Making Primer for Sanded Supports

Have you ever thought maybe you could save yourself money by making your own primer or preparing your own sanded paper rather than buying already prepared supports at the art store? Then, of course, you may wonder how do you go about doing so? Is it difficult? Does it cost a lot? Can I do it? Or perhaps you've only wondered just how the manufacturers prepare those supports? Well, you've come to the right article, because I'm going to explain how to make a primer, and how to prepare your own support. It's easy, inexpensive, not messy, and has minimal clean-up.

GESSO

The main ingredient you will be using is gesso. What is gesso? According to WiseGEEK, traditional gesso was equal volumes filler or chalk dust, white pigment either from the powdered chalk or another mineral such as zinc, and animal-skin glue, which were then heated and stirred. However, this gesso is brittle when dry and therefore susceptible to cracking. In 1955, an acrylic paint company called Liquitex developed the first water-based acrylic gesso. Modern gesso is a mixture of calcium carbonate with a pigment and an acrylic polymer medium. The pigment is usually titanium dioxide or titanium white. Gesso is used by painters to prepare their canvases or boards to take oil or acrylic paint. Even in Renaissance paintings, the panels had to be prepared properly and create a surface that would accept the paint and keep the paint from soaking into the wood panels as well as to add a bit of texture or tooth to the support. Today, gesso is used to prepare all types of supports, from wood panels to canvases, from paper to film, metals, and many other types of supports. Generally, gesso comes in white but today you can also find it in many different colors. You can purchase your gesso inexpensively at Jerry's Artarama or Dick Blick. Both stores have their own brand of gesso that is much less expensive than the other brands.

SIDE NOTE: If you are a painter and would like to prepare your next support yourself, you will need at least a 16 ounce jar of gesso. If you would like to make a colored gesso, you will need some acrylic paint in the color you wish to use. Remember, when you add the acrylic paint to the gesso, the white gesso will tone down the acrylic color quite a bit, so you will need to add some color and mix it, then repeat until you reach the color intensity you wish. If you need to tone down the intensity of color due to adding too much color, simply add more gesso. You will then paint the gesso onto your support. Most painters use two layers of gesso. You will need to let the gesso dry in between layers. Some artists will paint the first layer of gesso in one direction, then the second layer in another direction. Experiment and you will see that you can make some interesting textures on the support, but remember, you will be painting over this primer so keep in mind what subject you will be painting and make the texture of the gesso appropriate to the subject.

PASTEL SUPPORTS

Pastel artists (pastelists) will need a textured support to hold their pastels to the support. This texture can come in many forms. You can use paper that is created with a texture specifically for pastels, such as Canson Mi-Tientes and Ingres, and Fabriano Tiziano. There are also heavier supports specifically made for pastelists, but they can be very expensive, often costing up to $8.00 22.00 for one full sheet of paper (average size of one full sheet of paper is 18 up to 36). This brings us back to creating our own primer.

Creating your own primer has several benefits. One, you save money. Two, you can create any color you want. Three, you can use your primer on any support you want, be it wood, tile, or paper. This opens the door to many options you would not have with the store bought prepared supports and increases your creativity! There are many ways you can make primer for pastel supports, but I will be covering only the basics, and adding at the end other options with which you can experiment. I have had a lot of fun making primer because I love to experiment and play! I play with the colors, I play with the amount of grit I want in the primer, and I experiment with the way I apply the primer to the support. The point is, making my own primer has given me complete control over the colors I use as well as the amount of texture in the primer.

INGREDIENTS

The ingredients you will need to create a sanded primer are few: Gesso, Pumice Powder, and acrylic paint in the colors you wish to use. Probably the most expensive part of all of this is the acrylic paints. Because I like to play with colors so much, I have limited myself to using the less expensive Folk Art and Apple Barrel acrylics in 2 oz bottles sold in Wal-Mart. They are perfectly fine to use in preparing your primer, will cost you much less, and are readily available to most people. I purchase my pumice powder at Daniel Smith's online art supply store. Pumice powder is very difficult to find. Some hardware stores carry it, but I found more often than not, they just looked at me funny when I asked for pumice powder. You can buy a one lb bag for about $7 - 8.00. That one lb bag will last you for a very long time since you usually only a few teaspoons at a time!

OTHER EQUIPMENT

Other equipment you will need for the preparation of your primer are a large spoon, a air proof bowl such as a rubbermaid bowl with a lid (the size depends on how much primer you intend to mix up), NIOSH approved nuisance dust respirator mask, a 1 cup measuring cup, a 1 tsp measuring spoon (please do not use your mom or wife's favorite measuring utensils! I don't want you to start a war in your house as these utensils will not be able to be used for anything again except for making primer) and either a large 1-3 bristle brush (depending on the size of your support) or 2 3 foam rollers. Whereas the bristle brushes do not produce an even, line-free surface, the foam rollers generally do, thus I prefer to use the rollers. I also like to use a spatula to scrap all the gesso off the edge of the bowl when mixing and to scrape the gesso out of the measuring cup. DO NOT USE THIS EQUIPMENT FOR ANYTHING ELSE AFTERWARDS! ESPECIALLY NOT FOR FOOD! For safety sake, you must keep this equipment separate and only used for the purpose of making primer.

