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Painting on canvas and primer?

Reusing a canvas... help?

  • I have been given a 30x24 inch canvas from college, as I was talking to my lecturer of me wanting a few canvases to paint on but can't cause of money wise. So one of the lecturer assistant got me a canvas which an ex-student used to do their final a few years back maybe 2-4 years ago? The canvas was not covered with much paint. I think they have used spray paint on it, which to be honest we didn't like lol. But anyways, I've been low on Acrylic paint at home... and I have a few experience with paints and canvases, but I do know that I could use emulsion as a primer and just to cover up the painting itself. I have painted the canvas with emulsion and dried it. However when I work on top (paint on top) the emulsion seems to come out as I stroke it with a brush when painting, which then shows the old painting beneath it. It's ruining parts of my painting and is slowing me down as I keep working on top of it to try and cover the area. I just find myself using the paint I am left with into nothing and it's getting on my nerves. I don't know if it's because the canvas is getting old and not absorbing the paint as it used to. But is there a way to work along with it that I can finish my painting. Do I need to put another layer of emulsion? I don't want to continue with the rest of my painting if it's only going to waste it. Please suggest anything that would help. Thanks

  • Answer:

    Okay, so I'm guessing you're painting with acrylics since you mention acrylics. The canvas is already painted, but you probably don't know whether it's painted with oil or acrylic. This is what I would do. Get a gesso that can be used to prime for oil or acrylic. Sand down your canvas well and give it several coats of gesso, allowing it to dry in between coats. If you can't afford gesso, you can use a latex primer made for house painting. Again, you want one that is rated for both oil and latex (acrylic). You can probably borrow a bit of primer from someone you know who has recently done some repainting. Use this the same way you would have used the gesso (as above). House paint may not be as flexible as gesso, so gesso is best. But you go ahead and use what you can afford. It will work. Blessings, Cindy

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Here's the easy solution: take the canvas off the stretcher and re-stretch the canvas with the painted side in and the unpainted side facing out. Ta-da! Fresh canvas to prime and paint.

Iota

You probably do not want to reverse it, because you would like the back and front look like real painting when one spends time and effort to create something good. It sounds like they used enamel spray which is for primed wood or metal, it's not stable for any fabric and now it's lifting as it would. Sanding is not enough unless one wants to damage texture of the canvas. What may take most of it off- You can try varsol just in case the paint is very week, if it's not than it would have than one should mix varsol with some acetone(little more at a time) and wipe most of it off. When completely dry... You can prime it with Gesso, but if You can not spend even on Gesso than it can be primed with thinner wash(1-2coats) using your white acrylic paint, let dry well and paint.

antonin

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