Choosing a Clear Primer for Oil Painting

A clear primer lets the colour and texture of the canvas or wood show in your painting. We look at 11 brands to see how clear they are, what they feel like to paint on, and more.

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Most oil paintings on canvas or panel are prepared with white gesso and then the whole surface is covered with paint so that you no longer see the white ground. If you don’t want to cover the whole surface of your canvas or wood panel with paint, but instead want to leave small or large areas of canvas or wood showing as part of the painting, then you may want to prime your surface with a clear primer instead of a white one. This will allow the colour and texture of your surface to be seen so that the grey-brown of the linen or the colour and grain of the wood can become part of your painting.

 

 

Applying a primer onto your canvas seals the surface and prevents oil paint from coming into contact with the linen or cotton fibres which would slowly be damaged by the oil, becoming dark and brittle over time. Some clear primers can also act as a stiffener for stretched canvas, so it will wobble less. Wood panels do not need to be sealed from oil for longevity but priming will give a better surface to paint on, by making it less absorbent and evening out the absorbency of the wood which would otherwise have different amounts of absorbance between the grain lines and the wood between them.

At Jackson’s we have a great selection of white primers but we also have a pretty good selection of clear ones. I’ve done some testing to find out the characteristics of each one. The three main things most artists will be interested in are: how clear it is, if it is a slick or absorbent surface because that affects how it feels to move the paint around, and how good a value it is. I answer those questions and also take a look at other characteristics including ease of application, drying time, and how well it blocks oil penetration, as well as many others.

 

 

Matt mediums or rabbit skin glue are commonly used as sizes underneath a white gesso/primer, but if you do one or two more coats, they can then be the ground as well, which many artists do. So in addition to products sold as clear primers, I added a selection of matt mediums as well as rabbit skin glue, for a total of 11 products to test. You can read about the terms ‘size’, ‘ground’, ‘gesso’ and ‘primer’ in Size, Primer, Gesso and Ground Explained.

I didn’t test PVA because most artists choose to use it to save money, so they would be using the cheap stuff. Artist grade PVA is not a cheaper alternative to clear primer. There are over 50 different types of formulations of PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) and only a few are of a good enough quality to make permanent paintings because they have low acidity, retain flexibility, and have low colour change. PVA not made specifically for artists will deteriorate – yellowing, clouding, shrinking and peeling – and is to be avoided if you want your paintings to remain in good condition.

 

 

Things I Wanted to Know About the Application of Each Primer

• Colour when applying – is it clear or milky so you can see where you’ve done.
• Viscosity – is it the thickness of cream, honey, or yoghurt. And a.) does thicker mean that it will fill in the open weave of linen better, b.) will more fluid be smoother with less noticeable brush marks, c.) will more fluid cover more surface area.
• Flow – how far does the same amount of primer go on wood and on canvas.
• Thinning with water – do they need to be thinned and how much.
• Self levelling – do brushmarks smooth out when left.
• Sanding – can it be sanded for maximum smoothness.
• Shrinkage – does it crack as it dries if you put it on thickly.
• Touch-dry drying time – time to be touch-dry for applying a second or third coat. All acrylic primers need to cure for 48 hours before being painted on.
• Odour – some people complain of strong smells of some primers.
• Ease of use of container- bag, bucket, bottle – and what keeps the gesso from drying around the rim so the next time you use it, it isn’t full of crumbs you have to pick out.
• Value- comparing price per 100 ml for good coverage – how far does it go, how many coats are needed.

 

Things I Wanted to Know About the Physical Characteristics of Each Primer

• Transparency – how clear is it over brown linen and a wooden panel. Is it more transparent if applied in 3 thin layers rather than one thick one.
• Colour change of surface – does it darken or lighten the wood or linen.
• Flexibility – does it crack when you roll the canvas for storage or when you re-stretch it, so it should only be used on a rigid surface.
• Texture – chalky, gritty, smooth, silky, plasticky, slick. And one is available in a selection of textures: smooth, medium, coarse, very coarse.
• Sheen – is it matt, satin, or gloss when dried.
• Absorbency – a.) can you wipe off oil paint or does it stain. b.) does the brush drag or slide smoothly. c.) does oil paint dry matt because the oil has been sucked up. d.) does non-absorbent mean worse paint adhesion of the paint to the primer.
• Adhesion – 2 kinds a.) does the primer stick well to the substrate – on wood and on canvas. b.) does dried paint stick well to the primer.
• Oil paint penetration – does the primer seal the canvas or does oil paint penetrate through to the back, both thick oil and a fluid oil wash.
• Yellowing – does the polymer yellow over time – sometimes acrylic gels do, lots of PVAs do, I let it age for five months in the dark because I’m judging the colour from the rolled up linen I used to test flexibility.

