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Friday Focus – Gesso

Hello everyone,
I am back with another fun information on a product our artists cannot live without – Gesso. Firstly, here is wishing each one of you a very happy new year. Like every Friday we are here with lots of information and offers for all our readers.

As a way to show love to all of you, we are offering FLAT 20% discount on Gesso. To avail the offer use coupon code – CRAFT2021 at checkout.

Gesso which is also known as glue gesso or italian gesso earlier was composed of plaster of paris, chalk and gympsum which is mixed with glue and applied on smooth surfaces to add texture or a base coat so that it doesn’t absorb the paint or glue. It acts as a base coat is most of the mdf basis for decoupage projects and mixed media projects. Over the period of time the formulations have changed and with the introduction of acrylic gels the primer has also changed largely and improving at what it does.

It acts as a primer to canvases for acrylic painting so that the paint applied on top can be applied very smoothly. It dries hard thus making the surface more stiff and easy to work on. It can be sanded in order to avoid uneven surface. In some of the cases it is also applied unevenly to give a texture like effect.

CrafTangles gesso is an ideal primer that can be easily applied to multitude of surfaces like canvas, glass, wood, paper, metal & more. Gesso is water based and can easily be diluted to suit required texture and thickness however once dries its permanent. Mixes well with acrylic colours and pigments. It is fast drying and opaque. CrafTangles Gesso’s thickness is made optimum in such a way that it does need addition of water.

CrafTangles gesso is available in 3 variants – White, Black and Clear each having different properties

What is white gesso?
It acts as a base layer for absorbent surfaces (meaning porous surfaces) such as canvas, paper, mdf or wood. Traditional gesso was available in white and now due to porgress in gels and pigments many variants in the same are available. It is very similar to tubed acrylic paint just thinner in consistency. It creates the perfect tooth and makes the project non porous thus making it easier to work with colors and creating a perfect vibrancy, It is recommended to apply 2 even coats of white gesso on any project and sanding it for an even and smoother surface. CrafTangles white gesso is available in a jar size of 120ml and is used in most of the mixed media, artist canvases and decoupage projects and is a super hit among artists and crafters alike.

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What is clear gesso?
A clear gesso acts as the name suggests is gesso which is used to give a clear base coat and it dries semi gloss thus making it look transparent and not adding any extra color. It is highly recommended to use clear gesso as a base coat for soft pastel, oil paste, graphite or charcoal project thus giving it a perfect base and creating the exact amount of tooth required to work with pastels. CrafTangles clear gesso is available in a jar bottle of 120 ml and acts as a perfect medium for all the needs.

Friday Focus - Gesso 1

What is black gesso?
Black gesso is known for adding its extra dramatic contrast and interesting effects on the project which cannot be achieved by white gesso. It is very similar in terms of properties to white gesso but its very well known for its black color and adding extra texture to the project. These are perfect for priming your canvases as well as adding dominant black color to them which can then be used as base of canvas. The colored gesso are tinted with pigment and hence can be easily used with canvaes as they hold normal light fastness same as your acrylic or oil paints.
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Friday Focus - Gesso 2

Some projects using CrafTangles Gesso is shown below

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We also have a very detailed post by Khyati on our blog – https://www.hndmd.com/articles/mixed-media-basics-why-use-gesso/

To watch detailed video tutorial visit –

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Thanks so much for stopping by

Have a fun Gesso play date :p



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Drishti Gagwani

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