Using Guesso Instead of White Paint

Welcome to the forum.

Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.

Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.

Hang on Studio Wall
Message
If you are new to acrylics, you may be wondering - what is gesso and why do I need to know about it? Step right up - this page will tell you all about the glories of gesso and how to use it. Gesso is an important art supply to get your canvas ready for painting which you can apply it to any surface and then you can paint on that surface with acrylic paint. Gesso is made for acrylic paint to bind to it in a way that looks non-plasticky and gives the application dimensionality. If you applied paint directly on the canvas, the finished product has a plasticky look Gesso is not only a better surface than white paint but also gives some texture to the surface. But what's more important, if you don't use gesso, the canvas will soak the painting and you will spend more paint. Almost all canvas you buy has been primed with gesso but I advice you to put another coat of gesso over it, or two. Using gesso you can ultimately paint on anything, from canvas to cotton to vinyl, to wood, plastic, rubber - it creates a painting surface for paint to adhere to. It provides an excellent surface to paint on. It adheres well to most surfaces, and provides a great surface itself, without over-absorbing your medium Applying guesso will establish a better "working surface", as it forms tiny rough edges for paint to cling to. Also, it's gonna dry a lot faster than oil paint. ��|1�Z�
I always add a colour to it to kill that awful white . Plus I use gesso under oils ,
A bit odd, this - does anyone use white paint to prime their surfaces? Why would you? It's more expensive than gesso anyway. Still, if the point is that an extra coat or two on a primed canvas might be a good thing - yes; it might. It also might not, depending on the surface. Quite a good thing to do on the standard canvas board, I think - and just to prove it: dammit, I will. I have a board on the easel now I wasn't going to add more priming to, but just to prove the point I will. And if it all goes wrong I'll know exactly whom to blame, won't I? http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
I'm not at all sure you've missed anything - there may be gesso primers that are coloured, although there's no point in them if they exist, since you can colour them yourself. Gesso mediums - I've no idea what they would be. There's something to be born in mind about "gesso" - real gesso is a plaster-based white priming material. What we call acrylic gesso is a gloopy form of white acrylic paint, formulated to flow well and cover ground - it can even be used as a white paint in the painting, although may not be entirely satisfactory for that purpose (but try it and see). So I find the distinction a bit misleading.