to painting and have just discovered this site. My problem is this: Do I need to gesso these or will a couple of coats of white paint be ok? I am painting in acrylics. Many thanks, Rose. Hi Rose, the gesso is a good base because it will have more absorbency than standard white paint.

Are you diluting the gesso with water? I have been painting with acrylics about five years, learn something new with each painting. Lately I am using a thinned layering process on portrait paintings.

My problem is the toothiness of the canvas is showing through from the watered down acrylic. How do I get that to seal so the teeth will be covered? Thanks, love your site and articles. This will give you a smoother finish with the thin layers. I generally work in pyrographics, burning , so this information for my next project is greatly useful as I attemp a large painting behind a burning!

Thanks very much. Thank you very very much for taking the time to produce such an incredibly helpful website. Your explanation on color bias was also a break-through and I can only imagine how much my painting will improve as I work my way through your lessons.

You are a saint! Hi, yes, you can use a roller for larger scale applications, sometimes the wall rollers will leave tiny textured effects on the surface in comparison to a brush, the best thing to do is test a smaller canvas first to see if you like the aesthetic.

I am a little confused with sizes and gesso for oil paints. I usually use marine ply boards to paint on and was told at an art store that acrylic gesso on the board is ok for oils thin layers sanded between coats I then start with acrylic underpainting then move to oils. Without the protection of a size layer the canvas or linen can be more susceptible to rot. Im a finance analyst by profession but has been painting since 3rd grade.

I really find your site very informative and helpful, especially for art enthusiasts like myself. Will it be advisable then to apply a third layer of Gesso, or two layers should do the trick?

Thanks for sharing so much information. I truly appreciated it. I have 2 canvas backgrounded with oil paint. Can I put gesso over and then continue with acrylic? Thanks for your help. Hi Rebekka, you can paint oil paint ontop of acrylics, but not acrylic paint over oil.

I live in Costa Rica and am about to work on three large canvases. It has a white coating type primer made for ink. Do you happen to know if I can gesso on top of this primer, or if I need to gesso on it at all. This is for an acrylic painting.

Would appreciate any advice you may have. Varnish is a good way to bring the colors back, but I wanted a more accurate and faster way of getting the saturation that I needed. It was recommended to me that I use an oil-base primer on top of the gesso.

Did I apply too much primer? What can I do to repair my surface before I start painting on the canvas. Should I sand it off or is there a glue like-medium that will protect the cracking?

Most gesso for painting is a combination of glue or binder and pigment, so the paint has the flexibility within it. Cracks usually appear when there is one thick layer, rather that a few thin layers. Personally, I would start a fresh and do a few small test pieces on scrap canvas to test if it was the thickness or the inherent lack of flexibility in the primer.

Dear Will Kemp, I have just been told that sanding my canvas after painting it with white gesso creates a serious problem. Apparently the Titanium white is toxic when inhaled. If inhaled over a long period of time is a carcinogen.

Would it be safer to use clear gesso for priming the canvas? I use it on ready made stretched canvas to make the surface smoother to paint on.

Is the Titanium safe if left contained in the paint and not sanded? If not what other white could I use,please.? Thank you, as always, for all your help and advice.

I really appreciate you and admire your work and generosity. For smooth canvas, I would look for a portrait canvas that has a finer weave so you have a smoother surface intially. I have bought fabric canvas and acrylic gesso.

Do you recommend to sand the surface of the last gesso layer? I have noticed a few tiny gesso balls on the back of the canvas when I apply the first and sometimes the second layer. Is it that normal? I have noticed even after 3 layer I still can see the fabric weft. Should the weft be not visible? And yes you still want to see some weave as this will drag the paint from the brush. To get a more absorbent surface I would have to use gesso or acrylic gesso?

Sorry this is a little confusing for me. To add absorbency to your acrylic gesso you would add in more chalk calcium carbonate — sometimes called whiting to the gesso.

More absorbent add more chalk More flexible add more binder Less absorbent add more pigment. What could I use for binder? Hi Alan, personally I would use the existing acrylic gesso and then add to that rather that trying to create a gesso from scratch. Will I get the same easy to work and absorbent surface after I put the first layer of glaze in a gesso primed canvas? Or will the surface repel the paint on the next glaze layer I add?

How long would the gesso help in this situation to avoid the paint sit on the surface instead of soak in? Are there another alternatives to that? Thank you so much! The surface quality will change as you add more layers of paint get less absorbent as you add more layers of acrylic You can add some of the flow release to your water when working with acrylics. Hope this helps, Cheers Will Will. The flow release seems to work nice as it makes the paint soak into the canvas. Does matte medium have similar effect or it has nothing to do with flow release?

