[granny33]

When all the painting shows were on TV, I starting painting with oils. I wasn't too bad, but not great. Now I would like to start again using acrylic paints. Can anyone give me suggestions on how to prepare the paint and the surface of the canvas or other surfaces? The only thing I can do from my head is a landscape. Nothing else. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[jrebel7]

Hi there! I am just glad you are painting whether with oils or acrylics. I love working with acrylics. To answer one question regarding preparing surfaces:

If a surface is questionable as to whether it might take the acrylic paint, I use a product called Gesso. Available at local craft stores. I just buy white gesso. It is a little thicker than the craft paints in the small bottles but thinner than tube paint. I use it on Ostrich Eggs, canvases that have too much texture and I want to have a smoother surface on which to paint. One coat may do it, two will almost always be perfect. Make sure you use a brush that will leave the surface as you want to paint on it. If you want a smooth surface, use a softer brush, if you want some texture lines, use a stiffer brush to apply the gesso. It dries fairly quickly and is water base as is acrylic paints. Once dry, your surface is ready. Unfinished wood generally does not need Gesso applied. It just depends on the surface you are wanting to paint. If you want to get into specifics later, I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Others will also be happy to post their answers to help you.

One thing to remember when painting with acrylic paints is that the drying time is much faster than with oils. I paint fast, so that is not a problem for me. Sometimes, if a person has been painting with oils then go to acrylics, they tend to overwork the paint in blending and it gets muddy looking. However, the bright side to that is, short drying time and you can go right back over it and redo. :) Do you have a color wheel?

If the acrylic paints tend to dry too quickly at first for you, there is a medium you can add to your paint to extend the drying time but I think once you jump in with both feet with the paint so to speak, I think you are going to love the medium. Also, I use Polycrylic if I want to put a clear coat finish on a wood piece or eggs, not canvas when painting with acrylics. If you use polyurethene on acrylics, it will cause them to yellow, you would use that on oil base paints.

I would also make a suggestion based on what I am understanding you to say about your ability of what you are able to paint from your head, being landscapes - don't hesitate to find a photograph to work from. Place it in front of you and just practice different styles of painting. Do you know how to float color? That is a great technique you can use to shadow with acrylics. I would not use another artists painting to work from as this is sometimes considered plagurism but you can work from a photograph or set up your own still life on a table in front of you. I have worked with live models but I prefer photographs. They don't move!! LOL

Best to you as you begin your new endeavor! Be sure and post some of your work. We would love to see it. I hope this has been of help to you! HAPPY PAINTING!!

[Clough]

Thank you for responding to my private message and answering the original post, Jan! I figured that this was right up your alley! I have heard about using gesso. Does gesso come in colors other than white? You are talking about applying it to the whole surface of the canvas, correct? Does gesso also come in an oil base?

[jrebel7]

You are welcome Craig!

Yes, I am talking about covering the entire canvas or entire surface of Ostrich Egg or wooden piece (If not using a stain on the wood of course as the background, in which case, sometimes I just block in the piece in titanium white but you could use gesso for that also).

Gesso - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is part of the info on the above link and answers the questions much more eloquently or succiently than I could.

Acryic Gesso
Modern acrylic "gesso" is actually a combination of calcium carbonate with an acrylic polymer medium and a pigment. It is sold premixed for both sizing and priming a canvas for painting. While it does contain calcium carbonate to increase the absorbency of the primer coat, Titanium dioxide or titanium white is often added as the whitening agent. This allows the "gesso" to remain flexible enough to use on canvas. High concentrations of calcium carbonate will cause the resulting film to dry to a brittle surface susceptible to cracking.

Acrylic gesso can be colored, either commercially by replacing the titanium white with another pigment, such as carbon black, or by the artist directly, with the addition of an acrylic paint. Acrylic gesso can be odorous, due to the presence of ammonia and/or formaldehyde which are added in small amounts as preservatives against spoilage. Pre-gessoed canvases can be obtained commercially.

Acrylic gesso is a modern art material, and is used as a primer for oil painting and acrylics. Many of the solvents used in oil painting, such as turpentine or odorless mineral spirits (OMS), will leach some oil through a thin acrylic primer coat and damage the canvas underneath just like traditional hide glue sizing. However, sufficient coverage and penetration of an absorbent support is archivally acceptable.

Although it is generally believed that it is acceptable to paint in oils over acrylic gesso, it has been stated in several painting textbooks such as "The Painter's Handbook" that is it unwise to paint in oils over acrylic gesso because--unlike time-tested alternatives such as rabbit skin glue--the oil paint will eventually delaminate from the acrylic gesso surface. This effect may not make itself manifest for several decades and then mostly affecting thick impasto. The cause for this problem it the inability of oil paint to establish both physical and chemical bonds with the acrylic base. In a canvas that has been primed with rabbit-skin glue, oil paint is able to penetrate the ground (which is porous, unlike acrylic gesso) and establish a permanent bond, both chemical and physical. Of course, manufacturers of pre-gessoed canvas will deny this delimination takes place. Unfortunately, the science is pretty clear. Please refer to "The Painter's Handbook" for details. Also, another textbook "Artist's Manual" also refers to the negative effects of using oil paint over acrylic gesso.

