Beginners Guide to Priming the Canvas before Painting
Canvas is perfect for paint artists who do not only want to have great looking output, but are also considering prolonging the life of their work. However, in order to maximise the capacity of this material, a lot of procedures are essential, and one of which is the priming. With this in mind, if you are an aspiring painter, then check this beginner’s guide to priming your canvas before you even put a drop of paint on it.
Before anything else, you need to prepare all the necessary tools and materials, including gesso primer, paint stirrer, plastic container, application brush, thinning agent mixed with water, fine sandpaper, and a piece of soft cloth.
After all that is prepared, you can now begin by diluting the gesso primer. For this, you have to check its bottle for the ideal ratio before mixing it with water. Also take note that there are times wherein you may need to add another special medium depending on the instructions at the container label. After getting the right mixture, you will then need to brush the first coat using parallel strokes.
After the coat dries, sand the canvas with a very fine piece of sandpaper. After which, you may then wipe off the excess sanding dust and be start with the second coat. This time, instead of using parallel strokes, brush from top to bottom. Start sanding again after an hour or so. Finally, if you want the canvas to last as long as possible, then you can add solutions for protection. However, for this, you will need a more advanced understanding of this process.