Category: Art Supplies

How to Use Gesso on a Canvas

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Gesso? What is it?

Most beginners in painting may be unfamiliar with the word “gesso.” It’s a highfaluting term that could leave a novice dumbfounded. But, don’t fret. In this post, I’ll try to shed light on this and hopefully, we can understand what gesso is all about.

Encyclopaedia Britannica defines gesso (pronounced ‘jesso’) as:

“a fluid white coating, composed of plaster of paris, chalk, gypsum, or other whiting mixed with glue, applied to smooth surfaces such as wood panels, plaster, stone, or canvas to provide the ground for tempera and oil painting or for gilding and painting carved furniture and picture frames.”

Basically, gesso is a substance used to prepare or prime a canvas before you can use it in painting. It was traditionally used by oil painters so the oil paints would adhere to the canvas. Gesso is used to protect the canvas fibers, smoothen the surface, and give flexibility to the canvas.

Is there a difference between an oil gesso and an acrylic gesso? Yes, their ingredients. Traditional oil gesso, also called glue gesso, contains an animal glue binder (usually rabbit-skin glue), chalk, and white pigment. Acrylic gesso is made of an acrylic polymer medium (binder), Calcium carbonate (chalk), a pigment (Titanium white), and chemicals for flexibility and longer life.

Acrylic gesso doesn’t contain glue since acrylic paints is not corrosive, unlike oils. The glue in the glue gesso is absorbed by the fibers of the canvas which protects it from the corrosive nature of oil paints. Many artists use acrylic gesso because of its versatility, quick drying time, convenience, flexibility, and ease of use. Some artists claim that it can be used as ground when painting in oil but some argue that the flexibility of the acrylic gesso will cause the oil paint to crack over time.

An acrylic painter could choose not to use acrylic gesso if he wants the staining effect of acrylic paints on canvas. For beginners, it’s better to prime the canvas first, or use a pre-primed canvas since you are still practicing your painting skills. CanvasLot offers pre-primed canvas in various sizes so you won’t go into the trouble of priming your canvas.

If you are a beginner in oil painting, you can use acrylic gesso but just make sure that the canvas has been properly sized. If you are creating a portrait, or planning to create a masterpiece or something like an heirloom to your family, it’s better to use the oil gesso since the oil paint will stick better to it than to an acrylic.

You can buy acrylic gesso in most art supplies shops and it is available in artist quality and student quality. As with other art supplies, the artist quality acrylic gesso is more expensive and has higher quality than the student gesso. For priming a canvas, use the artist quality gesso.

Image source: www.wikipedia.org

What are the Solvents Used in Oil Painting?

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“Solvent” is the term most commonly used to identify the liquids that are added to oil paints to temporarily change the way they work when put on canvas. Solvents dilute oil, and dissolve fats and grease from oil paints. Aside from diluting oil paints, artists use solvents to dissolve resins and clean up the work area and paint brushes.

Solvents may have different uses but they have common characteristics:

  • Liquid
  • Volatile
  • Produce vapors
  • Flammable
  • May be hazardous to health

You may think that you should forget using solvents since they are harmful to your health, but with proper precaution and  care of use, you’ll appreciate the benefits solvents bring to a painter’s work. There are many solvents available to an oil painter but you can just select a few for your work.

Turpentine. Turpentine is the traditional solvent used in oil painting and is commonly found in hardware stores. It easily evaporates and gives off harmful vapors which causes skin irritation. When buying, choose artist quality turpentine which is colorless, since the industrial type of turpentine may contain impurities. Turpentine is mostly called as “turps” and can also be called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, genuine turpentine, English turpentine, distilled turpentine, and double rectified turpentine.

Mineral Spirits. Mineral spirits or paint thinner is best used for cleaning paint brushes and thinning paints. It is less expensive and less abrasive compared to turps but it still releases harmful vapors so take precaution when using it. Mineral spirits is also called “white spirits.”

Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS). As the name says, Odorless Mineral Spirits doesn’t have an unpleasant odor which makes it more expensive than ordinary mineral spirits. It is used for thinning paint and cleaning brushes. OMS is available in different grades, depending on the amount of aromatic properties removed from it. The more refined the OMS, the safer it becomes.

