You can paint on linen in oils or acrylics.
Painting on linen is the preferred canvas of many artists for the authentic feel it gives and for the liveliness of the colors that linen brings out. Linen can come in rolls or in sheets fully primed and stretched from art suppliers. However, doing your own priming and stretching will make these canvases last longer. Linen also comes in different grades of roughness. You can use oil or acrylic paints on linen. It is an organic fabric that will swell as it absorbs moisture but will return to its original state once dry.
Instructions
Priming the Canvas
1. Add gesso into the plastic container and stir. Add water to thin the gesso, following instructions on the packet for how much water to add. Stir quickly since this mixture dries rapidly.
2. Wet the gesso brush with water and squeeze off excess. Dip into the mixture, ensuring there is not too much gesso on the brush for the first coat. Brush the gesso on the canvas in strokes equal to the length of the canvas in the same direction.
3. Clean the brush with soap and water. Lather, add water, squeeze dry and reshape brush. Cover the remaining gesso in the plastic container with plastic wrap.
4. Allow the gesso to dry for at least an hour.
5. Sand the first coat lightly using fine sandpaper. Wipe the canvas with a cloth to get rid of any dust. Apply the second coat in the opposite direction and allow to dry.
Stretching the Canvas
6. Take four stretchers and join to make a square, using a tongue-and-groove method. Align the corners using the metal right angle and use the hammer to align them into shape. The stretchers should all show the maker's name on the same side.
7. Put plastic sheeting on the floor to protect your canvas. Lay the canvas on the plastic and then put the square stretcher bars on top. Use a hammer to adjust the stretcher bars until all lay flat. You must have an excess of one and a half to two inches of canvas paper to fold over the stretchers. If necessary, use scissors or knife to cut canvas to correct size.
8. Lay one side of canvas paper over the stretcher and tack it to secure in the center. Turn canvas over. Pull the canvas with pliers until a crease forms. Tack in the center the opposite end of the stretched canvas.
9. Do the same for the other two sides of the canvas. After all four sides are tacked, a diamond-shaped crease will appear in the center of the canvas.
10. Tack the canvas sides nearest to the corners, one and a half inches from the center tacks.