 

 

The 11 Clear Primers

I have given them each a number and when talking about different attributes, I use the number for efficiency. At the bottom of the article, each primer is listed individually with all of all its attributes.

1. Jackson’s Acrylic Fluid Gloss Medium

2. Jackson’s Acrylic Fluid Matt Medium

3. Schmincke Transparent Primer

4. Golden Matte Medium

5. Golden Fluid Matte Medium

6. Liquitex Professional Clear Gesso

7. Winsor & Newton Artists Acrylic Clear Gesso

8. Holbein Clear Acrylic Gesso – L (Coarse texture), also available in M (Medium texture)

9. Lascaux Sirius Acrylic Medium Matt

10. Michael Harding Non-Absorbent Acrylic Primer, Clear

11. Handover Rabbit Skin Glue – 12:1 dilution

 

Absorbency

Unless you have special requirements, you usually want to choose a primer that is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between completely non-absorbent (feels like you’re painting on wet glass, so slick that it won’t grab the paint off of the brush) and the other extreme of too absorbent (feels like painting on masonry, so absorbent that it won’t spread easily and that the oil is sucked out of the paint and it is left without enough binder). You want it slick enough that it has some wipeability and absorbent enough for good adhesion. Some people prefer a less absorbent surface (smoother and more sealed) because of the ease of brush movement or because they wipe back, using subtraction a lot as part of their process, and some like a very absorbent surface because they like their brush to feel like it is sticking and dragging the surface more and is less slick, where the surface grabs the paint from the brush. Of the absorbent surfaces, texture can vary from feeling a bit chalky, to feeling like sandpaper. Sometimes not absorbent can mean poor adhesion, but none of these 11 primers had that problem. Some artists like a tacky surface like primer 1 & 2 or one like RSG where the paint sinks into the ground and feels like it merges with it. None feel chalky. And even when they seem like they are super absorbent, none feel like they are wicking oil away as can happen with some regular gessoes.

 

 

 

 

Sanding

I was surprised by how useful a little bit of sanding was:

• It gives a much smoother surface with just 20 light strokes with a sanding sponge
• Not much dust comes off to fly around, the dust fills in the holes in the linen weave, except for the rabbit skin glue whose holes are big.
• It gets whiter / more opaque on some of them, and not on others
• Some primers benefit from two coats on linen, then a light sanding to remove the sticking up rough fibres of the linen and then a third coat is applied. The ones that benefited most were numbers 3, 6, 7, 9, 10. The others do not benefit, and some get worse.

I used a sanding sponge with a medium fine grit and did the 20 strokes in all directions. The unprimed linen next to the test patch, when sanded, became very white. I think it might be the linen fibres that poke above the primer that is what is being sanded white. The linen might be coated in starch or something similar, I didn’t wash/rinse/wet the linen (I’ve heard of some artists that do). Some artists sand their linen canvases between all the layers of white gesso, because it is hairy and the hairs poke up in a more obvious way after they’ve been wetted. Even a light sanding can really improve the surface.

 

 

 

How Many Coats of Primer You Need

The benefits of a second coat of primer on stretched linen:

• No oil penetration
• An even colour of ground, not streaky
• Even absorbency
• A less absorbent surface than one coat
• If applied thinly, the colour / transparency is usually not much different, so it is worth doing a second coat
• The same amount of primer applied as 3 thin layers will be clear, but if applied all at once as one thick layer will often be cloudy and opaque.

There was a big difference between the amount of primer need for the wooden panel and the stretched linen. 1 ml of primer gave a thick coat in a 7.5 cm square on the wooden panel. But it took 2.5 ml to give even a thin coat to the same size square of linen. This is because as you work the primer into the fibres to coat them, lots gets pushed to the back, and it also tries to fill up the spaces in the weave, so it takes more than twice as much primer for linen as for wood.

