Can I use acrylic paints as gesso?

[Zesty]

I want a dark background instead of white for when I paint with oils. I have some old acrylics lying around that someone gave me and I never used.. could I use the burnt umber from there and paint it right on the gessoboard that im going to use? Do I have to mix it with water or another medium, or should it just be thick? I haven't used acrylics before.. and ive used oils a really long time. Go figure :nohope:

[samwell]

It works.

[Elwell]

Thin it down a little and put on a few coats, rather than glopping one thick one on.

[Zesty]

Thank you guys

[figure2]

I want a dark background instead of white for when I paint with oils.If you want the surface really dark, first tone you gesso with burnt umber or any color of your choosing and coat your surface. Once the gesso coat is dry, paint a coat of the pure acrylic color on top for a deeper more intense color.

For tinting the gesso, I would recommend buying the liquified acrylic color that comes in squeeze bottles. It will mix more evenly with the gesso.

[mentler]

The Doctor knows almost everything (except the important stuff)
If you want your paintings to last forever, don't put pigment in your gesso.
Some pigments would be better than others but in general it is the pigment that the gesso is protecting the canvas from <> pigments rot the fabric in the canvas <> put your gesso plain then coat the canvas whatever color you want. What some people do, including me, is do the thinner monochromatic underpainting in acrylic and then start working with oil when you start getting into color.
This of course applies to the tradition glazing process if you are doing direct painting obvious this approach would not make much sense!

[Elwell]

The Doctor knows almost everything (except the important stuff)

Hey Doc, this must be important then! ;)
in general it is the pigment that the gesso is protecting the canvas from <> pigments rot the fabric in the canvas
Pigments (the powders that are ground into a vehicle to make paint) won't rot anything. It's the oils in oil paint (the vehicle) that will rot canvas or paper, which is why you need some sort of barrier layer between canvas and paint. But colored acrylic paint, or even plain acrylic medium, will do this just as well as acrylic gesso, because they're all made out of essentially the same stuff.

[dbclemons]

Hang on. Here's another advisor. In a word, "no."

Don't use oil paint on acrylic paint. If you want a dark ground underpainting for your oils, use oil thinned with a turp, thinner, and/or oil based medium and you'll be okay.

Use of oil on acrylic gesso is considered acceptable by some since acrylic polymer gesso is absorbent (not always - check the label,) but many advise against it as well since the acrylic is more flexible than oil paint - it's your call. Personal experience has not seen a problem with oil on acrylic gesso, but make sure there are several layers (3-4 coats.) If you tint the gesso with acrylic paint, don't use oils on it.

-David

[figure2]

If you tint the gesso with acrylic paint, don't use oils on it.Can you provide a reliable source this information comes from?

[dbclemons]

Can you provide a reliable source this information comes from?

This comes from painting instructors many years ago, so I have no written sources to footnote, sorry. The reason given to me was that it would reduce the absorbancy of the gesso by sealing it partially with acrylic medium, and would introduce a water based agent to something that was intended for oil, so it made sense to not do it. The purpose of the primer is to give the paint something to stick to other than the canvas. A quick scan of a few websites say it's not a problem, so maybe if tinted in small doses it would be acceptable. Personally, it makes more sense to stick the the same medium base throughout.

-David