I ask because I saw some videos from Michael Lang on YouTube and he says he uses matte medium and he makes nice shading and it appears the paint soaks into canvas fast and nice layers after layers. Hi Alan, the matte medium would have a different effect on the paint as you would mix it in with your acrylics directly, rather than mixing them with the water, it can still work well for thin applications.

Is the flow release able to soak into a surface already painted with acrylics? Be able to put many thin layers and have them soak instead of sitting on surface. The Flow release should be used on raw canvas only or could be as the layer on gesso primed canvas?

I wanted to be able to put new layers on specific areas and wanted the paint soak in after rubbing the brush sometimes. Wanted to put small amount of color layer by layer on specific areas on the objects on the canvas to build the shadows. For example imagine a cube with darker areas at bottom. Sorry long messages I just wanted to get a better idea on what products I could by and try to create this.

Hello Will, I find your website very interesting. May I ask you a question : I made a stretch linen canvas for painting with acrylic. This canvas looks ok but I wonder if it is good enough to last years. I built it this way : first I have put acrylic matte medium gel on both sides of some raw linen canvas, then I stretched the canvas and later I put several layers of acrylic white gesso I lightly sanded every layer.

Do you think this method is good to build a quality canvas that will last years? Many thanks Yann. I used to dabble in watercolors. I just wanted to say your site has been a lifesaver and inspiration. But now i am relieved to learn from your site that all is well and i also understand about canvases being sized and already prepped.

Thank you! I bought several oil primed canvases. I want to tone the canvas but use one layer of acrylic. I would apply a tonal ground for an oil primed canvas using quick-drying oils or quick-drying white mixed with an earth colour rather than acrylics. Hello Will! Here acrylic gesso is expensive. I would like to make my own. Would you suggest a recipe I could use? Here is a recipe for a traditional Chalk gesso using Rabbit skin glue. Could I use calcium sulfate instead of calcium carbonate?

Could I use something to make PVA glue archival? Will it be flexible? I read acrylic gesso should be flexible to avoid cracking in the canvas right? But neutral PVA glue is a recent modern alternative will less chance of movement on flexible supports than Rabbit skin glue which remains Hydroscopic.

PVA glue is more flexible than Rabbit skin Glue, which remains hygroscopic, so can absorb water in the future and lead to cracking on flexible supports. This is from the Gamblin paints website :. Conservation scientists caution painters that rabbit skin glue absorbs atmospheric moisture on damp days and swells, gives off moisture on dry days and shrinks.

This movement of the size layer can cause aged oil paintings to crack according to the Smithsonian Conservation Lab. Conservation scientists recommend painters use neutral pH PVA size on linen and canvas instead of rabbit skin glue.

PVA provides a good size layer that seals the fabric but does not re-absorb atmospheric moisture, swell and shrink like rabbit skin glue does. There are hundreds of different formulae of PVA. We acknowledge and appreciate the research of the Canadian Conservation Institute that helps painters and conservators identify the best PVA to use. It also retains its flexibility and does not emit harmful volatiles.

This is from the Golden paints website :. Traditionally, a hide glue typically rabbit-skin was applied directly to canvas or linen to stiffen the fabric and protect the support from the acidic oils. Ironically, it promoted cracking later on when the artwork was introduced to varying temperatures and humidity. When moisture, usually in the form of high humidity, is re-introduced into this film, the glue swells, changes dimensionally, and becomes less rigid, causing the paint film to crack and, over time, flake off.

This is most prevalent on cotton and linen canvases as their inherent flexibility allows the stress to be passed along to the oil paint film. With rigid supports such as wood panels, the chance of swelling is much lower, and this glue size is more appropriate.

Hi There, Great informative article. Any thoughts on this? Thanks so much! Julie Gargan. I would try a test piece with no gesso, one coat of clear gesso and two coats of clear gesso and then see which surface quality you prefer for your pieces. Hi Scott, for oil painting you would usually size the canvas and then apply the gesso ontop. Modern sizes such as archival PVA glue can be an easy to apply protection for the raw canvas surface before you apply the gesso. Have I completely ruined it?

Hi Will, I have a tub of liquitex acrylic gesso for beginners that I bought over ten years ago and never opened it until now It has been in a fairly stable temp and not exposed to sun. Thank you in advance for any help.

Hi Doug, under those conditions I think it would be fine to use, you could check directly with Liquitex just to be doubly sure. I just discovered your site and gosh — what a resource. You have done an incredible job on content creation here. I know what it takes to develop a site of this quality and magnitude I work full time in online marketing, copywriting and content creation so I understand what has been invested in the amount of content you offer — just, wow — my hat off to you dude!

