Prep Bare Art Canvas for Acrylic Painting-100_1220.jpg

Many artists are painters, using both; oil and acrylic paints with a preference for painting on canvas. Canvas is an age-old substrate used as a painting surface and is traditionally stretched and fastened onto a wooden frame. The bare canvas must then be coated and prepared to accept paints. The bare canvas must be sealed, and the weave of the fabric filled before it is ready for painting art work with acrylic paints. The compound used to treat the canvas is called “gesso,” (meaning “chalk” in Italian). Gesso is very expensive in art supply stores, and many artists have discovered various blends of PVA glue, water, acrylic paint, and baby powder to make their own gesso.

This video shows you how to prepare the bare canvas to accept acrylic paints after it has been stretched over a frame. I’ll also share tips and tricks on how you can mix your own coatings (gesso-like blend), using commonly available materials. The materials I use are much less expensive than the special preparations sold for this purpose at art stores.

Here's the video: