Priming canvases for oils.

I have a place in Spain Carole, and have frequently spent long periods over there. I've never looked for gesso mind you, that's because I buy all my stretched canvases and canvas boards over in Denia and Javea, all ready primed, just as they are over here. Why can't you do the same thing?

You want to prime canvas, and the acrylic paint is peeling off - now 'ang on a mo' .... it shouldn't do that; and if it does, acrylic gesso is likely to do just the same thing, because from the sound of it the surface to which you're applying the paint is either far too smooth to provide adhesion, or is greasy, or is pre-primed in this case with an oil primer, in which case no acrylic will stick to it. Acrylic paint will adhere to raw canvas, unless you've bought oil primed canvas (and if you did, where did you get it? It's very hard to find nowadays; though possibly not in Spain). PVA glue isn't adequate as a primer, and if you DO have canvas already primed with oil it won't stick properly anyway. Take a close look at the canvas on which you're trying to get the paint to stick, and tell us more - somewhere, on the wrapping rather than the canvas itself, it will tell you what it is. But there's something missing from your account - you prime "prepared canvas": but prepared with what in this case?

I'm no technical buff like you are Robert, you will know that by now anyway! But, I did Google this question, as I'm sure Carole has also. There was almost nothing to be learnt, but one strange talking chap on U-tube explaining why acrylic paint won't work. No idea what his reasoning was, but it sounded plausible at the time, but if you say it's ok, then it should be. I have been buying mainly stretched canvases in Spain for more than fifteen years at a guess, they are not branded products as we know them. ie. W&N stamped on the stretcher bar and so on. Spain is also not big on packaging, they work differently to us here, so I've never bought a single canvas that has been tightly wrapped in cellophane, accompanied by all the usual graphic illustrations and so on that we are all used to seeing. It is damn good quality stuff mind you, really well made and has withstood the test of time, well 15 years to be honest, stuff still on my walls over in Spain hasn't warped or any signs of paint peeling. Neither have I received any complaints from people that have my work hanging in their villa's and apartments. I do use both oils and acrylics over there by the way, but I have no idea what these canvases are primed with, albeit, it has the appearance of gesso. As I said to Carole earlier, I paint straight on the things, I haven't had any issues with that, but I do understand her point. Most of my work is big, that's what the buyers want to fill their vast white walls, so a bit of grain or tooth on the surface is a good thing for me. Finally, if you are still with me!, a good idea would be to look in the local or area papers, mine is the Costa Blanca News, but I don't know where you are. In the classifieds you will generally see adverts from art groups, ex-pat's in the main, either asking for members to join, or highlighting forthcoming exhibitions and so on. Go along, or get in touch and speak to the members. My local one in Javea is the U3A art group, I regularly take painting classes as a guest when I am over there. There is around 60/80 members and some of them must make their own canvases and will know where to source this elusive gesso from, so that angle in your area may be worth a shot. Good luck.

If it's already primed with an oil-based paint, it'll look moderately glossy, not the very dry, chalky look you usually get with acrylic priming. All acrylic gesso is, is paint - modified in various ways so that it flows without dripping all over the place, but it can be used as a rather gloopy white paint if such is your wish. It's the resin which is its vehicle that seals canvases so you don't need to use rabbit-skin glue and lead priming, as was the case once with most oil painting supports. I can understand why thick acrylic white wouldn't be an ideal support for acrylic or oil painting if it were used as priming, but what I'm not getting here is why the added paint to an existing priming of some kind, which isn't specified, is coming away from the canvas in chunks. But there is one possible reason, which I've mentioned before - we can't know in the case of unmarked canvas or boards other than by checking the surface carefully, but some manufacturers apply a fungicide to the surface of a primed canvas or board - and this WILL repel acrylic paint laid on top of it. This is why it's usually a good idea, especially with a canvas/board of dubious origin, to wash it with tepid water and even a toothbrush, to get any glistening bits out of the canvas weave. I had such an issue with canvases imported from India - paint could be rubbed away from the surface and I had to re-paint almost the whole picture. I don't use unbranded, or shop's own, canvases any more - if it hasn't got Winsor and Newton, Daler Rowney, Loxley, Impress, or a few other well-known names on it, I won't use it. I'm not at all sure that this is the issue here, though. It might be, but unless I could see the canvas I can only guess.