Preparing A Canvas For Oil Painting

Do this to prepare your canvas for oil painting.

Gesso The Canvas

Canvas for painting is typically made of cotton or linen. The fibers of the fabric must be protected from the oil in oil painting. Otherwise the fabric will rot. Without gesso, oil wreaks destruction on the fabric. Oil rots canvas.

So canvas should be primed and sealed with a product called gesso. Gesso is typically white and is available at almost all art supply stores. Gesso is available in acrylic and oil-based formulas. Either is fine.

To prepare an unprimed canvas for painting, apply gesso in thin layers with a paintbrush or roller. Let each layer dry fully before applying the next. I like to apply 3-4 layers of gesso before painting.

Sand if Desired

Gesso is thick. Brushing on the gesso leaves brushstrokes which create texture. Brushstrokes can be manipulated, and applied in a circular motion, to increase texture if desired. Or the surface can be smoothed with light sanding once dry. Once a canvas has been primed with multiple layers of gesso and is fully dry, it's ready for painting.

That's all there is to it!

Tone if Desired

Some artists tone their canvas before painting. I don't.

Gesso is typically white but it's available in a variety of colors including black. Light travels through the layers of an oil painting and reflects off of the white ground creating luminosity. Black absorbs light therefore black gesso likely decreases luminosity. I'm a painter, not a scientist. Please test this for yourself. Don't take my word for it.

After applying gesso, some artists tone their canvas by painting on a layer of acrylic paint thinned with water. Others mix a small amount of acrylic paint into the final layer of white gesso, creating a tinted gesso.

There are many reasons why an artist tones a canvas. One is the belief that it helps you judge color more accurately in the first layer. Regardless of the reasons, I don't do it because I had a bad experience with it.

Toning with thinned acrylic paint can cause adherence problems. That means your paint won't stick. That's a big problem especially when you're halfway through a painting.

I attended a painting workshop where they recommended toning the canvas with acrylic paint. It sounded weird because I'd always been told not to mix oil and acrylic but I tried it. The first few paintings worked out fine. Then suddenly, halfway through a new painting, my paint wouldn't stick to the canvas. The defect affected several areas around the eye and cheek of a portrait that I was working on. It felt devastating. I had to sand areas of the face, roughing up the toned surface underneath, to get the oil paint to stick to the canvas. I lost all the progress that I had made on the painting. I had to sand, and then repaint all of the areas affected.

That was the last time I toned a canvas with acrylic paint. This defect happens when you don't thin the acrylic paint enough. But thin it too much and the acrylic itself won't stick to the canvas. I consider it to be a risky practice. I don't think it's worth it. If you must tone your canvas before oil painting, I suggest using a colored gesso. As always, take what you like from this information, and leave the rest. I'm rooting for you!

Conclusion:

Easily prepare a canvas for painting by applying thin layers of gesso. Buy gesso at any art supply store. Brush it on. Let it dry. Repeat. Once you've carefully applied several layers, the canvas is primed, sealed, and ready to accept paint.

Author: Sonia Reeder-Jones