I really want to ace my Introductory Painting subject so will probably pay for your acrylics course. I have no problem paying for that type of tutoring when someone has done such an amazing job of providing value through their free material. You deserve it. Nice to hear from you and thanks so much for your lovely comments, much appreciated. I hope you can help me please. I applied 3 coats of gesso to a canvas and it still feels sticky after 3 days.

Hi Sandy, I would always wait for the gesso to be dry before painting ontop of. If working with an oil gesso it can take a few days to dry depending on thickness of application, acrylic gesso should dry within the hour. I am starting out large scale acrylic painting.

I assume I do need to prep with gesso? Do I also need to apply a toned background? Thanks so much for all the useful info. You might find this article of interest on the absorbency of your paint surface. Hello Will, It might be a stupid question, but is it possible to mix products of different brands? I wonder if the result would last well… Thanks for the useful information on your website. Your acrylic course is also great. Hi, i have a few questions. Do you prefer painting before of after stretching the canvas?

If you prefer to stretch the canvas first, do you gesso before or after stretching the canvas? And how each step will affect the painting. Hi Zunun, you stretch the canvas first, then prime the canvas with gesso. Thank you so much. Hello Will, Your website is a real help. Recently I have a project to paint a photorealist portrait in oil medium. Oil will be my first venture to explore.

Feeling very tensed but I really want to do it with all my efforts. Money is also an issue. I want to make a black and white photorealist portrait. Please let me know the details to prepare my canvas and the materials I should choose. I live in west bengal, India. So, climate here is one of the biggest issues. The size of my work will be 36inchesX30inches. Need help. Hi Utsab, you might find this series of interest on: How to paint an oil portrait that goes through the entire process.

I am painting with acrylic. I found that there are some severe mold problem on the back of my acrylic paintings. I have tried many method ie. The canvas I used are per-primed linen canvas and I have no idea what material they used to prime these canvas.

I am so worried that the mold on the back would damage the painting, do you think I should seal the back of the canvas with medium or vanish or any kind of material to prevent moisture from entering the canvas back?

Hi Ana, mould can grow on any fabric surface if the paintings are stored in a damp environment. You might find this article helpful on art restoration and canvas. To deal with the MOLD growing on the paintings, lightly spray do not saturate the canvas, front and back, with Lysol spray not the liquid. This will help arrest the mold growth, and you may need to repeat this a few times. When the mold is dry and powdery it is now dormant.

You can then take the canvas outside it and the residue can be brushed with a clean dry paint brush. Remember to wear a mask so as not to inhale the airborne spores, and be sure to remove all the debris from the back and not to allow it to accumulate under the stretcher bars! The paintings may still need professional cleaning and conservation, but this will help stop the mold from getting any worse until that time.

Here is a link to some other types of Mold cleaner from Moldblogger Hope this helps,. Hi Will, I would like to do art and craft with children I want place removable vinyl letters on canva paint the entire canvas acrylic paint then remove the letters. Can I use this canvas for this project? Need to know stat as program starts need to get supplies.

Hi Will My first canvas I prepped using gesso and water. All good. I think I confused acrylic base with acrylic medium. Am I going to be able to use this canvas? Hi Regina, the acrylic medium will give you a more slippy surface to paint onto depending on how much medium is added but you can still paint ontop of it. I had to throw it out. Thanks anyway. Painting is easier! I am thrilled about your website and tutorials and all the information you are just giving out. Because of its large size some of the edges were cracked so i laid a thicker stroke of pre-dilluted gesso.

The surface right now is uneven and i will sand it tomorrow. I thought to have around 4layers of gesso so it will become thick and glossy to paint acrylics on it. I am going to paint a landscape with trees, waters and mountains. Do you suggest to use a color ground on top of the gesso for better results? And which color shall i use? The mountains are a bit grayish, blue waters and lots of green trees. Shall i go with the imoressionists and paint a red or orange?

Also i just finished a big painting of a dancer and i wanted to ask you if you are using varnishes when you finish your paintings. And what varnish should i use? Also do i need to put a medium in my waters like you have suggested in your website? And which color shall I use? Shall i go with the impressionists and paint a red or orange? What can be handy to do is make small postcard sized sketches using different coloured grounds to see which colour you prefer before starting on the larger piece.

If you are using varnishes when you finish your paintings? Yes I do, for acrylics, I apply an isolation coat to separate the paint surface from the varnish layer and then a coat of removable varnish.