 

Odour

I checked the odour because some people complain of the strong smells of some primers. These were all mild or had a medium-mild odour. None have a strong or noticeable odour. This includes the rabbit skin glue. See Rabbit Skin Glue: Preparation, Uses And Alternatives to read more about the myth of the odour of RSG.

Mild = 1, 2, 6, 8, 10 and 11.
Medium = 3, 4, 5, 7, 9.

 

Drying Time

All acrylic primers need to cure for 48 hours, but if they become touch-dry quickly, you can do a second coat sooner and then leave it for the 48 hours. If they dry too fast you may not be able to spread it well or get it into the weave by brushing in all directions. None of these dried too fast. I applied a thin layer to stretched linen canvas and timed them until they were touch-dry.

The four with lots of thick creamy texture poking through to the back were the slowest to dry, except Golden Matt Medium which formed enough of a skin to not be wet on top so you could do a second coat sooner. Even with loads of brushing in all directions, the first layer wasn’t very even on some of the primers so you may need a second coat to make sure you don’t have streaky coverage.

This is the touch drying time of the first coat to allow applying of a second coat, if you want to.

1h = 1, 2, 3, 11
2h = 5, 8
2.5h = 4, 10
3+ = 6, 7, 9

 

Flexibility

I painted out long stripes of each on a sheet of linen and then rolled it up tightly and left it for 5 months. When I unrolled it none of them cracked with the flattening out. Number 1 stuck to itself a bit, because it is tacky, and number 2 stuck to itself just slightly.

 

 

 

Formats Available

The primers come in a variety of formats and sizes: bottles, pots, a pouch and dry granules that you need to mix with water and warm up. Like white gesso, any container where the primer can dry out on the upper walls inside or in the threads of the container, can create dried chunks that have to be picked out of the surface. The formats that are least likely to have this problem are the squeeze bottles and the pouch – those are the ones with small openings and less drying out that occurs. And the squeeze bottles are just really tidy and convenient.

 

Yellowing

It probably needs a longer time to test for yellowing because it happens slowly in acrylic. But looking at the colours over five months, none changed noticeably.

 

Wet Primers on Linen

Some colours of primer are easier to see as you apply them, to get a good coverage.

 

 

Colour Change and Transparency

 

Dried Colour on Linen

 

 

Colour and Transparency of Primer on Linen

One coat on linen-
Most invisible: 3, 6, 7, 8.
Next most invisible: 5 & 10.
Next most invisible: 2 & 4.
Next most invisible is 1.
Darkest is 11.
9 is much lighter, like a transparent white wash
 

 

Two Coats on Linen-

1 – One coat = semi gloss, 2 coats = gloss and slightly darker
2, 4, 5, 10 & 11 – Second coat is the same as the first coat
3, 6, 7, 8 & 9 – Second coat is whiter
11 – 4-6 coats got darker on both linen and panel like the cloth had been wetted.

 

Dried Colour of Clear Primers on Light-coloured Wooden Panel

• Some in a second coat are darker while some are whiter.
• When I say gritty, I mean – if you run your finger tip over it, it is like superfine sandpaper. Whereas smooth feels like a varnished table top.
• All but 1 & 2 were amazingly matt, no shine, like they were invisible.

1. One coat: semi gloss, some darkening. Two coats: very glossy, shows brush marks, not darker than one coat, but is then a tacky surface texture.

2. One coat: matt, some darkening. Two coats: semi gloss, no brush marks, same darkness as one coat, very smooth.

3. One coat: very clear, invisible. No change with second coat.

4. One coat: clear and darkening. Two coat: slightly smoother, slightly more absorbent.

5. One coat: clear nearly invisible. Two coats: sightly smoother, more absorbent. Lovely finish.

6. One coat: clear, nearly invisible. Two coats: same as one coat, very gritty and absorbent.

7. One coat: clear, nearly invisible. Two coats: same as one coat, very gritty and absorbent.

8. One coat: clear, nearly invisible. Two coats: rougher and cloudier.

9. One coat: whiter. Two coats: rougher and even whiter.

10. One coat: clear, nearly invisible, slight darkening. Two coats: no different from one coat.

11. One coat: clear, slightly darkening. Two coats: semi-gloss, rougher

 

 

 

 

Stiffness

Testing using clear primer as size to stiffen the canvas for less wobbling:

Not at all, the least stiff, very soft: 10.
Some stiffness: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8.
A bit stiffer than most: 4 & 5.
Second most stiffest, pretty stiff yet still foldable: 9.
The most stiff, very stiff. Though least able to be creased and folded and bounce back, lost its stiffness on the creased fold: 11.

