Gesso is a primer often used in painting.
Gesso is an art supply material used to prepare objects for oil or acrylic paint. Artists use gesso to treat unprimed surfaces like canvas, paper or wood. This treatment makes the painting surface stiffer and prevents pigment from absorbing into the material. Depending on how it's applied, gesso can give a canvas a rough or smooth texture, according to the effect the artist wants to achieve. Gesso comes ready-made and is generally thick; many artists mix it with water to thin it or add tint to achieve special effects.
Instructions
1. Take roughly two dollops of gesso and add half a cup of water, suggests The Empty Easel website. Stir until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency, which the site defines as being able to drizzle from a spoon. Apply to the canvas in even horizontal strokes; let dry. The site recommends two coats of gesso -- more if the gesso mixture was on the thin side.
2. Mix a half-and-half mixture of modeling paste and gesso, according The Easy Oil Painting Techniques website. This is to further smooth the surface of a primed canvas when a very fine canvas texture is desired. The site recommends applying the gesso mixture with a very blunt confectionery knife -- in fact, it recommends rounding the blade off with a grinding wheel. When the layer is dry, sand any tiny ridges down with a 120-grit sandpaper.
3. Tint gesso for special effects, or use colored gesso. Artist Aisling D'art states that she has tinted gesso with concentrated watercolors, watercolor paint, acrylic paint and even unsweetened Kool-Aid powder. She also mentions that gesso powders can be mixed into acrylic gessos to make them thicker or more textured.
