Sizing and Preparing Art Surfaces for Painting

How to Size and Prepare Wood, Paper and Card for Oil Colour

Jul 15, 2009

Preparing your own art surfaces for oil painting drastically cuts cost and is not time consuming. The artist is also given control over the surface on which to paint.

Purchasing art boards and canvases can prove costly if the artist wishes to complete several paintings or to experiment. In order to make oil painting economical, a little knowledge about the materials and preparations are necessary.

Painting Surfaces Suitable for Oil Painting

Many supports are suitable for oil painting: canvas, hardboard, card, MDF or even paper. Watercolour paper offers many textures, which offer the artist interesting surfaces on which to experiment. Coarse-textured watercolour paper, or “not,” has been “cold pressed,” which means that heat has not been involved in the pressing. “Hot pressed” watercolour paper has a smoother texture and is ideal for detailed work. 300 gsm or more is sufficiently thick for oil paint. Hardboard or MDF offers a smooth, firm surface, ideal for detailed work. Good quality card, such as mount board is also suitable.

Types of Grounds

Before applying oil paint onto a surface, it must be properly sealed in order to prevent the oil in the paint from sinking into the surface, causing the colours to dull and the oil to rot the material. Such a sealant is known as a “ground,” and several types are available on the market. The main types are:

Gesso

This is the oldest type of sealant. Gesso is chalk or whiting suspended in a glue binding agent. A warm coat of glue is required on the support first. This is called “sizing.” The gesso mixture is then applied on top.

Oil Based Primer

This type of primer offers a smooth and glossy finish. Again, a coat of size is required before the oil-based primer can be applied. Being oil-based, the paint takes a day to dry and the brushes must be cleaned in solvents afterwards.

Acrylic Polymer Primer

This sealant is the easiest to use, and the one most recommended for a simple preparation. Acrylic primer is simply an acrylic-based paint that is water based and therefore quick drying. Once dry, however, it is water resistant, tough and provides the ideal surface on which to complete an oil painting. Brushes merely need washing in warm soapy water afterwards.

How to Apply a Sealant

When preparing MDF, hardboard or any type of wood, provide a key for the primer by sanding the surface gently with fine glasspaper (fig 1).

With a wide brush, apply the acrylic polymer primer, brushing out any ridges (fig 2).

Preparing Paper and Card for Oil Painting

Thick watercolour paper or card is ideal for oil painting. Like wood, it just requires a sealant.

Clip or tape a sheet of thick watercolour paper onto backing board to prevent it from buckling whilst drying (fig 4).

Apply the primer with a soft, wide brush. Don’t worry too much if the paper buckles a little. It will flatten out once dry. When the primer is dry, apply a second coat. Leave the clips in place until the primer is completely dry (fig 5).

Preparing Art Boards

Preparing one’s own surfaces for oil painting is cheap and easy. It also gives the artist more control over their surface preparations and the quality of the painting surface sought after. This can prove useful when the art shops do not stock the painting surfaces required.

The copyright of the article Sizing and Preparing Art Surfaces for Painting in Painting/Drawing is owned by Rachel Wills. Permission to republish Sizing and Preparing Art Surfaces for Painting in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.