Rob, at French Canvas, graciously sent me one of their stretched linen canvases to use as a blog demonstration and to use for one of my Egyptian paintings. I have used their superior products in the past, and because so many people have requested more information about priming techniques, this will be a good way to show how … [Read more...] about Priming, by Request
rabbit skin glue
Sizing Canvases
Many supports are suitable for oil painting including cotton canvas, linen canvas, wood panels, and copper. All are centuries old techniques and still used today by many artists. I use mostly linen, wood panel, and copper, but primed paper, gator board, and many others are popular also. Just go to the painting support … [Read more...] about Sizing Canvases
All That Glitters is Gold Leaf
A couple of weeks ago a regular reader commented she would like to have more information about the various supports on which oil painting can be done. Pictured here are supplies needed for painting on gold leaf which is a splendid ground to work on. Most common is gessoed wood panels for leafing, but I experimented with canvas with great success. A … [Read more...] about All That Glitters is Gold Leaf
Glue Sizing
The next step after stretching the linen over the bars is to prepare the glue sizing. Rabbit skin glue comes in a crystal form and looks somewhat like cream of wheat. This is truly one of the historic materials and techniques and has been used for centuries. The crystals are soaked overnight in water and then heated in a double boiler where the … [Read more...] about Glue Sizing