alternative to gesso???

Question

i am painting on canvas, and i want to back it up with gesso, but wow. that stuff is waaay expensive. is there an alternative to it? could i just use some sort of clear acrylic instead? i am going to be using acrylic to paint. thanks!

Answer 1

there are two ways you can do it, though if you use acrylic paint you don't need gesso because gesso is just acrylic paint with some stuff added to it. You can cover it with cheap acrylic paint, try different colors, or you can buy student grade gesso it costs about $15/gallon.
One more thing use canvas already pre gessoed.

Answer 2

Acrylic polymer gesso is specifically designed to contain absorbent and course materials so that paint (both acrylic and oil) can adhere to it better. The materials are things like marble dust, chalk, etc. Clear acrylic will not have these ingredients. Oil paintings, in particular, depend heavily on the substrates and primers being made of materials that will allow oil paints to adhere correctly and at the same time protect the substrate from the acids in the oil. Otherwise the oil painting will crack, delaminate and/or rot over time.

However, if you're using acrylic paint you do not need the absorbent qualities of acrylic gesso. You can go ahead and use clear acrylic. The theory is that polymer paint will stick to other polymer paint with no problems since they are chemically similar. In fact, some paint manufacturers actually make a "clear gesso" which is basically clear acrylic medium with some grit in it.

Answer 3

Gesso expensive? You shop at the wrong place. It is cheaper and more economical in use than using acrylic paint in it's stead. You can use white paint but it isn't as effective and will leave you with a very 'slippery' surface.

A big jar of gesso will last you a long time.

Answer 4

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RE:
alternative to gesso???
i am painting on canvas, and i want to back it up with gesso, but wow. that stuff is waaay expensive. is there an alternative to it? could i just use some sort of clear acrylic instead? i am going to be using acrylic to paint. thanks!

Answer 5

You can try primer from a hardware store and maybe even the Kilz brand of primer. Oil paints typically need a well-primed surface to ensure the oil vehicle does not eat away at it. If price were not an issue, another alternative would be two layers of Golden's Gac 100 as a sizer then two layers of matte medium.

Answer 6

Well I make my own gesso....i just buy some elmer's glue and plaster and some acrylic white paint. And then I buy a little container and put tons of glue and then bit of plaster, (can put more if you like alot of texture, if not just put some) and then i put a bit acrylic white in there....I don't know for if that's really accurate for some, but it works for me.