[jrebel7]

Granny33, I just noticed your comment regarding my post to you. Thank you so much. I was more than happy to share. I hope you have great fun! Keep us posted on your experiences with acrylics when you have time! :)

[Shorty87]

Hi Granny33. Just thought I would share some of my painting thoughts with you!

I have worked on both canvas and wood but you can work on any surface you want. With canvas you can cover it with Gesso as jrebel7 was talking about and it will give you a nice surface to start with. The more coats the smoother it gets. I know a person who put over 12 coats of Gesso on his canvas with sanding between each coat and the finished painting is sooooooooo smooth! I also have experimented and did not Gesso my canvas first... this will make your paint bleed and fuzz out on the edges which is still pretty cool. When I paint on wood I will always Gesso unless it is a super hard wood otherwise it takes so much paint because the surface just eats it! They also make special colors of Gesso like black or you can just mix paint with it because it is acrylic based. My professor mixes pink with his when he is painting a human figure... all it takes then is a few glazes to get skin color. Metal would need Gesso (that is my next project!)

If you find that your paint is drying too quickly you can always keep a little spray bottle (like the ones in the garden/hair section) and give the paint a little spritz... just be careful of runs if you get it too wet. Unless this is what you want to happen. I do a lot more non-objective art and work with runs and drips. I just recently finished a series where I basically mixed paint in to my water and poured it down the surface. You can also add water to acrylic to make really transparent glazes. You can do a lot of layers and can get cool effects with this.

Another thing I work with is a lot of texture. Both invented and implied. You can create cool textures by using really thick paint. Or by putting something under your paint like tissue paper or basket filler paper. Or by mixing your paint with something like saw dust (very cool). Tough Patch is also really cool. You can find it in most hardware stores. Its used for patching holes in walls etc but its acrylic based so you can actually mix your paint with it. It is about the consistancy of peanut butter. Really cool.

If you want to paint more than landscapes try an accidental painting. Lay your canvas on the floor and have someone (or you can do it yourself) "start" it for you by either splashing/splattering/painting shapes/etc. give them/yourself only 20 seconds then step back and look at the mess and see what you can create from it. It gives you great freedom! Painting on glass is really cool too because you can peel the paint off when it dries and use it in your work!

And jrebel7. Ostrich Eggs... WAY COOL!

Hope this helps! Good luck with your painting!

[jrebel7]

So you see Granny33, you have entered an interesting medium in which to work!! I thought of one more thing that I do as I was reading Shorty87's post. When I have mixed a large amount of paint and don't use it all at one setting, I either fold some paper towels or a tea towel and wet them, place over the container with the paint or use Handi Wrap, Saran Wrap, something like that to cover the paint to slow down the drying so I can finsih using it later. I don't like to waste good paint, plus if you have mixed several colors to achieve color desired, you always take a chance on not getting it mixed to match exactly next time around if you didn't note which colors and how much of each. If you use paper towels or tea towel, you would need to go back periodically and rewet them to keep the paint moist. Just another helpful hint from one artist to another! :)

[N0help4u]

My friend makes his own paint and surface using egg AAM—The Renaissance Connection: Lesson Plans: Egg Tempera Painting in the Renaissance

This is his site
The World of Mario Belcastro

[jrebel7]

My friend makes his own paint and surface using egg AAM—The Renaissance Connection: Lesson Plans: Egg Tempera Painting in the Renaissance

this is his site
The World of Mario Belcastro

That was an interesting link. I enjoyed reading it. Makes one wonder how long some of the art pieces took to create back then. Amazing! :)

[jrebel7]

hi Granny33. just thought i would share some of my painting thoughts with you!


and jrebel7. Ostrich Eggs... WAY COOL!

hope this helps! good luck with your painting!!

Hi there! Just thought since you mentioned Ostrich Eggs, I would post a photo of one I painted! I have made music boxes, jewelry boxes, and my favorite are lamps! I use a dremel tool to shape them.
I posted this and other work on anther art thread earlier - "The Artist in You" started by Firmbeliver. You may have visited it already. There have been a lot of posts on it but it sure is a fun thread. Lots of art work to view from several artists working in an array of mediums.

[Clough]

Oh my gosh! :eek: What did you feed the ostrich to get it to lay something like that? :D

[jrebel7]

Oh my gosh! :eek: What did you feed the ostrich to get it to lay something like that?! :D

You are funny tonight!! :) LOL Would you like my recipe of what I feed my Ostrich?? :p

[Clough]

You are funny tonight!!! :) LOL Would you like my recipe of what I feed my Ostrich??? :p

Yes! That would be cool! "Ingredients" to "feed" an ostrich for it to "lay" beautiful eggs! :D

[jrebel7]

Okay... here goes!

RECIPE OF INGREDIENTS TO PUT IN FEED FOR OSTRICH TO LAY HUGE EGGS!

One part FORTITUDE
Two parts BRAVEY
Three parts DARING
Four parts SILLINESS
Oops, one part GESSO
Five parts ACRYLIC PAINTS (Your choice of colors)
Six parts MOXIE
Seven parts ENDURANCE

And quite a few more ingredients, mix it all toether in just the right amounts and walla... HUGE egg! LOL