Materials
Preparing Gesso Emulsion
w/ Hannah Sutton
About
Artist
About
A classically trained oil painter takes care with their selection of materials when painting. Most have taken long periods of time to find the right materials that work well for them and are archivally safe to use. The closer to the old masters we get to preparing and using materials and pigments, the better the chance we have to paint like them. Nobody wants their painting to crack, fade away or spoil mere years after they create it, and modern acrylic materials just haven’t proven themselves to last like a Rubens has (whose paintings still look freshly painted some 500 years later). This is why The Florence Academy of Art encourages students to make their own materials – improving both the appreciation and understanding of the materials we use, and their painting technique.
In this video Hannah Sutton, FAA graduate and a Principal Instructor of The Florence Academy of Art, explains how to prepare the perfect gesso emulsion, and guides us through the whole process of applying it on a wooden panel.
Find Hannah’s gesso recipe below!
Notes on painting with the gesso:
The texture and reaction of the gesso will be different from acrylic gesso / pre-prepared canvases you can buy in any art supply shop. It won’t feel like you’re painting on plastic any more, but a soft, smooth and absorbent surface. Expect the first layers to be quite thirsty – once you’ve made a few passes in paint, the ability to control paint texture & application of paint will be a totally different and wonderful experience!
Materials:
Plywood Boards (cut to the sizes you wish – At least 3-4mm thick for small and at least 5mm for larger boards, to prevent warping when the rabbit skin glue layers dry)
Artists grade Linen or Hemp
Rabbit skin glue crystals: 100 g
Calcium Carbonate 500g
Titanium White Powder 500g
Staple gun or brass tacks
Stand Linseed Oil
Equipment :
Stick Mixer or paint mixing drill
Bucket (at least 3L)
1 medium / 1 small pot to make a double boiler
Heating element
Measuring cup (for mixing glue)
Spoon
Soft house paintbrush
Tape (for protecting edges of board from gesso)
Sandpaper (400 grade)
Thermometer
Recipe:
Rabbit Skin Glue:
1 parts rabbit skin glue / 10 parts water
Gesso Emulsion :
Combine 1 part rabbit skin glue mix / 1 part powder (½ Titanium White Powder / ½ Calcium Carbonate Powder)
1/8 part stand linseed oil
Storage & Usage Notes:
Gesso can be kept sealed in a container in the fridge (or a cool room) for approx. 4 days. Avoid leaving it for longer than this or the rabbit skin glue will start to disintegrate and smell terrible!
I wait 24 hours for the first rabbit skin glue layer / 48 hours + between each gesso layer.
Gesso will be ready to paint on in min. 1 week after the final coat. The longer you leave it to dry the better.
If using thinner boards, mark an ‘X’ on the back of the board with rabbit skin glue when applying your first coat of glue to help prevent the panel warping.
