#bigartquest #6 | Good to Go Gesso | The Art Sherpa
All the fact, tips and tricks you need for Gesso in your painting and home studio. Why to gesso when to gesso and what is Gesso. What you need to know as a beginning artist about gesso Big Art Quest



Materials, Clear, white, and black gesso
acrylic paper for testing and not taking. This will go in the Big Book.

Quest : Gesso something that needs it!!
Mini Quest: Gesso is like starting fresh. This is one of the great gifts of art. The endless blank canvas. Artist learn that many things in life can use a mental and spiritual coat of gesso. Instead of obsessing over mistakes clear the slate and do better. On a piece of paper write something you need to forgive yourself for. It can be serious or silly. Gesso over it until it disappears, let dry and then paint a picture on top. Everyone deserves a clean slate to paint a better picture.

Types of Gesso , White , clear, colored and spray
Grades of Gesso , student, pro, and homemade

Uses of Gesso - primer for wood, paper and canvas. It can reclaim a painting you hate or prepare a surface to be painted. Multimedia people use it for a variety of reasons like strengthening the paper. The tooth allows for gel pens pencils and inks. You can also tint your gesso to make any color you want. Just mix a little acrylic paint to the gesso and there you go Colored gesso.

Gesso is a primer, It is made from a combination of paint pigment,
chalk and binder. Acrylic gesso is a combination of chalk with an acrylic polymer medium as binder, and pigment in most cases (titanium white) some stuff for flexibility and longevity.
Pre Gesso has a gesso layer applied in the factory. On the cheaper canvas for some reason there can be a seal on top which creates a shiny surface! Why ?? Really canvas companies why? This can cause the surface to repel the paint. You can sand gesso between coats to create smooth finish, with a fine sandpaper. Say a 240 grit. This is messy and dusty have a plan.

How to use Gesso to prime a canvas “Step 1: First, ensure your surface is clean and free from dirt or oils. A quick wipe with a paper towel or some rubbing alcohol should be more than enough.
Step 2: Take the primer brush and dip it into the gesso -- most primers are ready to use right out of the tub, and so long as you don't drop stuff in it, you can use it straight from the packaging.
Step 3: Apply the gesso in a thin, even coat to the surface, working all in one direction (say, all horizontal strokes, or all vertical ones).
Step 4: Allow the first coat to dry. (This is where the patience comes in! If your gesso is acrylic, you can speed the drying time with a hair dryer.)
Step 5: Lightly sand the dried gesso with regular sandpaper. This both smooths any ridges left by the brush, and allows for a slight "tooth" for good adhesion of following layers.
Step 6: Apply a second layer of gesso, working the brush in the opposite direction from the first layer.
Step 7: Allow to dry again, sand again, and repeat steps 3 through 5 as many times as you like!
Ta-da! Once your final layer of gesso is dry and lightly sanded, you are ready to paint! Many artists like to go through and prime a large number of canvases or boards at one time, to ensure there's always the perfect surface ready whenever inspiration strikes.” http://www.jerrysartarama.com/blog/po...

Paint over an old Canvas
Paint an isolation coat. CAG100 or gel medium and varnish. Apply 2 to 3 coats of gesso as you would a fresh canvas. allow to dry and start over again
Can I or should I use Gesso as paint ? here is an answer from golden Our Gesso can be used as a kind of white paint for fine art purposes, however, it has it's own particular consistency that is very self leveling and much thinner than our Heavy Body colors. And it has it's own specific characteristics built in that may or may not suit all artists or all working methods.

It is not really a matter of good or bad as much as understanding that, if you do use Gesso as your white, it will have the same limitations of a Gesso: namely, it must be used thinly, as very thick applications can crack while drying, and it will level, so is not conducive to holding brushstrokes. Also, keep in mind, that Gesso is very porous and therefore more prone to collecting dirt and dust, and as a very matte product is more easily scratched and marred. Beyond that, it is certainly a material you can use as part of your palette.
What is clear gesso for A very clear size and ground that keeps the working surface visible.
Ideal high tooth for pastel, oil pastel, graphite, and charcoal
Excellent ground for acrylic and oil paint
Mix with acrylic color to have a tinted ground
Dries clear to translucent depending on thickness
Flexible, non-cracking and non-yellowing when dry
Provides the perfect "tooth" and adhesion to a wide variety of surfaces including canvas, paper and wood
Excellent base coat primer for many applications for example murals -http://www.liquitex.com/cleargesso/

Tags