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Some of the supplies you'll need to prepare canvases
Preparing Canvases:
There are many ways to prepare a canvas (or other support) prior to painting. You may want to add texture, color, pattern, or a combination of these to the surface prior to starting your painting. Here are some ways to do that:
Types of Supports/ Painting Surfaces:
Stretched Canvas: If you are painting on pre-stretched canvas (pre-stretched canvases are gessoed), get ones where the canvas is attached on the back, not the sides. If you stretch your own canvases, gesso them well before using the techniques outlined below.
Board: There are many pre-gessoed boards available, or you can buy board (masonite/ hardboard or plywood) from a hardware store. They will usually cut it to size for you for a nominal fee. Because there are chemicals in hardboard/masonite, prepare your painting surface with 1 to 3 coats of Golden GAC 100 to keep chemicals from seeping into paint. GAC 100 dries clear. Next, apply 1 to 3 coats of gesso.
You might want to consider painting on a cradled board so that you don't have to frame.
Watercolor Paper: You can paint with acrylics on watercolor paper. Any weight is fine. You may want to gesso the paper, but you do not have to. Paper isn't as good as canvas or board if you use many thick layers of acrylic mediums or paint.
Different Ways to Prepare the Surface of Your Canvas or Board:
Texture with molding paste or Utrecht gesso: spread gesso or molding paste on with a brush or palette knife. Use short, varied strokes.
board textured with molding paste and heavy gesso
Collaging paper or fabric onto the canvas or board: Use acrylic medium or gel as adhesive. This is done to add design, color, or texture. If you are adding collaged materials for design or color, do not completely obscure them with paint. If they are being used just for texture, cover them with paint. [Read important note about gluing in the next section].
collaged paper and fabric on canvas
Tone the canvas with one color: try warm colors (red, orange, burnt sienna), cool colors (blue, green, violet)
cool toned canvas (underpainting) warm toned (underpainting)
Underpaint with many colors: try many wild colors; limited warm colors; limited cool colors, etc.
Stamping: make your own stamps using "Quick Cut" or "Easy Cut". Cut shapes using linoleum cutting tools. Apply paint to stamp and stamp onto canvas. Paint dries fast, so wash your stamps right after using them. Try using a spray bottle for getting into crevices.
stamping on canvas (handmade stamp) warm toned canvas with stamping
Any combination of the above.
multiple color underpaintings + collaged materials paint and collage over old painting
some of the tools and supplies used for prepping
canvases
Supplies & Application:
An IMPORTANT note about gluing: When you use acrylic mediums and gels to glue papers, fabrics, and other things to your support (canvas, board, paper), make sure that you use an adequate amount of adhesive. Paper and fabric, will absorb the acrylic medium or gel and this can leave dry spots underneath. When gluing, apply plenty of acrylic medium or gel onto the canvas and onto the material you’re gluing on. I sometimes spritz fabric lightly with water prior to gluing. This helps the acrylic to seep into the material to ensure a good bond. Also, watch your canvas as the collaged materials dry. You may notice that materials begin to buckle as they dry. You may like this effect, or you may want to smooth them out a bit. Collaged materials that are not well adhered to the canvas or board can chip off over time, even if there are many layers of paint over them.
Texturing: To create texture on your canvas: use Utrecht gesso (this is very thick gesso and quite economical) or molding paste (comes in a variety of viscosities, light to heavy). Gesso and molding paste dry white. Application: apply with a brush, a palette knife, a stiff piece of cardboard, or any other tool. Unless you have a specific pattern in mind, it is best to keep your application strokes short. You may also want to scratch into the paste with a tool (stick, fork, comb, etc.) or you may imbed objects (wire mesh, stones, buttons, etc.) into the wet paste.
Collaging: Glue papers, fabrics, or objects to your canvas or board using acrylic medium or gel (these dry clear or almost clear). Gloss mediums and gels dry clear. Matte mediums and gels have a “matting” agent in them, so when they dry, they are a little cloudy. Use heavier bodied gels for adhesion of heavier objects. When gluing fabrics, you may want to dampen them slightly prior to gluing. Make sure you use plenty of gel under and over the object you are gluing. Note: Once the gel has dried, you may want to integrate the fabric, paper, etc. by partially or completely covering it with paint.
Toning the Canvas: Cover the canvas with a color. This can be any color. I tend to prefer warm colors for this: red, orange, yellow. I may also use colored gesso: ochre, venetian red, black, gold.
Underpaint with Many Colors: Using short brush strokes, paint any combination of colors. You may also want to try: limited palette (e.g. warm colors only; cool colors only); applying paint with a scrunched up paper towel (dab it on). Often I use this technique for covering a painting that I want to paint over.
Combining these techniques: You can combine any of the above techniques. For example, I often tone a canvas (e.g. with orange paint) and when that is dry I dab on lots of bright colors as an underpainting. I also like to combine texturing with molding paste with collaging. After that I may apply some random colors and let that dry before I start my painting.
©Jacqui Beck 2009