Paint thinner. Paint thinners are synthetic-based solvents. Contrary to its name, it is more effective in cleanup than as a diluting substance of oil paints.

Citrus-based thinner. Citrus-based thinner has a pleasant smell and is used to clean brushes and dilute oil paints. It has a yellowish color and a citrusy smell. Use it with oil paints to dry the painting faster. It is a more environmentally-friendly solvent than turps.

Turpenoid. Turpenoid is a popular synthetic solvent that is odorless and colorless which is used as a substitute for turps.  It is great for diluting oil paints as well as cleaning brushes.

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How to Repair a Damaged Canvas

You’ve finally finished your masterpiece. After hours and days laboring on your painting, carefully putting your inspiration on canvas, you’re excited to display it. Unfortunately, you or someone else accidentally ripped a small area on your painting. What do you do?

Don’t panic. There are two ways to repair a torn, ripped, punctured, or damaged canvas: patching or lining. Before fixing your canvas, you have to consider some factors that would affect the end result of your repair. If the damage is small, patching would be a good remedy. Patching is a quick and easy solution to tiny punctures, L-shaped tears, and small tears. For damages affecting a large area or if the small tears are located in several areas, lining is the best way to fix the canvas. For old oil paintings, professional art restorers prefer to do lining since most aged canvas are brittle, fragile, and more susceptible to damage when not reinforced.

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Patching
Here are the steps for patching a canvas:

1. Smooth out the area where the tear is located. Clean up any fibers that may have unraveled.

2. Cut a piece of canvas with at least an inch wider than the tear. If you have a lighter weight canvas than the one you’re repairing is best to use.

3. Glue the patch at the back of the tear. Use acrylic-gesso or an acid-free glue in patching. Apply a thin layer of glue to the patch. If you use too much glue, it will only squeeze out of the patch and get on the front of the canvas which will leave an unnecessary stain.

4. While the glue is still wet, check the tear at the front of the canvas. Use a pair of tweezers to put back loose threads in place. Carefully arrange the threads to fill the damage.

5. Inpaint the patched area, if needed. If it’s your own work, it would be easier to repaint the repaired area.

Tips:

  • Work with patience and care.
  • Hire a professional art conservator or restorer for fixing valuable and antique paintings. They can do a more refined repair of an old painting.
  • Patching done in a busy area of the painting is less noticeable than a patch in a solid area.
  • Just because the patch is located behind the canvas, doesn’t mean you will do a sloppy repair. Make the patch neat and professional-looking so if someone sees the repair, they won’t be dismayed with the whole painting.

Image source: http://painting.about.com

Checklist For a Plein Air Art Trip

Packing for a Plein Air art trip varies depending on where you’re going and the elements that you will be dealing with. There are variety of things that you must consider since you will be working outdoors. Here’s a list of the basic things you need to have on your trip.

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ART MATERIALS
Since you’re going to travel, take note to have your art materials complete. It’s better if you keep things compact and organized to avoid confusion and you might forget some of your essential materials. A good idea is to invest a good art traveling bag which has multiple pockets and organizers to keep your materials intact while you’re traveling.

easelEASELS
Support is needed for any surface you plan to work on. And since you are traveling, a portable easel is a very good choice. Special easels comes with storage such as drawers and compartments for carrying paints and brushes within the easel. Table easels are also available if you prefer to sit while painting.

UMBRELLA and HAT
You can always find a shady area to paint but sometimes you’ll have to set up in the sun. The hat is for your protection but the umbrella is to keep the sun off your canvas and palette. A white or gray umbrella so the reflection doesn’t affect your color judgement. Try to keep both palate and canvas in the shade.

CAMERA
You can capture the initial scene with a camera. Positions of clouds and direction of the wind can constantly change outdoors so you can use this trick to make your artwork more consistent. Another advantage of the still shot is that you can use it just in case the weather turns bad and you have to finish your painting indoors.

EXTRA CLOTHING
Bring extra clothes just in case you so you can change just in case things get messy. Or you can dress in layers that you can easily take off as you get hot and put on when it gets colder. Wear neutral colored clothing to avoid too much light reflections onto your painting. Bright colors can also reflect some of their color onto your painting so stick with beige and khakis.