 

 

 

Observing the Absorbency of the Primers by How Matt the Paint Became

All primers on panels in one and two coats, were absorbent enough for the thicker oil mixture to dry matt or semi-matt, except 4, 5, 11. On linen, the oil remained the shiniest on 11, even though it is the least wipeable so most absorbent. The rest all dried semi-gloss. Number 5 was the next most glossy.

 

Brushing onto Stretched Linen

The primers for the oil penetration tests on the stretched linen have one coat of 2.5 ml of primer in a 7cm square of linen, brushed well in both directions so it pushes some to the reverse side of the linen. All have a second coat of 1 ml on the lower half of the square. The second coat didn’t push through to the back because it was already pretty sealed. It was left to cure for 48hrs before testing oil paint.

These photos show the back of the canvas while the primer is wet. Each one pushed through to the back a different amount. This is just to give you an idea of how it handles when you are applying it, and to show they are different.

 

 

 

 

 

Brushing Onto Wooden Panel

They were all pourable. The more fluid primers (1, 2, 3, 5, 11) were fast to brush out, as was the thickest (number 10), the rest took a lot more brushing to coax out to cover the same amount of panel. Using a damp brush helped with number 7. Number 10 says to ‘Shake Well’, which produces lots of bubbles, but they brush out. It is the only one that lightens the wood, rather than darkens it. Would probably be invisible on cotton canvas. It is also sticky like honey.

 

 

Testing Oil Paint in Two Thicknesses (a Wash and Thick Body) on Linen and on Wooden Panel

For both linen and panel, I brushed on two thickness of oil paint – an oil wash and a thicker oil mixture. The oil paint mixture I used for testing is Jackson’s Artist Oil Phthalo Blue with Jackson’s Fast-drying Medium Gloss and a little Gamsol to create a medium-heavy consistency. The thin wash mixture has a lot more Gamsol.

 

Oil Paint on Primed Wood

All primers add a gritty feel to the smoothly polished wood surface, except 1, 2 and 5. The results of testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer are listed under each primer. All bled at least a little into the wood grain, except number 6, so if you don’t want that then you will need at least three coats for the rest of them. I also did the same test on an area of unprimed wood – as expected, the paint bled/feathered and left an oil halo, and both thicknesses of paint stained and couldn’t be wiped away at all. Number 6 and 7 were so absorbent that they were almost as hard to wipe away as the unprimed area.

 

 

 

 

Oil Paint on Primed Linen

1. Paint was smooth and slick on just one coat of primer, good wiping.

2. Paint was smooth and slick on two coats of primer, even better with three. Good wiping. No brush drag or grittiness.

3. Benefits from three coats. Good wiping. No brush drag or grittiness.

4. I could distinctly feel the weave of the canvas. Benefits from three coats. Good wiping. No brush drag or grittiness.

5. One coat was staining. Sealed well at two coats. Third not an improvement. Not gritty. Wiped away well.

6. One and two coats are staining and with third coat still unable to wipe away much. Very absorbent, has brush drag.

7. Left little white balls that had to be picked and brushed off the surface before testing the paint. There was some wipe away possible with three coats. Gritty and very absorbent, similar to number 6.

8. Each layer becomes more sealed. 3 coats is very absorbent but with some wipe away. Gritty, not slick.

9. Heavy oil paint skips over the weave. Very absorbent at three coats and becomes a bit more sealed feeling, but never wipes away. Gritty.

10. Sealed at two coats, not great wipe off but better wipe-off at three. Not gritty, not too slick.

11. Very absorbent and staining until more than 4 coats. After that it becomes smoother but still pretty absorbent. Uniquely, it has tiny sparkles on the surface.

