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Question asked 2021-05-03 12:11:48 ...
Most recent comment 2023-02-21 22:59:12
Grounds / Priming
Oil Paint
Hi everyone, I was hoping to gain some clarification about tooth with regards to acrylic "gesso". I primed some canvases last week with Golden's acrylic gesso and am currently waiting a week for them to be fully dry. I have also been reading several commenters saying the surface is slick and not toothy enough for their liking with this brand (however most painter's I've asked swear by it, so I don't know if that's a common complaint).
On Justpaint they had this line that intrigued me: “A toothy surface has adequate micro-texture to allow a subsequent coating to physically conform to that texture.” Is that suggesting that tooth is on a microscopic level and not necessarily a tactile observation? Could a gesso be slick to the touch, but actually microscopically mechanically bind?
Or is it a little bit of both, like could a very textured-in-application but lower quality acrylic gesso make up somewhat for the lack of microscopic adhesion.
I hope what I'm asking makes sense!
Thank you!
-Tony
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Moderator Answer
(mirjam hintz)
Hello Tony,
Ivan already answered your question beautifully. I just want to add that in terms of adhesion even a glossy acrylic underpainting or clear primer will work fine for oils. Acrylic dispersions form relatively porous films and linseed oil can sink into the microscopic pores and anchor. The question of what type of acrylic or oil primer to use is really dependent on personal preference. My colleague Greg Watson wrote a nice article about working with oils over GOLDEN Gesso here: https://justpaint.org/differentiating-between-acrylic-gesso-and-williamsburg-oil-ground/
Mirjam Hintz (Golden Artist Colors)
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