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Now that you have your basics, here are some of the things you might want to have with you on your trip to make it more comfortable.
• Water to drink
• Light snacks
• Paper towels
• Insect repellent
• Garbage bags
• Soap and water to clean your brushes

Image source: www.judithgreenleaf.com

Choosing a Frame For Your Canvas Artwork

Choosing a frame can make or break the total look of your canvas art. They should accentuate and add character to your most prized artwork. More than an accessory, frames protects your favourite art from dust, moist and other elements and conserves them for generations. Here are some things to consider before buying frames for your artwork.

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• Where will it be displayed?
Before deciding about what color or texture you want to use in your frame, consider the place where your framed artwork will be displayed. There should be a balance between your artwork, the frame, and the color of the room or wall. The idea is you have to create a backdrop for your framed art and that it should match the other decor that you already have in that room.

• Frame style
There are different types of frames that you can choose from. But the thing is, a beautiful and expensive frame might be over-powering your artwork or doesn’t blend with the character of your painting and the surroundings. Never use frames that are of the same hues as your walls. Once again, you have to balance it out. Remember that you want your artwork to be the center of attraction and not the frame.

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• Never put glass over a canvas art
Yes, you want to preserve your precious artwork so it will last for generations but putting glass over a canvas painting is the biggest mistake that you could ever do. The canvas itself creates that distinct character of your artwork. You don’t want all that texture to be trapped behind glass because it is the reason why images created in canvas is different from other kind of art.

• To frame? Or not to frame?
Canvas prints can be equally striking without a frame. If you have not quite got the budget for a good frame, this may be an excellent alternative. Big prints work best without any frame because they will look smaller than they actually are when they are displayed with frames. Small prints most probably need framing and you can always make them look larger by putting a mat.

Framing your canvas art doesn’t have to be expensive. All it takes is a little research and a lot of imagination. Ask and window shop around to your hobby stores to see what’s available before making the final decision.

Image source: www.ursulahobsonframing.com

Different Types of Brushes in Oil Painting

Aside from canvas, paintbrush is one of the most important material an artist has to have. You have to have good brushes with you to create good paintings. Even a good painter cannot come up with wonderful pieces is he’s using bad brushes so make sure you have good brushes with you. For oil painting, a good brush will retain its shape when dipped in paint, will bend in each stroke, and return to its original shape after each brush stroke.

Brush Hair
Oil painting brushes are available in bristle and sable hairs. Bristle brushes come from pigs’ hair and are used to begin a painting. The bristles are strong and the tips are naturally split, allowing the brush to hold more paint. Use bristle brushes which are half an inch wide or wider. Sable brushes are soft-haired brushes made from the hair of the tail of a sable marten which are a bit expensive. These brushes are perfect for painting details and small areas.

There are also brushes using synthetic hairs which are also cheaper than brushes with natural hair. If you are against using animals in your art, use synthetic brushes for your peace of mind.

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Brush Shapes
Brushes come in different shapes. The most common shapes are: Flats, Filberts, Brights, and Rounds. Other shapes are the Fan, Angle, Mop, and Rigger. Each brush is used for a variety of techniques in applying paint.

Flat brush. A flat brush has long bristles arranged in a rectangular shape. It is a primary blending brush and used for spreading paint quickly and evenly on a canvas. It is considered as the most versatile among the brushes.

Filberts. A Filbert is a flat brush with an oval shape. It is used in blending and creating areas with softer edges. Many artists have advised on using filberts with natural hairs since the hairs stick together better when wet.

Brights. Brights are flat brushes but with shorter and stiff hairs than flats. Use this brush if you want your strokes to show in the painting. It is used in thinner painting styles and also, thicker applications of paint such as impasto.

Rounds. Rounds are brushes with a pointed tip which provides little variation in the size and shape of the brush stroke. It is used for painting small details and line work.

Fan. As the name suggests, a Fan brush is shaped like a fan. It is used in blending large areas, creating soft blends of several colors. It can also be used to soften brush strokes on the canvas.

Angle. Angle brushes have short bristles and longer ones at one end, creating an angular shape. It can be used for general application of paint as well as detail work.