 

Oil Paint Penetration to the Back of Clear Primed Stretched Linen Canvas

Four of the primers sealed the canvas enough with one coat that there was no oil penetration through the canvas (primers 2, 3, 4, and 10). The other seven ranged from very slight penetration to a moderate amount. They all were sealed perfectly after a second coat. I also show an example of the oil halo you get on unprimed linen.

 

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The Attributes of the 11 Clear Primers

 

 

1. Jackson’s Acrylic Fluid Gloss Medium

 

• Available format: Squeeze bottle, 500 ml
• Very fluid so spreads very easily and self levels. Clear liquid. Crazes in a very thick puddle. The only gloss surface.
• Brushed out easily and fast on wood.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Thin paint bled a little. Both thickness of paint when wiped, felt slick. Primer feels slightly tacky.
• Ease of sanding: Was already smooth but shiny and tacky. A little harder to sand. After sanding even smoother not whiter, now matt. Less tacky.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Sanding is not necessary. Same smoothness but now feels more plasticky.
• Effect of oil on primer on linen: After just one coat the paint went on smoothy and the surface was slick.
• Value: £2.44 per 100 ml.

 

2. Jackson’s Acrylic Fluid Matt Medium

 

• Available format: Squeeze bottle, 500 ml
• Very fluid so spreads easily and brushmarks level out. Very transparent if applied in thin layers. Doesn’t craze in a thick puddle but dries cloudy and opaque when too thick.
• Brushed out easily and fast on wood.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Thin paint, no bleed. Both wiped perfectly, felt slick. Feels the most like the unprimed wood, like it has been buffed smooth.
• Ease of sanding: A bit harder to sand, not whiter, smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Sanding is not necessary. Same smoothness but now feels more plasticky, slightly darker, still perfect wipe.
• Value: £2.44 per 100 ml.

 

3. Schmincke Transparent Primer

 

• Available format: Plastic flip top squeeze bottle, 500 ml
• Nearly invisible if applied in thin layers. Creamy rather than liquidy.
• Brushed out easily and fast on wood.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Thin paint bled a little, feels dry, Wiped medium-well with heavy body and good with thin paint.
• Ease of sanding: Easy to sand. Not whiter. Became smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Benefited. Smoother, very slightly darker, less wipeable.
• Value: £5.00 per 100 ml.

 

4. Golden Matte Medium

 

• Available format: Plastic pot, 236 ml, 473 ml, 946 ml, 3780 ml.
• Creamy. Milky colour.
• Took time to get it to brush out to cover the same amount as the others on the wood.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Smooth but dry-feeling, both wiped well.
• Ease of sanding: Easy to sand, whiter, became smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Smoother than two coats, medium staining with thick paint
• Value: £2.83 per 100 ml, if you buy the largest size.

 

5. Golden Fluid Matte Medium

 

• Available format: Plastic pot, 236 ml, 473ml, 946 ml, 3780 ml.
• Very fluid. Clear when wet. Brushed out easily and fast on wood.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Felt smooth and sealed, slick. Both fluid and thicker oil paint wiped away well, fluid very well.
• Ease of sanding: Easy to sand. Not whiter. Became smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Slightly rougher, no visible change, more staining
• Value: £2.83 per 100 ml, if you buy the largest size.

 

6. Liquitex Professional Clear Gesso

 

• Available format: Plastic flip top squeeze bottle, 118 ml, 237 ml, 473 ml, 946 ml.
• Creamy, foamy, didn’t spread as far as expected. Took time to get it to brush out to cover the same amount as the others on the wood.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer:Thin wash of paint bled, feathered a lot. Wiped ok. Thick paint, wiped medium, felt dry and gritty.
• Ease of sanding: Easy to sand, whiter, became smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Benefited. Much smoother, slightly darker = invisible. Better wipe, now medium
• Value: £3.27 per 100 ml, if you buy the largest size.

 

7. Winsor & Newton Artists Acrylic Clear Gesso

 

• Available format: Plastic pot, 225 ml, 450 ml, 946 ml.
• Creamy. Spread farther than Liquitex. Took time to get it to brush out to cover the same amount as the others on the wood, using a damp brush helped.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Thin wash of paint bled. Feather a lot. Wiped ok. Thick paint, wiped medium, felt dry and gritty.
• Ease of sanding: Easy to sand, whiter, became smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Benefited. Excellent. Holes in weave filled in. Slightly smoother but still gritty, no colour change, still very absorbent, very slightly better wiping
• Value: £3.01 per 100 ml, if you buy the largest size.

