GESSO AND CANVAS PREPERATION:

Please allow 3-4 days for this to dry

It is very important to prepare your canvas so that you are not behind for the workshop

At Home, 

PRIOR to our workshop:

1: Apply at least two coats of gesso on your canvases, allowing it to dry thoroughly between layers. 

       This will rob the canvas of its woven texture, and allow you to build a new directional surface on subsequent layers.   Jerry’s Artarama’s least expensive Gesso is the best for this.  Lay it down heavily and randomly (it will settle down as it dries). 

2: After the Gesso dries thoroughly, Coat the entire canvas with an aggressive layer of color using a large brush and a lot of painting medium 

-  This will make the surface slicker for each subsequent layer and allow you to provide energy in this and the next layers

-   This will provide interest and kill the white of the canvas

3: This is not intended to give you a head start,  just a random and exciting color and surface for  you to react to and to allow you to make the longer strokes necessary for your first layer of the painting

Below is a video instruction on how to prepare your paper for oil painting!

We use Arches 400lb Rough (you can also use Coldpress) Watercolor Paper.

*Important* Gs/m is different from lb.

https://www.jerrysartarama.com/arches-100-rag-watercolor-paper-natural-white

We highly reccomend using this paper if you would like the same results that we get. Using less heavy paper may result in the paper buckling when paint is applied. You can get it online at Jerry’s Artorama and potentially in store at Jerry’s as well.

Here is a link to How to Wash or Break In Your Richeson Brushes!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GMNd3iCZZlWblu33sO58WGa3q8cj7JOBLGwKVutzHRc/edit?tab=t.0