Mop. Mop is a large brush with a rounded edge. Larger sized Mops look like a blush-on brush which are great in broad soft paint application.

Rigger. A Rigger is a round brush with long hairs used in painting delicate lines and dots.

Image source: www.emptyeasel.com

5 Best Canvas Manufacturers

1. Winsor and Newton, London
Founded in1832, Winsor & Newton has always been “The World’s Finest Artist’ Materials” . Up to this day, they strive to keep up with the latest developments in the art world and take an active interest in what artists say. They have built their reputation on the quality and reliability of their products, combined with continual product development, improvement and innovation.

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2. Top Value Fabrics, US
Established in 1974, Top Value Fabric is a leading international supplier of Industrial, Recreational and Print Media fabrics for a wide variety of applications and industries. They carry an impressive collection of stock programs in addition to finishing fabric to meet clients’ specifications. Their product lines include Nylon, Vinyl, Canvas/Duck, Print Media, Activewear, Marine, and Polyester.

3. PICASSO, Indore, India
They manufacture canvas rolls from 100% cotton fabric with a double coating of acid free acrylic titanium priming. They also give an extra anti-fungus treatment to ensure safety from fungal infections for a long time. Artistic canvas rolls are widely used for acrylic and oil paintings by students and artists. Offered at industry leading prices, these canvas rolls are highly demanded by artists and students.

4. Russell and Chapple, London
Specialise in supplying the highest quality Fine Art, Scenic, and Digital canvases, sourcing and importing our canvas fabrics from all over the world. They have themost comprehensive range of these canvas materials in linen, cotton and polyester, and they supply the professional and amateur artist with the best art supports at the most competitive price. Whether you are making a mural, painting or miniature they have thecanvas for you.

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5. Deasung, Shanghai, China
Provides linen canvas, wholesale canvas rolls, hemp canvas . If you are looking for the good quality of canvas that is available you should shop for linen canvas. Linen canvas makes for a superior painting surface and its strong fibers hold together and last longer than other materials. A range of canvases is available from the tightest weave, finest tooth quadruple primed handkerchief linen to robust heavy toothed linens ideal for large format works.

How to Choose Quality Canvas for Painting

Artists have used several materials of canvas in painting such as linen, jute, hemp, or cotton. Nowadays, linen and cotton are the most popular fibers in canvas. Linen is more expensive compared to cotton and is often used by professional artists who have years of experience in perfecting their craft. For beginners, a cotton canvas is more appropriate since it is less expensive.

When choosing a canvas, you must consider these two important factors: the support and ground. Support is the material where paint is applied while the Ground is the gesso or primer. These two are important to the success or failure of your painting. The support and ground are determined by the type of paint and method of applying the paint. For example, if you are using a staining technique in painting, when you do it on a raw canvas, it will give a different result when you do the same technique to a primed canvas.

The Support
Choose a canvas that offers strength and stability, depending on your needs for a certain project. As you paint, the support will have to undergo much movement and stress from the environment such as temperature, humidity, and constant stretching/restretching.

Canvas is available in different weights: lightweight (4-5 oz),  medium weight (7-10 oz), and heavyweight (18 oz) per square yard. Support with lower weights are not as smooth or sturdy as heavier weights. Medium weight is a good weight for painting since it gives good support to your painting.

The Ground
Why ground is important in a canvas?

  • Protection of support. Ground protects your canvas from being damaged by harmful ingredients in paint. Natural fibers such as cotton absorbs moisture and when the paint dries, it will release this moisture, causing swelling and shrinking of the canvas. If you are using oil, the fibers will absorb its moisture, leaving the surface brittle.
  • Adhesion of paint. A properly primed canvas allows sufficient adhesion of paint to the support. A correctly primed canvas should accept paint and give a degree of absorbency. Too much absorbency can soak up all the oil from the paint while a non-absorbent ground can leave a weak paint film that can be peeled off. Good thing, pre-primed canvas is available online and in art supply shops.
  • Color enhancement. If your project involves transparent painting technique, the ground provides a white background that intensifies the colors. Ground is useful when you are underpainting, or applying the first layer of paint to a canvas.

A chosen canvas varies depending on an artist’s needs. Some may use raw canvas, pre-primed, or a heavyweight canvas. Keep in mind that whatever canvas you choose, it has a big effect on the outcome of your painting.

