Wednesday, February 23, 2011

"Taking a Break" gouache,oil and colored pencil on coated paper


I love working on gesso-coated paper. The paper I use is Strathmore Bristol 2-ply plate finish. I tack a huge sheet to a piece of plywood, coat with not-too-thick water-based gesso with the brush strokes all going in one direction. I let this dry, then do another coat with the brush strokes going perpendicular to the first coat. I let this dry again, then turn the sheet over, re-tack and do the paint process again on the reverse side. I find that the 2 coats cover quite well and also leaves a wonderful surface, with the gessoed strokes showing through, especially with washes. Gouache can be used under oils. This coated paper is also great to use for straight-up oil painting. The paint stays on the surface and sets up real well....similar to working on masonite.  It sounds like a lot of work to prep for working on paper, but paper needs a preservative if oils are used. The coating is not necessary if you are using water-based paints, but the surface looks interesting, I think.

4 comments:

susan jenkins said...

Love this painting!
I have done the gesso on paper too. Really works great.
susan

martinealison said...

Très joli travail et merci pour toutes les informations... Gros bisous

SewSara said...

pretty much this whole post is like chinese to me (gouache?!) because i'm not an artist but i love your work! you're a very talented painter :)
thanks for following my little blog!

dulcy said...

Love this!