Use Clear Gesso and Save Big Money On Pastel Paper

[@lobstermash]

Where I live gesso is expensive, so I make my own clear gesso. Definitely not archival but it works for me. Mix one part corn starch with one part water to a fine slurry. Distilled water is recommended (I use tap water because it is deep artesian and OK). Add two and a half parts of any white glue - I use PVA. Apparently you can also use Elmer's glue. I'm just throwing it out there in case anyone wants to know - I use it to give a surface for pencil on slick paper. 🙂

[@PastelWithAvon]

What a great share. It certainly will work for studies and last our lifetime…

[@nancyloomis3046]

Thanks for this how-to. Paper, especially high quality paper or special purpose paper, like everything else, is really expensive, so any way we can save some money on it and have it perform like we need it to... is certainly worth a shot. And we know, we're not necessarily working on masterpieces every time we make art. So like you say, with paper that doesn't cost an arm & a leg, maybe we'll feel more relaxed and create more. 👍 p.s. When I have leftover and still fresh paint, (whether oil or acrylic & maybe even gouache )I try to take that paint and use it to paint a first background layer (or maybe even a little more) on one of my empty canvases. Maybe I'll eventually paint over it, but when I'm trying to decide what to paint or I need a little jumpstart, that canvas that I began painting on, can help me get going. Plus, I just hate to throw away good paint!

[@PastelWithAvon]

Oh I used to do the same thing with my left over paints. You can also use them to tint pastel papers but if the paint is oil it will never wash out should you one day want to wash off a pastel and reuse the paper

[@sandradonofrio413]

What a good presentation. Thank you.

[@PastelWithAvon]

Thanks. Your kind words encourage me to keep going.

[@geraldrushton8859]

Thanks for that - very informative

[@cpm4324]

To avoid the bristle ridges you get when applying the gesso or other pastel textures, I use a plaster mud spreading tool. Unlike brushes, this tool, which is used to spread smooth seamless layers gritty plaster, will yield the same result on gritty pastel textures. Just quickly apply the gesso or texture with a brush across the surface. Don't worry about putting it down evenly, just put it down quickly, before it begins drying, and then smooth the entire surface with one or two strokes using the mud spreader. I have successfully used this method to spread Golden Pastel Ground on block watercolor paper and the paper didn't buckle. Applying the texture mix this way insures a thinner coat, so less moisture seeps into the paper. You can lightly pre-spray on workable fixative to the block or even stretched watercolor paper that is taped down, before applying the gesso to provide an extra seal to prevent buckling.

[@PastelWithAvon]

A tool that is like a flat puddy knife or like a small trowel? Great tip! I’ll have to try that method. I find the bristle strokes work well in cloud painting’s because they naturally create puffy smaller areas in a larger cloud. Thanks

[@tonyharwood]

That was a gteat video, interesting, informative and very usefull. Thank you very much from Scotland ❤

[@PastelWithAvon]

Scotland!!! You just might be my furthest viewer…thanks for the kind words. Just passing on to others as was done for me.

[@sueaberle935]

Great video! Thank you for sharing.

[@PastelWithAvon]

Thanks for watching! And thanks for tje kind words.

[@sheilagilleland4312]

I love cereal boxes to work on..I know lots of people who eat cereal and are willing to give me their”trash” 🙌🏻

[@PastelWithAvon]

LOL, use the plain inside part otherwise you have to tint or use a heavy acrylic wash to cover the Captain Crunch side.

[@debrasabalewski9144]

What if you painted with the brush in one direction let it dry and then do the other direction after it's dried to fill in the 1st cracks going in the 1st direction would that make it smooth after 2nd dry??

[@PastelWithAvon]

It probably would make it smoother than my doing it both ways while wet a light sanding before the second coat would also help get a smoother surface. You likily wont ever get a super smooth finish hime made such as a commercial 800 grit might be. But you will have plenty of work surfaces for studies and other uses that a more expensive product just doesn’t make sense using. Let me know how it works.

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

I doubt cardboard with gesso is archival unless you gesso every side

[@PastelWithAvon]

Its not even archival if you do both sides. Thats why I mention that if it were ever to become collectable….it would give a museum curator work. Only the gesso is archival, therefore the surface you paint on is archival. The backing will eventually fall apart but long after we are dead. A bit of artist humor???

[@WatermelonPlayzzRoblox-lol]

Wouldn’t you stretch your paper first?

[@PastelWithAvon]

No… sanded papers are pretty resilient. If it were watercolor paper or if it were a larger piece …..but those I tend to mount on some sort of board if it is paper im using. Mounting papers on board will be a future video or two…..tons of different mounting processes That people use v

[@howlingwind1937]

I saw a documentary on Wyeth and he used cardboard.

[@PastelWithAvon]

A lot of artists use cardboard. At least one version of the Scream by Evard Munch is on cardboard. We should all use the best materials we can for works but for studies and such, or if you can't afford great materials, you use what you can afford, especially for studies and experimenting.

[@howlingwind1937]

​@@PastelWithAvonyeah I think cardboard is good for experimenting on, I can't remember which Wyeth it was that used cardboard, it just came from cardboard boxes I wonder how long the painting will last. I guess like he said it'll give a job to a conservationist😊

[@teresasawicka5861]

Thank you I have been waiting for this stay well and safe 🐨🦘🙏🙏🙏

[@PastelWithAvon]

You are so welcome, hopefully I can share more that is helpful later.

[@teresasawicka5861]

Thank you🙏🙏🙏🙏🦘