How to Gesso Canvas for Oil Painting Tutorial

Get a complete step by step guide of how to gesso a piece of canvas for oil painting in this gesso painting tutorial. Watch as I demonstrate how to trim your canvas and mount the canvas to a board - including tips for how to best get a smooth surface before applying your gesso to the canvas.
To read more about this how to gesso canvas for oil painting tutorial in written form (with process image steps), visit:artstudiolife....
Once the canvas is mounted and wrinkle free, follow the process as I apply multiple layers of gesso in order to prepare a wonderfully smooth surface for painting on our canvas!
Why is it important to gesso canvas for oil painting? It creates a smooth layer in order to apply oil paint too and it creates a barrier between the oils and the canvas fabric. Which protects the canvas from deteriorating and makes for a long lasting archival surface.
The materials I used in this gesso oil painting tutorial:
Utrecht Professional Gesso: shrsl.com/274rt
Canvas: shrsl.com/274rv
Spakel (plastic putty knife): amzn.to/39C3GzQ
Aluminum pie pan: amzn.to/2JwA7VV
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[@helenemontpetit6830]

Hi there. Just popping in to say I really appreciated your video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@ArtStudioLife]

Hi Helene! You are very welcome :) I am happy to hear this video was helpful for you!

[@Blick_Art]

This is great! Utrecht Professional Gesso is a good choice for priming fabric off the stretchers because it has a high proportion of solids and is less prone to inducing distortion, but pinning the fabric in place is a must. This is a good technique for preparing canvas that will later be mounted to a wall or rigid panel. Thanks for producing this excellent video!

[@Dilangior]

U guys should sponsor ppl who work for blick that are artists and do content creation! Do like how angelus does with their channel maybe!

[@ArtStudioLife]

Thank you! I am a big fan of Utrecht gesso. It was a pleasure for me to share the process of how to use it here.

[@Daddy_with_no_baddies]

Charming level...%100

[@SWNelson7]

Thank you! This was helpful and fun to watch. You have great energy.

[@ArtStudioLife]

You are very welcome! Thank you, glad to hear that.

[@artbychess]

Love your style!

[@pjmiller8632]

Great info. Very clear, and I loved the pie plate idea too! Thank you!

[@ArtStudioLife]

Very glad this was helpful! You are so welcome :) Yes! I love using a pie plate - am glad I happened upon it - t works so well!

[@rezahosseinzadehnasser993]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@ArtStudioLife]

Glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing

[@veronicasantander2389]

thank you i'm ready now for my first one

[@ArtStudioLife]

That is great! Glad to hear that

[@sunispirit4394]

Informative ❤ Lots of love from india ❤❤❤

[@Jen-cx9sf]

Hi that was a very nice video, I haven’t painted since school (very long time ago) and have forgotten much but your video brought back the process of gesso. Thank you!!! Lovely done, easy to follow, and your straightforward instructions were great!! Thank you.

[@ArtStudioLife]

Hi Jen! Very glad that you enjoyed the video and that it was helpful! You are very welcome :)

[@ShirleiBarnes]

Thank you Elisabeth ☺️

[@ArtStudioLife]

You are welcome! :)

[@robertocatrone715]

Well done. thank you

[@VictorRigoleFineArt]

Thanks for the tips on gessoing canvas. Will try using a putty knife the next time I gesso some canvasing. Keep the videos coming.

[@ArtStudioLife]

So glad the tips were helpful! A new video will be uploaded very soon :)

[@ravivijay8046]

Very useful information mam tq

[@ArtStudioLife]

Glad it is helpful!

[@רותיכהן-ק1פ]

Thanks

[@ArtStudioLife]

You are so very welcome Ruti! Thank you for watching :)

[@louisemcintosh1955]

Hi Elisabeth. Thanks for this informative video. Could you use a piece of cork board as your background instead of the wood? Also, I know it is best to buy the loose fabric, but then it has to be stretched and mounted on a frame at some point. Is that done after the painting is complete or after applying the Gesso but before painting.

[@ArtStudioLife]

Hi Louise! You are welcome! The most important thing is for your background to be smooth and flat - so as long as the cork board is smooth it should work just fine. I plan to make more videos explaining the process of mounting canvas. I personally mount my canvas to board using acid free glue - as I always paint on hard board. You can stretch loose canvas on a stretcher frame - however it is best for this to be done before the canvas is gessoed.

[@aqibmehmood3940]

Thankyou for making this informative video , a question as a beginner , how long do we need to wait before actually start painting over the final layer ?

[@ArtStudioLife]

Good question. Drying time for acrylic gesso will vary depending on how dry or humid your environment is. But the surface should be ready in about twenty minutes. You should always make sure it is dry by lightly touching it with a finger.

