i gesso paper with true gesso and i don't actually stretch it ... just lay it on the floor and go at it with the brush.. the gesso i make is just 1 part cooking gelatin 20 parts water and and 20 parts gypsum from the hardware store.. first i add a little water to the gelatin until it absorbs it, then add the rest of the water and put it for 10/20 seconds in the microwave so the water is kinda warm .. and it dissolves after a little stirring and then i add the gypsum .. and put 3 4 5 coats of that on the sheet of paper ... i don't wait for it to dry completely between coats just enough so the brush won't move it ... and then of course that needs sanding .. i don't use sand paper though .. just kinda shave it with a large kitchen knife.. takes a couple of minutes more than with sand paper but is cheaper and more accessible .. if you happen to be out of sand paper .. and then it's good for drawing, even with colour pencils .. painting with anything except probably water colour .. and thats' it
Gessoing paper (even ordinary cartridge paper) produces the most exquisite drawing surface I have drawn on. I use acrylic gessoed mixed with pva glue lightly sanded afterwards; beats all expensive papers.
What's the purpose of applying gesso to paper? For acrylics? You cannot use watercolor on Gesso, to do that you need to apply Daniel-Smith watercolor ground.
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.
Thank you for making this. I’ve recently learned that you can paint acrylics on paper. I always thought it would buckle. But as I’ve asked about it, I’ve learnt watercolour paper is prepped so this won’t happen… and I shouldn’t need to gesso those… but I’ve seen videos where you’re told to prep watercolour paper by stretching it too? So I’m a bit confused… I’m trying to find a low cost, low prep solution for paintings.
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.
hi sonia, would clear gesso still give us a tooth/textured result like the white gesso? also do we have to stretch the paper for pastel/charcoal or can i just skip to gessoing? thaaanks!
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.
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.
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
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.
i gesso paper with true gesso and i don't actually stretch it ... just lay it on the floor and go at it with the brush..
the gesso i make is just 1 part cooking gelatin 20 parts water and and 20 parts gypsum from the hardware store.. first i add a little water to the gelatin until it absorbs it, then add the rest of the water and put it for 10/20 seconds in the microwave so the water is kinda warm .. and it dissolves after a little stirring and then i add the gypsum .. and put 3 4 5 coats of that on the sheet of paper ... i don't wait for it to dry completely between coats just enough so the brush won't move it ...
and then of course that needs sanding .. i don't use sand paper though .. just kinda shave it with a large kitchen knife.. takes a couple of minutes more than with sand paper but is cheaper and more accessible .. if you happen to be out of sand paper .. and then it's good for drawing, even with colour pencils .. painting with anything except probably water colour .. and thats' it
This is wonderful information! I'll have to try it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Gessoing paper (even ordinary cartridge paper) produces the most exquisite drawing surface I have drawn on.
I use acrylic gessoed mixed with pva glue lightly sanded afterwards; beats all expensive papers.
What's the purpose of applying gesso to paper? For acrylics? You cannot use watercolor on Gesso, to do that you need to apply Daniel-Smith watercolor ground.
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.
Thank you for making this. I’ve recently learned that you can paint acrylics on paper. I always thought it would buckle. But as I’ve asked about it, I’ve learnt watercolour paper is prepped so this won’t happen… and I shouldn’t need to gesso those… but I’ve seen videos where you’re told to prep watercolour paper by stretching it too? So I’m a bit confused… I’m trying to find a low cost, low prep solution for paintings.
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.
So informative!
Thank you!
hi sonia, would clear gesso still give us a tooth/textured result like the white gesso? also do we have to stretch the paper for pastel/charcoal or can i just skip to gessoing? thaaanks!
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.
Can you please tell me,gsm of the paper did you use???
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.
Been doing this in my sketch book over the last couple years.
That's a great idea!
I tried this but on a large piece of watercolour paper 20x32 and still got wrinkles that did not all go away. Is it because the size was too large?
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
what GSM paper are you using?
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.
I guess you never learned about pre-sizing your paper before gesso.
👍👍
Thank you!