 

8. Holbein Clear Acrylic Gesso – L (Coarse texture), also available in M (Medium texture)

 

• Available format: Pouch with screw lid nozzle, 300 ml, 900 ml. In coarse or medium texture.
• Thickly creamy. Milky colour when wet.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Fluid paint bled. Bad wipe heavy body, good wipe fluid. Feels very gritty.
• Ease of sanding: Easy to sand, whiter, became smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Grittier, but surprisingly darker. More transparent instead of more white/opaque. Slightly more absorbent and less wipeable.
• Value: £3.22 per 100 ml, if you buy the largest size.

 

9. Lascaux Sirius Acrylic Medium Matt

 

• Available format: Squeeze bottle, 85 ml, 250 ml, 1 litre.
• Thickly creamy. Says to ‘Shake Well’, which produces lots of bubbles, but they brush out. It is the only one that lightens the wood, rather than darkens it. Would probably be invisible on cotton canvas. It is sticky like honey.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Very absorbent. Looks like whitewash stain on furniture. The fluid oil paint bled. Good wipe with fluid. Poor wipe with thicker body. Medium grit surface.
• Ease of sanding: Easy, even whiter, smooth
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Benefited. Filled in holes. More even whitewash, slightly smoother, slightly better wipe.
• Value: £5.30 per 100 ml, if you buy the largest size.

 

10. Michael Harding Non-Absorbent Acrylic Primer – Clear

 

• Available format: Plastic pot, 500 ml & 1000 ml.
• Thickest body, like yoghurt. Brushes out fast and easily on wood.
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Fluid oil paint bleeds/feathers around edge. thicker body wipes away medium-well. Fluid wipe is good. Surface feels medium gritty.
• Ease of sanding: Easy, tiny bit whiter, making it more the same shade as the linen. Smooth.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: Benefited. Not much change in texture or colour. Thick oil paint wipe off is slightly improved.
• Value: £2.65 per 100 ml, if you buy the largest size..

 

11. Handover Rabbit Skin Glue – 12:1 dilution of water to glue by volume, melted in a bucket over hot water, applied slightly warm.

 

• Available format: Bucket of granules, 1 kg.
• Thinnest body. Doesn’t fill the spaces in the weave, but because it’s so thin it permeates front to back and seals the fibres very well. Took one hour drying between each coat, letting the glue cool so it gets thicker each time. Using it cooled a bit and applying extra coats, can help to fill in the weave if you want that. The only non-acrylic one I tested. Read all about RSG in this comprehensive post Rabbit Skin Glue: Preparation, Uses and Alternatives
• Testing oil paint on a wooden panel with two coats of primer: Heavy body wipes away medium-well. Fluid paint wipes good. Lots of bleed with fluid. Tiny bleed with thicker body oil paint. Might need more layers applied because it is the thinnest primer.
• Ease of sanding: Harder to sand than the acrylic ones, as if the fibres are fully coated on all sides and sealed.
• Effect of two coats on stretched linen, then sanding, then a third coat: It didn’t change much with sanding, it went slightly softer like the fibres had been made fuzzy and there was only a bit of the sparkle left. Slightly smoother, slightly darker, better wiping.
• Value: 10p per 100 ml but needs extra coats if you are trying to fill the weave of linen.

 

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Materials Used

Linen – Belle Arte Medium Fine Linen Unprimed (CL548) – Stretched by our bespoke canvas department on 20mm Museum Stretcher Bars (CMSB20)

Wooden Panel – Jackson’s 5mm Wooden MDF Panel (CJUW)

Brush – ProArte Prolene ¾ inch

Oil paint – Jackson’s Artist Oil Phthalo Blue

Medium – Jackson’s Fast-Drying Oil Medium

Solvent – Gamsol

 

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Further Reading

Choosing The Right Canvas For Your Painting

Rabbit Skin Glue: Preparation, Uses And Alternatives

Creating Oil Paintings That Stand The Test Of Time

How To Stretch Canvas: A Visual Guide

Size, Primer, Gesso And Ground Explained

 

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