วีดีโอ

Thank you for taking the time to post your feedback. I appreciate it! And I've added some music.

That's a great idea!

Okay, thank you! I really appreciate the feedback. I will edit and move the text.

Good point!

I'm so glad!

Hi there! You must stretch the paper before applying gesso to it. The stretching process allows the paper to handle the moisture in the gesso. If you gesso a regular piece of paper, without stretching it first, it will warp and buckle because of the water in the gesso. I've never tried clear gesso so I can't really say. I assume it would work the same. If you try it, let me know how it works.

is that gesso make a paper bit heavy ?

Most watercolor paper will buckle and warp if you paint wet-on-wet with quite a bit of water. The stretching process allows your watercolor paper to accept water and remain nice and flat. The paper must remain stretched and taped for the duration of the painting. Don't remove the tape until the painting is finished and fully dry if you want the paper to remain flat. Stretched watercolor paper may still buckle a little while wet, but it should return to flat when it dries. The factor to consider here is the weight of the paper. You can buy very nice, high-quality, expensive watercolor paper designed to handle a lot of water. However, the average quality watercolor paper sold in most art supply stores is not of that quality. Therefore, you can expect most watercolor paper to buckle if you don't stretch it unless your painting style doesn't use a lot of water. Again, paper will buckle with acrylic paint because of the water in the paint. Stretching the paper first allows it to handle the water in the paint. I hope this helps. Thank you for taking the time to post a question.

This is wonderful information! I'll have to try it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

Hi Steven. I've used many different brands of drawing paper for this. Strathmore 400 series seems to work well. I believe that it is 130gsm. I've also had success with Strathmore 300 series drawing paper. I hope that helps.

To smooth it out to your preference, and you can acrylic or oil on it

I usually draw on it. It makes the paper durable so it can handle more erasing, blending, and so on. It's also nice for pastel because the brushstrokes add a bit of texture to the paper. I like apply slightly circular brushstrokes for pastel.

There are different types of gesso and you can sand the gesso to get different textures. As you noted, it's not great for watercolor, but it can be used for almost any other medium. Oil or soft pastels, acrylic or oil paint, charcoal or other pencils - all can be used on gessoed surfaces. Aside from customizing the surface, the benefit of putting gesso on paper or cardboard is that it offers a cheap alternative to canvas or high quality paper.

The size of your paper shouldn't really be a factor. I suggest you try it again. Try dipping or immersing the entire sheet of paper in water before stretching. Fill a tub with water. Then submerge the sheet of paper under water for a few seconds. In my experience, wrinkles are usually the result of the paper not being wet enough during the first initial stretching, or they are caused by the tape coming loose along the edges while the paper is drying. Some watercolor papers are heavy, so allowing the paper to absorb more water before stretching lets the paper expand.

Before applying gesso to the watercolor paper, wet the backside of the paper first. It will still wrinkle but when you apply the gesso to the front side it will counteract the the expansion of the fibers on the backside. I use that technique when I do a wet on wet painting on handmade watercolor paper that I don't want to, or can't, stretch the handmade paper. Give it a try. At worse, you wreck a sheet of paper and waste some gesso. But that's what art is all about... experimenting

Well, I'm not sure. The gesso does make the paper stiffer. You might try sanding the surface before drawing if you prefer a smoother drawing surface. I hope it works out for you.

Thank you!

Aerosil silica can absorb a lot of liquid. That makes a Gel medium. Such medium can increase oil content in paint and transparency with the little or no effect on paint consistency. So, the silica is a very strong extender.

This is a good question. I'm afraid I don't know the answer.

I'm sorry for the late response. Yes, it's just acrylic gesso, the type you buy at any art supply store. I hope this helps.

While this mix was my supr simple go to medium for a while, you have newer options that are solvent free. Gamblin makes a solvent free medium it comes highly recommended. You can skip the damar and just use any oil theoretically. But... you have products from Cobra and Artizan that make a less smelly thinner and mediums that are not only solvent free that they designed to wash away with water. You can use these with or without water mixable oil. You don't need to but if you want to go with water soluble it's much easier to clean up and, mixes with regular oils. Now, if you have regular oils and want both a medium. AND one that will MAKE oils water soluble, Schmike medium W will do the job. I haven't glazed with these yet but I expect them to work well. Damar really smells, and the so called "odorless" turpenoid is still toxic to inhale. Try these out if you have to live with other people. Also, I found a vlogger who swears by soaking brushes in a bath of Safflour oil, and just wiping brushes clean. To deep clean, Master's blush cleaner is amazing. Try using shampoo as well . Apparently, you don't need turpentine to clean brushes anymore, even if you don't treat paint to be water soluble or use water soluble product. I gave up oil painting for a long time because if the toxicity and the smell but wish I discovered these things sooner. You can look these things up if you want. People also seem to like walnut oil as a medium as well. Happy painting!