Tips When Air Traveling with Your Painting Supplies

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Traveling is part of an artist’s life. Artists travel due to professional commitments like to teach a class or speak at an engagement; for a change of venue; to get inspiration; take a vacation, and so many other reasons. Road travel is not as complicated as traveling by air and when traveling, an artist must consider how he would bring his art supplies with him. Here are some tips that you can use when traveling via plane:

1. Create a list of the art supplies you will bring. List each essential item that you need when painting on location so you won’t get frustrated once you get to your destination. Avoid forgetting your paints, brushes, tripod, canvas pad, palette, etc. by including your supplies in the packing list but don’t go overboard. Don’t bring all your paints and just settle with a few colors, 5-6 would suffice since you can mix colors to achieve another one. Just list those items that you can’t paint without.

2. Familiarize yourself with the airline’s regulations. Know beforehand which items are accepted and prohibited to be hand-carried inside the plane. Mineral spirits, solvents or thinners are not allowed. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued on its website a list of prohibited items when traveling by air, which items can be declared as carry-on, and those to be checked in.

3. Pack your art supplies in a separate bag. This makes it easier for airport security to check your luggage if all your painting supplies are in one location. This will make it easier for both you and the security guards when doing the mandatory checking your belongings. Don’t forget to put your paints in plastic resealable bags to prevent accidental leaks from staining your other stuff.

4. Use water-soluble oils. Since air travel prohibits you from bringing your solvents and other flammable supplies, using water-soluble oils in your painting is beneficial. Cleaning is done easily and the painting dries quickly. If you need to travel again within a short period of time, it would be no problem with these kinds of paint since the drying time is faster.

5. Ship your art materials to your destination beforehand. If you don’t want the hassle of packing or answering the questions of airport security if your supplies are hazardous or not, you can opt to send your supplies ahead of you. Couriers can deliver your supplies anywhere in the world, just make sure you insure the package.

Image source: http://www.abeautifulmess.com/

Acrylic Painting Tips for Beginners

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Water Lily Acrylic Painting by Karen Margulis

Acrylic paint is a fairly new medium compared to oil paint, only having been around in  the 1950s. Since it’s a flexible medium, acrylic is continuously being experimented and explored in the art world. If you’re starting your hand at acrylic painting, here are some of the painting techniques that you can utilize:

Watercolor Effects
Watercolor effects is a technique where acrylic paint is diluted to reach the consistency of watercolor paint. Many artists use this technique, but unlike watercolor, acrylic washes can be layered on top of another without disturbing the colors underneath. To achieve this, you have to wait for the first pint to dry first before applying another paint color on top. Once dry, the acrylic paint becomes water-resistant.

One drawback of this technique is it’s difficult to modify the color once the paint is dry and sometimes, washes dry with unwanted hard edges. Two tricks to solve this problem: dampen the canvas or use another brush moistened with water. Apply the paint with one brush and soften its edges using the other moist brush.

Pouring and Dripping Technique
Master painter Jackson Pollock popularized this technique in the 1940s and 1950s. This technique doesn’t require the use of paintbrushes or palette knife. You use gravity to move a very fluid acrylic paint across the canvas. You can pour the paint directly on the canvas or you can dip a brush in the paint and let it drip down on the canvas. You can use this formula in creating a fluid paint for this technique: 50% acrylic paint, 20% clear water-soluble varnish, and 30% water.

Sgraffito Technique
Sgraffito comes from the Italian word graffiare which means to scratch. As the name suggests, this is a scratching technique. You scratch the top layer of the paint to reveal areas on the surface underneath. A thick layer of paint is applied onto the canvas and you can use a blunt tool like a screwdriver or an end of an old paintbrush to scratch into the top layer and reveal another color underneath or the white surface of the canvas.

Using a Squeegee
You can use any regular squeegee from any hardware store for this technique. To do this, put some paint blobs on your canvas, you can lay out several colors. Using the squeegee, swipe it across the surface, dragging the paint across the canvas, mixing and smearing all the paints as you go.

Acrylic painting is a good starting point for beginners. It offers versatility and flexibility to an artist.

Image source: www.dailypainters.com