Bottle Of Acrylic Gesso
Oil painters may use an oil primer instead of Gesso this however can only be used for oil paintings, acrylic paints will not adhere to its slick surface.
Fine Art
Jun 14, 2019
As we discussed previously, the substrate is the surface on which the paint is applied. For Oil and Acrylic paintings the substrates are interchangeable so I will discuss them together.
For the oil and acrylic paints almost any surface is suitable except for a slick surface which is not suitable for acrylics, oils however can be applies to smooth surfaces but good adhesion may be a problem.
Canvas and Linen (for the rest of the blog when I mention canvas it also includes linen) are by far the most preferred substrates by artists. These need to be acid free free for archival purposes and they need to be primed (prepped) for the paint to adhere to the surface but not be absorbed by the fibres. Gesso is the most common medium for surface preparation. It is an acrylic polymer which has microscopic "pores" and a slightly rough textured surface for paints to adhere. Both oil and acrylics paints adhere very well to Gesso. These are various textures to the canvas, the smooth grain is preferred for fine work like portraits and medium or rough grain for landscapes etc.
Oil painters may use an oil primer instead of Gesso this however can only be used for oil paintings, acrylic paints will not adhere to its slick surface.
Coming back to canvas, the canvas may be bought either primed or unprimed in pre cut sheets of popular sizes or like fabrics any desired length may be purchased from a roll. Also, it may be bought mounted on cardboard panels or stretched over wooden bars etc. We will discuss the pro and cons of each of there in the next several blogs.
Today I will discuss the pre cut sheets of canvas. Even though I purchase pre primed sheets, for good measure I always apply two additional coats of the primer prior to painting.
These canvas sheets can be taped to a rigid support while painting. Once dry, they can be prepared for the final stages of varnish.
Here a back alley in Edmonton being painted on location (plein air) with the canvas sheet taped on to a rigid support.
The Pros & Cons of canvas sheets:
Pros:
Very affordable You can paint any size you want
Lightweight, so perfect for on location painting
East to transport by mail/courier etc to out of town collectors and galleries
Can be mounted at a later time on rigid boards or stretcher bars prior to framing
Easy storage
Painting can be cropped to include only the most pleasing composition
Cons:
Unfinished look. Cannot be displayed in gallery or hung for collectors
Collectors have to go through the hassle of getting it mounted and framed
If the canvas is not a standard size, custom framing may become expensive.
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Mohamed Hirji