[@raefield4583]

Is there a final coating that you use on your oil painting if it’s textured? Like a varnish

[@ArtStudioLife]

Personally I don't actually put any coating on my own paintings. However, many others do. Some varnishes can be good to use though for protecting the painting over time. I have a helpful article on different kinds of varnishes available - artstudiolife.com/painting-varnish/

[@raefield4583]

@@ArtStudioLife bless you thank you so so much thank you!!

[@rdmartinez9556]

Thanks for the tips. Most artist reccomend toning the canvas before oil painting, Is it ok if I mix acrylic gesso with colored acrylic paint? Or what can I do to prime and tone a canvas at the same time?

[@ArtStudioLife]

Hi! You can tone and prime the canvas at the same time by mixing a little bit of colored acrylic paint with your gesso - this is possible to do! I would recommend to use a neutral earth tone color :)

[@shek9]

If I have a canvas already painted. Can I use this technique to get ready for a new painting?

[@ArtStudioLife]

If you want to gesso over a painting to start a new painting on top of it you can do that. The only thing to keep in mind is that you cannot use acrylic gesso on top of an oil painting. If it is an oil painting you need to use oil based primer. If it is an acrylic painting you can use acrylic gesso on top of it without any problem. Just be aware that there will likely be some texture left from the painting that might interfere with the new painting.

[@rongilmore2827]

The heading for your video says for oil painting yet you never mention priming for oil painting

[@ArtStudioLife]

As the heading says for oil painting it is implied that you can use oil paints on the primed surface that I guide you through. You can also use acrylic paints on this surface :)

[@justfreedude]

May be someone can explain--so I gesso the canvas, get it smooth. Then I do an underpainting (paint, solvent, a bit of linseed oil). When the underpainting dries, if I rub it with a finger, it is powdery. If I paint on it, the underpainting just rubs off. How do I fix it? Thank you

[@ArtStudioLife]

How many layers of gesso did you apply to your canvas? how much paint did you add with your solvent/ linseed oil mix? The underpainting should stay put. However, if you mix it with too much linseed oil then it can take much longer to dry resulting in what you are describing.

[@raefield4583]

Hello can I mix this gesso with Michael Harding color primer to change the white gesso to color

[@ArtStudioLife]

Good question, you can mix acrylic gesso with any paint color as long as it is also acrylic. Many do this as it helps to create a color ground as well as primed surface at the same time.

[@raefield4583]

@@ArtStudioLife thank you so much!!! Another question! I am using gesso first then I wonder can I use the MH color primer as a paint substitute?? I wonder what it may look like years down the line. I want to do textured gesso and then paint over with the MH primer?? lol I have no idea I just wonder if the primer would peel or something later

[@ArtStudioLife]

@@raefield4583You are very welcome :) Apologies for my delayed reply. You could use michael Harding as a paint substitute if you wanted to. You would be limited in color selection. The paint shouldn't peel. However, I would look into the lightfastness level of the colors. As the paint is created to be used as a primer and be underneath layers of paint. I hope this helps!

[@raefield4583]

@@ArtStudioLife thank you so much for even responding I appreciate you!!

[@ArtStudioLife]

@@raefield4583 of course! Am happy to help :)

[@rainangel159]

Hi, thanks. Really helpful. Quick question though. Have you ever had moulding grow inside your gesso bucket? Don't know if it happened to me because maybe I put my wet brush in the jar were it comes in instead of preparing outside like you did.

[@ArtStudioLife]

Glad to hear this is helpful! I haven't experienced mold inside my gesso bucket before - I tend to use a rubber mallet to seal the container. Any bacteria introduced to a moist wet bucket could cause mold though! I tend to keep my brush and jar separate and dry everything after use. Hope that helps! :)

[@Blick_Art]

@@ArtStudioLife We asked the Utrecht Product Information Team about mold in acrylic gesso, and they said that mold usually develops when spores are introduced on a brush or other implement, especially if gesso has been opened and stored long enough for anti-microbial ingredients to lose potency. They suggested removing visible colonies, taking care not to mix affected product into the still-clean portion. Use up the remaining gesso, or spray a light coating of original Lysol-brand disinfectant spray on the gesso surface before sealing. The active ingredient in Lysol is used as a preservative in latex paints, and the alcohol carrier is safe for contact with acrylics. These instructions also apply to jars of acrylic artists' colors and mediums. Hope this helps!

[@ArtStudioLife]

@@Blick_Art Thank you for sharing this information!

[@kinjal1295]

My canvas says it's been primed.. So should I just start with my oils..?

[@ArtStudioLife]

Yes, after your canvas is primed you can start painting on top of it with oil paints

[@harrietlapuma471]

The canvas I bought from Michaels says it has been primed. Should I Gesso? When I paint the canvas feels quite rough. The paint on my brush runs dry quikly. *I can paint a long line before running out of paint.???

[@ArtStudioLife]

Hi Harriet! Often cheaper canvases from Michaels (or even blick art materials) can be rough and hard to paint on. You can add another layer of gesso this will help to smooth the texture more to make it easier to paint on.

[@sumeethirey6739]

👍👍 namaste 🙏