Oil Painting?

Question

I'm about to begin my first oil painting on what appears to be a regular canvas. However, it looks kind of dry and I was wondering if I'm supposed to put some kind of a white base coat before painting the actual thing...

Is there a special name for this or is it just regular white paint?
Also, it is required to make the painting last longer or will it actually interfere? Thanks!

Answer 1

Hello!
Approaching your first oil painting? That can be very exciting!
It is a good idea to "prime" the canvas first. It is a special paint called Gesso, its pretty much a white paint. You can find it in any art store. Apply one or two coats, depending on the canvas, usually one coat is fine, and it takes about 24 hour to dry. This just helps with the absorption of the paint, otherwise without gesso, the canvas material would show through and it would be hard to paint the surface. Hope this helps. Good luck with painting!

Answer 2

Yes, the paint is called "Gesso". This heavy, white coat help protects the canvas and provides a base to paint on. If the canvas is store bought (on a frame or board), it will most likely be ready for paint. When considering oils, try Luiquin, an additive that helps speed the drying time. Oils take a very long time to dry, if you want quick drying paints, consider acrylics.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Like the previous poster stated, what you're looking for is Gesso. Can be bought anywhere you can purchase art supplies.

Its purpose is to seal the canvas. If you use oil paint the oils in the paints would eventuallly "eat" and deteriorate the canvas.

If laid on in several layers (you might want to lightly sand it to remove brush strokes), gesso can also act as a surface equalizer (i.e. you won't see/feel the weave of the canvas).

If you're in a pinch or don't want/have the money to spend on gesso you can use acrylic paint as well (rule of thumb: oil paint can lay on acrylic, acrylic can't lay on top of oil).

If you were to go into a craft store and find the pre-assembled canvases that are white. Those are pre-gesso-ed. From a larger art supply company you can actually buy pre-gesso-ed canvas by the yard/foot to stretch yourself.

All that being said, it's more of a conservationist and surface quality thing. There's no rule that says you have to use gesso or any base if you don't want to. Jackson Pollock painted on untreated canvases...

Answer 4

You apply white paint first, its called gesso. its not necessary but I like to sand mine down a little, then apply another coat, then sand it down a little again to get it even and smooth. Then you can start outlining your painting... usually in pencil on the gesso. Then you paint! Make sure you have paint thinner, as you will need it instead of water, and its helpful to thin out the paint a little for the first layer then using straight oil paint for the second later. Oil paint takes a long time to dry (Sometimes doesn't ever really dry) so make sure you be careful. Also, you can't paint on top of it if you make a mistake like you can with acrylics.. so be sure you know exactly how you want it. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 5

Oil paints are extremely versatile. They can be used thickly in impasto or extremely thinly in glazes; they can be opaque or transparent. Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your oils.

Tip 1:
Always lay your oil paints out on your palette in the same order so that, with time, you'll be able to pick up a bit of a colour instinctively.

Tip 2:
The proportion of oil medium (not turps thinner) should be increased for each subsequent layer in an oil painting – known as painting 'fat over lean' – because the lower layers absorb oil from the layers on top of them. If the upper layers dry faster than the lower ones, they can crack.

Answer 6

Artists' canvases are purchased already stretched and primed with gesso. They are stapled on lightweight stretcher bars and are available in a large assortment of sizes. Rolls of primed canvas and raw canvas are also available in various widths that artists can stretch themselves. Primed Canvas can be stretched/stapled on the thin ready-made stretcher bars or stapled/ nailed to a flat surface. Raw canvas needs to be stapled on a thicker, stronger frame ( i.e. 2X4s) then painted with the gesso. Being that canvas is made out of 100% cotton, the application of the wet gesso causes the canvas to shrink taut over the 2X4s. (Compare it to accidentally shrinking your favorite jeans in the wash.) If the stretcher bars aren't strong enough, the shrinking action can break the boards.
Once the painting is completed, it is pulled off the 2x4 stretcher bars and remounted on the light weight stretcher bars for hanging or framing. An misting of water on the inside of the canvas, the raw side, will cause a bit more shrinkage and tighten up the canvas again.
In a pinch, I have primed with latex house paint and it works but I prefer the texture of the gesso surface.

Answer 7

Hi:

Just to clarify a few things - there is no magic to creating your own stretched canvases. All you basically need are stretcher bars and a canvas - the best canvases are made from linen, which lasts a lot longer than a cotton canvas.

If you visit the wetcanvas website, there is an article entitled "Stretching Canvas Made Easy" that will help you if you want to try this yourself. Check it out if you choose. Wetcanvas is a wonderful free artist community.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

the white base is called 'Texture white' - paint 3 coats of it before you start....mke sure each coat is dry before you apply the next and make sure they're even coats.

Once this is done, your canvass will look as good as new and any colour will look good on it.

Start painting with the darker shades first and then move on to the lighter ones. This will make your painting more bright and the paint wont fade with time.

Answer 9

there are many types and colors of basecoats for canvass.

the use of white lead medium is popular because of its flexible nature, and its ability to remain so for many years.

there are also acrylics, oils, and urethane bases..

colors range from white to greys, and blacks.

remember this as a rule of thumb.
Modified non-toxic compounds of titanium dioxide and barytes ground in linseed oil exhibits more hiding power, brightness and resistance to yellowing than white lead. It does lack the luminosity and inherent permanent flexibility of white lead.

Answer 10

It's called gesso, http://painting.about.com/cs/paintingknowhow/ht/Howto_primecanv.htm