How to Prepare a Canvas
So, you want to know how to prepare a canvas? It’s the first step for any painting so it’s one of the most important. Since I specialise in acrylic painting, this post will focus mainly on that, but this is good information to know regardless.
Now you probably know that most canvases are already primed. Most store-bought canvases are triple-primed with gesso, which is great, because gesso is ESSENTIAL. In case you don’t know, gesso is like acrylic paint, but it dries harder and with more ‘tooth’ (which is texture). Without gesso, your paint will settle into the weave of the canvas - which is a no-go. Gesso creates a hard layer on top of the canvas, still keeping the texture of the canvas but providing a better surface for your paint to stick to.
Whilst adding another layer of gesso on top of a triple-primed canvas isn’t necessary, I always like to add another layer myself. The best part of gesso is that you can water it down or mix it with other paint, so you can further personalise your canvas to your work.
Watering gesso down creates a wet surface for you to use to blend a base layer on top. This is great for landscapes or still life, as you can create a background with depth that you can build on later. On the other hand, you can mix gesso with other paint to create a underpainting, which is something I’ve only recently starting doing. And let me tell you, underpainting is great. It’s essentially a base layer that isn’t white. It’s mostly used in oil painting, but the same idea can be applied to acrylic paint. The benefits of underpainting are;
Helping you paint contrast. For example, painting a canvas blue gives you room to paint both light and dark colours. Starting a painting from a white background can make it more difficult to fully explore contrasting light, the difference between the lightest and darkest points (and no I don’t mean just black and white).
Adding undertones. You’ve probably seen a TikTok or two where someone paints a canvas bright pink before painting something completely different on top. And it’s not just to make an interesting video, there is an actual point to it. Depending on how you paint, either in thin or thick layers, the light will pass through each layer and reflect it back. So, a bright underpainting will reflect through the upper layers, adding depth.
Creating a rough draft. This is also mainly for oil painting but it still can be used for acrylics. Building up saturation in certain parts can simulate shadows. On the other hands, watering down the gesso in certain parts can simulate light. It’s just an easy way draft up a painting, which is always helpful.
So, you’ve primed the canvas in whichever way you prefer. What’s next? Frankly, you can start painting from there. It’s primed, its under-painted and it’s ready to go.
But! In case you want a perfect base, there a few more things you can do:
Sand down any texture. In case you added a bit too much gesso, or if the textured look isn’t what you want - sanding the surface down a bit will be a perfect fix. Get some fine grit sandpaper, or a nail file if you have it and just lightly sand down the particularly textured sections. Work slowly and lightly!
Use the canvas stretcher bars. Do I use these? No, and I probably never will. But! I can see their benefit. You’ll most likely get them attached in a bag to your canvas, just take them out and slide them into the slots in the wooden frame in each corner.
Paint! The! Sides! If you’re using a thin or thick edge canvas instead of a canvas panel or canvas paper, don’t forget to prime the sides. Keep the surface of the canvas consistent, even if the sides aren’t seen as easily.
So, there you go - that’s how you prepare a canvas. All of these steps aren’t necessary, and frankly if you don’t want to spend extra on a tub of gesso when the canvas is already primed, that’s fine too!
It’s art, it’s subjective - do whatever you want!