@@loitermanart thanks so much for the info! I was just wondering if i should buy an expensive custom cargo trailer, so that i can paint in peace...but if i can use 1 of your options on top of the already 1st coat of damar and stand oil mix, i'll go for that. Thanks again!!!

@@loitermanart also, I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I use "Awesome" from the dollar store, to clean paint brushes...then just Dawn and water. Awesome is good stuff, but it is also stinky and flammable and i don't recommend smelling it, but you can dilute it by a lot and it works great!

You can paint in oil without a painting medium. I understand the smell of solvents can be bothersome. They can also be dangerous. Simply replace oil paint medium with linseed oil. Using linseed oil instead of paint medium is a safer option. Use the smallest amount of linseed oil that is necessary and be sure to use Artist-grade oil paints. Again, you don't have to use a painting medium, it's optional.

Skip the solvents and use refined linseed oil instead. Add a few drops of linseed oil to your paint instead of painting medium. You don't need a painting medium for oil painting. You can paint with just Artist-grade paints and linseed oil. Some student-grade paints are thick and require more medium to increase the flow of the paint. Artist-grade paints like Gamblin oil paints come out of the tube creamy and only require a few drops of linseed oil to spread easily.

I have only made this recipe using Dammar, so I'm afraid I can't say. You can, however, paint in oils without a painting medium. Simply use linseed oil in place of the medium. Adding a few drops of linseed oil to your paint will suffice.

Hi Carol. You can use any size of brush. I usually use a brush that's about 1-2 inches wide to apply gesso. A larger paintbrush simply makes the application faster. I suggest taping the paper to a wooden board or a piece of masonite. If using masonite, tape the paper to the smoothest side of the board. I hope that helps.

Hi Teresa. The varnish can increase the glossiness or or sheen of the oil paint. Damar is a resin that's traditionally dissolved in turpentine. In The Artist's Handbook Of Materials & Techniques, 5th Edition, author Ralph Mayer sites Damar Varnish as perhaps the most used resinous ingredient used in oleoresinous mediums (at the time of writing, it's an old book). Oleoresinous mixtures are said to make good glaze mediums. I hope that helps.

It's an unnecessary and rather dumb addition

Hi Nathaniel. The slick tempered side of masonite does not really absorb water. The board can be coated with polyurethane if desired.

Thank you so much 😀

I purchased this drawing paper in bulk some time ago so I no longer have the specifics but it feels very close to some 80lb 400 series Strathmore drawing paper that I have in my studio. I believe the Strathmore drawing paper to be 130 gsm. I hope that helps.

Thank you!

Thank you! Cheers!

Thank you Lori!

Hi Chentzu. Thank you very much!

Thank you!

Thank you too!

Yes, this should work on 140 gsm paper.

Hi Samina. Sorry for the late reply. I placed my paper on a sheet of Masonite. You can buy Masonite at your local lumber yard. It comes in 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch thickness. Either will work. Ask for tempered Masonite if available. Tape your paper to the glossy smooth side of the board. Tempering is said to makes the Masonite stronger and less likely to warp.

@@getrealism thank you so much. Sometime when I am free, I like to paint. I follow tips and tricks from your videos. I wish i can share to you too my work and get feedback from you. Regards and have a good day.

Hi Jp. I always wash my hands prior to stretching the paper so it hasn't been a problem. You do bring up a good point though!

Great suggestion! Thank you.

I'm using a white acrylic gesso.

Thanks

Thank you, I will

You're welcome!

You're welcome!

You're welcome.

A decent quality drawing paper works well. Some papers are simply too thin to handle the water.

Thank you!

Hi Paula, Yes and no. Stretching will remove minor dents. If you have a hard fold or major crease, it won't likely remove all traces of the crease. Minor dents should work their way out once paper is wet and as you smooth it out on the board. Your paper will buckle when wet then slowly smooth and pull tight as it dries. Hope that helps. Regards, Sonia

@@getrealism Thank you very much Sonia, I bought the paper and stretched it. You are right, it removed the minor dents, only the minor dents, and that was what the sheets had. But its ok because i´m going to use the process you refer in your videos. I´m going to also aply gesso to the paper and try it with pastel pencils, graphite...it's something that I really want to try... Thank you once again for taking a bit of your time to talk to me.

paper strips and wood glue would just do, or only wood glue. :)

Thank you Raechel. Yes, use gummed paper tape because the water will reduce the ashesive property of other tapes. The gummed paper tape is water activated and is strong enough to hold paper tight as the paper shrinks as it dries. This shrinking puts quite a bit of force on the tape. Best wishes on your projects! Sonia