Do I need to put a medium in my waters like you have suggested in your website? It depends on the absorbency of your painting surface, you can read more about it here :. In trying to save cost, I used a latex wall primer and now my paints are peeling off. Two questions: can I cover my work with a finish that will keep it from peeling? For my next piece, would gesso prevent this issue? Hi Janet, if the paint is peeling the only option really is to try and paint on a thick varnish-like yacht varnish or apply a layer of golden gel medium that will act like a glue.

Yes, an absorbent surface to that bonds into the wood and still gives the paint a tooth to adhere to. Hi Will, I have stretched and put 2 coats of gesso on a rather large canvass 7. I have not sized this piece of canvas. Is there something I can do to make the canvas acceptable for oil. Will multiple coats of gesso work? Thank you so much for all your knowledge! Hi Bow, was the gesso straight onto raw canvas? However, I still have a question. Like does it help blending and allow the paint to stay undried for longer so you have time?

For increasing working time you can add a retarder to the acrylics or use a medium, I like the acryic glazing liquid gloss from Golden paints. Hi Will, Firstly I would like to say thank you for all the information and tutorials you put out there for us. I am a beginning artist… I need some advice. A couple of my canvases have acquired brown spots on the back of them. I live in Asia where it is humid. The canvases were already prepared by the manufacturer, I assumed it would not get mold.

I was wrong. Is there anything I can do to remove this? One of them I have already painted on. Or am I simply bolting the stable door after the horse has fled? You could try placing the back of the canvas in the sun until the mould goes dry and then spraying with a light bleach solution. A mixture of bleach and water in a spray bottle is effective when sprayed on and wiped away with a rag.

It would only need a short time on the canvas before wiping off the mould. I have a couple of questions for you regarding gessoing and painting my ground. What brush do you recommend for applying gesso?

What do you suggest? I do note that you recommend the last coat of gesso be undiluted. What is your opinion on this? Good idea? Hi Susen, I use decorators brush, but any 2-inch ish wide brush would work well, the softer the bristles, the smoother the application. You can use airbrush medium to dilute the paint but if working on an absorbent canvas water will be fine, or you can use a fluid acrylic.

Hi Will, I used the prepared Gesso on my canvas and when I poured it and started to brush in the Gesso, there seemed to be a lot of little and large lumps on the canvas like skin on boiled milk.

What is the reason for this? The bottle is always tightly closed after use. Have you ever heard of this happening? Thank you for your help. New to painting. Do I need to prime my canvas with gesso? Do I do the same process that you described here — 3 layers? Hi Regina, it would depend on the fabric paint, but usually, 1 or two coats would work fine. So I plan on using oil gesso for a cotton canvas and I was wondering if you would know if there would be any negative effects if I were to repeatedly bend the canvas.

Like folding it and such. It mostly for a large set design using oil paints. Hi Hugh, an acrylic gesso will have more flexibility as depending on the pigment used in the oil gesso it can go brittle with age. Paints that contain zinc oxide can become brittle within a few years, look out for PW4 on the paint tube. HI Will This is all very helpful information thank you Will. Would you recommend trying a traditional paint roller to apply gesso? Hello Will, Thanks so much for all your helpful information.

I love your art program. Many thanks. I have a frame for stretching and priming the canvases. Can I stretch and prime the canvas with gesso and remove them before painting my painting with acrylics? Trying to avoid building a number of frames as they are larger than average. Hi Will, I apologize in the case this question has already been asked, but there are too many comments here to check it out! You say it is not recommended to paint over an acrylic gesso with oil…what would you suggest to prime a canvas with to paint the first layers with acrylic and then overpaint with oil, for a professional result?

Thank you very much. Hi Elena, nice to hear from you. It is acrylic-titanium priming suitable for oil and acrylic painting with the canvas permanency protected with acid-free sizing. Do I still need to use gesso on the canvas? Hi Will, I am loving your website, very helpful indeed.

However, I am interested in what you think about making your own compared to buying. I paint a lot and my canvases are getting bigger and bigger, therefore making my own seems like a viable option. Am also interested in your thoughts on this. Thanks, Pauline. Mix this with some archival PVA glue Gamblin make one.

You can see a simple homemade gesso recipe here. Hi Tarun, You can see a video on mediums here and varnishing here and here and here. Firstly, may I congratulate you on your fantastic responses to all these queries! Especially the gesso paper pads. Is there any way I can fix these paintings or do they have to be framed behind glass to protect them? I read of someone who seals her charcoal lines by applying acrylic medium over the top, but I have found that a bit risky on my still-soluble surfaces!