THE PROCESS

First, place old newspapers across the top of your work table so you do not get any gesso or primer on anything. Turn off any fans you may have going. This is a must! Pumice powder is made from volcanic ash and is extremely dangerous if inhaled. You must wear your NIOSH approved respirator, which can be purchased inexpensively at any hardware store. Please read the caution notice below.

CAUTION: When handling Pumice Powder you MUST wear a NIOSH approved nuisance dust respirator mask that will not allow the fine pumice powder to be inhaled. Pumice powder is made from volcanic ash and is a cancer agent if inhaled and will cause lung damage. It is also recommended that you use the pumice in an exhausting hood or glove box. Be sure to wear gloves when handling the pumice. In addition, I have nearby a set of goggles to wear. Make sure you keep it stored tightly closed up and out of reach of children.

I do not use an exhaust hood when I mix this, but I do make sure all fans are turned off, I have my mask on, and I am careful and organized when handling the pumice powder. I wipe off the bag when I finish. Do not blow anything off the bag or your work table while working on your primer. Instead, use a wet paper towel to clean up the pumice. You do not want the pumice to become airborne.

Measure out one cup of gesso and scrape it into your bowl with the spatula. Now put your mask on and carefully open your pumice bag. If you want a finer sanded surface, you will mix one level tsp of pumice powder into the gesso. The amount of the pumice will depend on the amount of texture you want on the sanded surface. The more pumice you add, the more texture you will get. You should experiment with it and see what works best for you. Now you will mix the pumice and gesso using the spoon. Use a slow folding action when mixing so that the powder does not fly up into the air and cover your work surface. Very gently mix until all of the pumice is completely mixed into the gesso. Now take your bottle of acrylic paint and simply squirt it into the mixture. Be careful not to add too much at a time. You can always add more color, but you can't take it out if you add too much. Keep adding color and mixing until you achieve the color you want for your primer. Once you have the color just right, take your foam roller and dip it into the gesso mixture, but don't get too much on the roller. Roll a thin layer of the primer onto a piece of paper (NOT good art paper! Use sketching or drawing paper) and then cover the gesso with an air-proof sealable top and wash off your roller or place in water to soak. Let the gesso you put on the paper dry completely. Once the gesso is dry, you can feel it and perhaps try it out with a pastel to see whether the grit is to your liking. If not, adjust accordingly. If the grit is too much, add more gesso into the mixture. If it is too fine a texture, add another 1 tsp or a tsp of pumice powder to the mixture and repeat the process outlined above until you achieve the texture and consistency you desire.

Generally, the guideline is:

1 cup gesso + 1 tsp pumice = fine textured primer.

1 cup gesso + 2 tsp pumice = fine to medium textured primer

1 cup gesso + 3 tsp pumice = medium textured primer

1 cup gesso + 4 tsp pumice = medium to coarse textured primer

1 cup gesso + 5 to 6 tsp pumice = coarse to very coarse textured primer

PAINTING THE PRIMER ONTO YOUR SUPPORT

First, you must decide what kind of support you're going to use. You can use wood panels; hot press, cold press, or rough paper; illustration board and more. If you choose to use paper, I would advise drawing out how big your work area will be, such as 11 x 14, 16 x 20, and so on. Then along the outer edge of the work area, place artist's tape or painter's tape (these kinds should not damage your paper when you go to remove them, but DO NOT press too hard on the tape or it might pull off some paper when removing it). For wood panels you may want to put tape along the edge or sides of the panel. The tape is to keep you from painting in areas that you aren't supposed to. You want your primer to be painted on in a clean and neat fashion so that when you sell the painting to a customer and they take it out of the mat (as most customers invariably do) it won't look messy and unprofessional. When you paint your primer onto the paper, make sure you carefully stay within the borders of the tape. Do not touch the edges of the paper beyond the tape you will get acrylic on it and it won't be able to be removed. Do the same with the wood panels. The key is to keep your support looking professional, clean, and neat.

The best bowl to use to dip your roller into is a rectangular or even a square shaped bowl that is at least as wide as the roller is. Dip your roller into the primer and scrape some off on the side of the bowl so you don't have too much on the roller. Roll it back and forth on the support trying to spread the primer all over the support. Then place your roller at one end of the support you are going to use and using medium pressure on the roller, roll the foam roller across the support back and forth until the support is lightly but completely coveret with the primer. After the support is covered, roll the foam roller very lightly down the support to even out the texture. Do not use a lot of primer or it will not dry well. Let the primer dry completely (approximately 2 hours for a light layer). After you have applied two or three layers, lay the support flat on your work table on top of the newspapers and let it dry for 12 hours. That will ensure that it is completely dried. Once it is completely dried, you can use it or place it in a re-sealable plastic bag for protection.Do not leave your primer or gesso open to the air for very long. Remember, it acrylic and acrylic dries very fast. Your gesso and primer will dry out and become unusable if you do not keep it sealed up.

Be sure to thoroughly clean up your work area, especially after using the pumice. Always use a wet paper towel to clean up the pumice. Do not use near food, cups, utensils, etc

ONE LAST NOTE: In making your own primer, there are now several other options you have as alternatives to using pumice powder. There is marble dust, acrylic ground, molding paste, as well as interesting items like Micaceous Iron Oxide, among many other choices! Be adventurous and give some a try. You simply replace the pumice powder with one of the items above, however, you will have to experiment with the amount you will need to use in order to suit your own needs.

Nancy Pingree Hoover

Reflections From Life Fine Art

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