Article #36 Demystifying Gesso

By Arrachme

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Let’s unravel the mystique of gesso to elevate your artistic endeavor!  Prepare to dive into the captivating world of Gesso, where the mundane transforms into the extraordinary. Originating from the Italian word for “chalk”, gesso transcends mere definitions, morphing into a versatile medium that ignites artistic ingenuity.   Crafted from a combination of paint, pigment, chalk, and binder, gesso intrigues us with its unique potential.

What Is It Made Of?

Gesso typically contains paint, pigment, chalk, and a binder. The mixture quantities depend on the quality of the gesso.  It can be used as a primer, but not exactly.  Like a primer, a fabric canvas is usually sprayed with gesso by the manufacturer before being labeled and packaged in plastic.  If the gesso was not completely dry before the plastic package was applied, plastic particles can bond with the canvas surface and cause issues. This is not obvious to the naked eye.  If paint beads up on a canvas when the artist applies paint, it may be caused by premature packaging. This is why it is important to use good-quality brands of canvas and paint. Craft acrylic paint is lower quality than student grade and student grade is lower quality than professional paint due to the fillers used.  Sometimes a student will say, “I will just buy cheap quality products, to see if I like painting.” This is the opposite of what a student should do.  If the student or teacher is not experienced in the technical part of painting that addresses the chemical interactions of painter’s products, they will not be able to mitigate issues that arise. The students may become disheartened and blame themselves when the problem is caused by inferior materials that they were attempting to use.   Disheartened, they may decide to prematurely give up painting altogether.

Beading Quick Fix

If you encounter paint beading on a canvas and suspect that the canvas is the culprit, you can try this quick fix.  Use a sanding block gently across the surface before painting. Sanding can knock tiny bits of gesso and or rough up plastic residue. A very thin watered-down layer of gesso can be applied. Let it dry completely before starting to paint. This works for most styles of painting. 

 Note that if a very detailed hyperrealist style is desired, it is recommended to use a different type of canvas altogether. Fine linen is a much smoother canvas so it will help with realistic smooth marks. 

A fun DYI gesso exercise for crafters is to mix cornstarch and baking soda into a smooth powder. Add glue and white acrylic paint to make a paste. This project creates an understanding of textured surfaces.

How Do Artists Use Gesso?

Gesso is extremely versatile. There are different types of gessoes – black, white, and clear. The chalk in gesso helps the surface absorb paint. The most common canvas material in the USA is cotton duck. This type of canvas can be bought with or without gesso pre-applied. If the artist uses a raw canvas and decides to apply the gesso, the key is applying very thin layers, sanding, and drying thoroughly in between each layer.

Standard white or black gesso can be mixed with acrylic paint for an opaque effect. The added absorbency will change the results when adding layers to a painting. Experimenting with transparent and opaque layers will exponentially advance an artist’s skill set.  Mixing black paint with clear gesso without buying it outright is a way to experiment with black gesso.

Clear gesso goes on milky but dries clear. Clear is handy with abstract art, especially when combined with paper, fabric, and paint. In abstraction, many layers are added to a canvas. The surface will become slick. To regain its necessary absorbency, use the sand block, and apply clear gesso. Remember to let it dry between each step. 

Resurrecting an Old Canvas

I am often asked if a canvas can be repurposed using gesso.  Yes, it can. Though reborn, the layered surface will not return exactly to its original smoothness, but it will regain the ability of a fresh start.  Just remember to stay true to the type of paint.  As a reminder, oil can be painted on top of acrylic paint, but acrylic cannot be placed on top of oil.  Gesso does not change this hard fast rule.

City of Lights

The included painting, “City of Lights” used several layers of gesso, acrylic, and oil medium. Its success is due to the combination of transparent and opaque layers and different types of gessoes.

 Irrespective of whether you are an artist or a dabbler, Gesso is a catalyst for boundless expression. You are now armed with the many nuances of gesso and how it can be a tool for endless creativity.  Happy painting.