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How can I make my canvas pure black as evenly as possible
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Message
Posted
Hello everyone!
My Name is Luca and I live in germany. I am currently facing a huge problem that I can not solve for myself.
It sounds rather simpel: I want to make a pretty huge canvas (180cm x 120cm or 70" x 47") entirely black.
The thing is, no matter how I try to do it, it always looks messy at the end. I cant find a way to have an evenly
black painted canvas (Ideally so that you can't see the brush strokes).
You can see what I mean with 'messy' on the pictures I uploaded.
Here is what I have already tried:
1: I covored the first Canvas with black oilpaint and used a little bit of solvent. I tried to spread the paint very evenly but at the end I got those "shiny" spots as you can see in this picture:
2: For the second canvas I used black gesso but that stuff dries so quick that I also got thicker spots when I brush over some places a second time as you can see in the second picture:
My idea for the next canvas:
I thought of toning my canvas by thinning the oilpaint, brushing it on and than wiping most of the color off using tissues. Than letting it dry and repeating the process so many times that I eventually end up with a pretty evenly coated black canvas.
Since I always run into trouble with paint that drys very quick I am pretty sure that oilpaint is the way to go here.
I would be so happy, if someone could explain to me how I could cover my canvas as evenly as possible with black paint,
without getting those irregular structures.
Thanks in advance!
Luca
Posted
I honestly think you have given yourself an almost impossible task. I paint on fairly large canvases and I like very dark backgrounds to paint on though not black.
Personally I would use acrylic just because it does dry quickly .
How I would attempt it though like you it would be trial and error. Mix a lot of paint in a container to a medium consistency , use a fairly wide decorators brush , up to two inches wide with a square format .not too thick.
Apply a coat in considered ,overlapping squares. Work quickly and evenly . Allow to dry , repeat , and repeat again .
That is how I would tackle it but no gaurentee that would work.
Problem then would be if you wanted to use oil on top of acrylic....but I would use acrylic.
Black gesso should work in the same way then you can use oil on top of it.
I think it's a layers job. Best of luck .
Posted
I would use black acrylic too. Add some flow improver and apply with one of those sponges on a stick in horizontal stripes working downwards, covering your wet edge. If it looks streaky, then do it again.
Alternatively you could get a can or two of spray paint, as used by graffiti artists, but use it in the open air, and do not brat it in.
Posted
Black is a difficult pigment in oil paint - in fact used in this sort of quantity, it's not an easy pigment in any paint. But I'll have a stab at this - if you ARE going to use oil paint, don't use Ivory Black/bone black, but try Mars Black. Thin it a little with Turpentine; leave it to dry; then add another coat, this time with a little oil mixed with it. That should give you the best results you're likely to get with oil, and applying it with a non-textured roller might be the way to do this. But oil paint does hold brush marks - that's why many of us use it. A smoother coat could be achieved with Mars Black acrylic, which you could thin in the first instance with a mix of water or medium with flow improver - I have never done this, so while I can see it working in theory, I'm by no means sure what you'd get in practice. I would certainly experiment on a smaller canvas/surface first; but then, that's another issue - canvas? Canvas has a pronounced weave - it will influence the appearance of any single coat you apply, owing to possibly minute variations in surface tension or in the priming. So to minimize these, I would first of all apply a coat of gesso, then add the black.
But - as alang23 suggests - why use paint at all: you can buy black primed canvas: the priming will be acrylic, because that's the easiest way to do it. The trouble you will have there is finding a canvas of the dimensions you require - most canvases of this size, if bought ready-made, will be primed with white. So while I can see a certain amount of expense coming along here, I think I'd find a specialist canvas-maker and ask them for their ideas, and more to the point if they could supply you with a black-primed canvas to the dimensions you require.
Final suggestion - if you do go with the acrylic suggestion, apply the black gesso, let it dry thoroughly for a week (it may look and feel dry, but it does need to 'cure') and then apply a coat of actual acrylic paint - preferably Mars Black. You'll be aware, I expect, of the Malevich painting which was an all-black square, painted in oil on canvas: that painting is a conservator's nightmare because it's cracked, crazed, and falling to pieces - probably for several reasons, but his use of an organic black on a flexible support was not a great idea if he wanted it to last (and perhaps he didn't).
Good luck anyway, and do let us know how you get on.
Posted
I just want to post a little update in case somebody faces a similar problem.
So I tried a lot of different Methods on smaller canvases and I realized pretty quick that gesso and acrylics were not the way to go if I want to achive very evenly spread paint. Mainly because of the short time it takes to dry. I only used a small brush on my 'test canvas' because I knew when I get to the big canvas my biggest brush would also be pretty tiny compared to the size of the canvas. Gesso and acrylics will probably work on a small or medium sized canvas when using a very big brush where you can fill the whole canvas with paint within a few minutes.
So I decided to use oil colors. Here is the method that seems to work best (at least on the smaller sized canvas):
1. Mix the oil color with some solvent (I used gum spirit of turpentine) until the paint is easy to brush (but not as fluent as water)
2. Take a brush (the size doesn't matter) and cover your canvas. Don't worry about the amount of paint, use too much rather than to little.
3. Let it stay for just a few minutes.
4. Take some paper towels and wipe off all of the surplus paint of the canvas.
5. Using a very soft cloth, carefully go over the canvas just in one direction. Try to eliminate most of the lines that you create with the paper towels. Don't use much pressure!
6. Let it dry for at least 24 hours
7. repeat the process untill you are happy with the result
Here is a picture of the small canvas that I just coated a second time using the method above:
As you can see while it's still not dry and you can still see some lines, the paint is spread very evenly and no shiny spots or places where the paint is too thick can be seen.
I assume it will even look better once it is completely dry.
The next big question is, if this technique will also work on the big canvas. I just ordered a new one and it will take a few days untill I can work on it.
I also plan to mask off a certain part of the canvas that shall remain white.
I will post the result and possible problems I faced once its done.
And just one thing I should mention to the method I described above:
Try not to use solvent on your cloth in order to spread the paint more evenly. I tried this and the result was, that once the canvas was dry I got some lighter areas where I went over with the cloth. Instead you should just repeat the whole process once your canvas is dried completely.
I hope that maybe helpful for some other painters that are facing a similar problem!
As you can see while it's still not dry and you can still see some lines, the paint is spread very evenly and no shiny spots or places where the paint is too thick can be seen.
I assume it will even look better once it is completely dry.
The next big question is, if this technique will also work on the big canvas. I just ordered a new one and it will take a few days untill I can work on it.
I also plan to mask off a certain part of the canvas that shall remain white.
I will post the result and possible problems I faced once its done.
And just one thing I should mention to the method I described above:
Try not to use solvent on your cloth in order to spread the paint more evenly. I tried this and the result was, that once the canvas was dry I got some lighter areas where I went over with the cloth. Instead you should just repeat the whole process once your canvas is dried completely.
I hope that maybe helpful for some other painters that are facing a similar problem!
Edited
by Amadeus
