#OIL PAINT CANVAS HOW TO#
#OIL PAINT CANVAS PLUS#

Making your own gesso requires heating animal glue, such as a calf or rabbitskin, and mixing it with white pigment. Water-based gesso was created in the mid-1950s and it is primarily used for painting with acrylics. It also comes in different colors, though white is the most common. Gesso can be made and purchased in varying levels of consistency-from cream to a paste-depending on the desired texture and level of absorbency.

In the case of oil painting, the most common ground is gesso– a combination of oil with an inert white pigment such as chalk, whiting, or plaster of Paris, and an aqueous binder such as casein or animal glue. Ground is applied on top of sizing, providing a uniform color, texture, and level of absorbency, in addition to acting as an additional layer of protection for the canvas. For oil painting, a weak solution of animal glue is applied to linen canvases to protect them from the acid in the paints, which can cause the canvas to deteriorate. Sizing is applied first, and acts as a sealant and protection for the canvas. These terms can be very confusing, as their meanings overlap and are sometimes used interchangeably. Now that the canvas is attached to the frame, it is ready for sizing and ground. Place the frame on top, and use your scissors to cut the canvas to size, making sure to leave at least two to three inches of extra material on all sides so that you can staple the canvas to the frame.Once the stretchers are securely connected and straight, roll your canvas out on a clean surface.Use the right angle to make sure that all corners are 90 degree angles.You may have to push them by hand to tighten them, or lightly tap them with a hammer (be careful not to dent the wood when you do this). First, join your stretcher bars at the corners, forming a rectangle.Canvas pliers (to help you maintain a tight grip on the canvas as you attach it to the stretcher bars).Coated or iodized metal staples made of copper or brass are best. Staple gun and staples (or a hammer and carpet tacks, depending on preference).The most common bars are tongue-and-groove with mitered corners and beveled sides. These can be purchased at any art-supply or hardware store). Four stretcher bars (pieces of wood that make up the frame.

The following tools are required to stretch a canvas: Stretching your own canvas can be difficult at first, but it is more cost-effective than purchasing pre-stretched canvases, which is a consideration for many artists. Primer also makes the canvas rigid and it is unlikely to yield no matter how hard you tug at it. Attempting to stretch it after it has been primed will result in cracking and flaking of the priming, which creates a rough surface on which to apply oil paint.

#OIL PAINT CANVAS PLUS#

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#OIL PAINT CANVAS HOW TO#

However, unprimed canvas is less expensive, and frequent painters find it beneficial to learn how to apply their own priming,Īs it cuts costs and enables them to create a texture specific to their painting needs. Primed canvas allows you to skip the process of mixing and applying the sizing and ground, which many beginning artists and hobbyists prefer.

Both cotton and linen are a light tan color when they are unprimed. Both kinds of canvas can be purchased primed or unprimed either way is acceptable. When both are unprimed-that is, not coated with a material that prevents the paint from soaking through the surface and deteriorating the canvas-they can be easily distinguished. The two most common canvases used as a support for oil painting are cotton and linen, with linen being the more expensive. The most common support used by painters, canvas, does not refer to one particular material, but can be used to describe many kinds of closely woven fabric. Here, we outline the choices available so that you can confidently begin to work in oil. This is primarily because there are several options to choose from in every phase of preparation. The method for preparing a canvas varies from artist to artist. Here, we outline the choices available so that you can confidently begin to know how to paint.

Oil paint canvas