Materials w/ Hannah Sutton - Make your own Canvas: Preparing Gesso Emulsion

A Materials demo from The Florence Academy of Art faculty featured on The FAA Collective Patreon

This carefully prepared demo, leaves no stone unturned, as graduate in residence at the Florence Academy of Art, Hannah Sutton guides us through each step to preparing beautiful, aesthetically pleasing and “nicer-to-paint-on” panels - from the making of rabbit skin glue to applying the gesso emulsion to a wooden panel.

Paired with the video, Hannah’s own words will give you all the insight you need to learn about gesso.

We hope you enjoy this demo!

A classically trained oil painter takes care with their selection of materials when painting. Most have taken long periods of time to find the right materials that work well for them and are archivally safe to use. The closer to the old masters we get to preparing and using materials and pigments, the better the chance we have to paint like them. Nobody wants their painting to crack, fade away or spoil mere years after they create it, and modern acrylic materials just haven’t proven themselves to last like a Rubens has (whose paintings still look freshly painted some 500 years later). This is why The Florence Academy of Art encourages students to make their own materials – improving both the appreciation & understanding of the materials we use, and their painting technique.

Notes on painting with the gesso: 

The texture and reaction of the gesso will be different from acrylic gesso / pre-prepared canvases you can buy in any art supply shop. It won’t feel like you’re painting on plastic any more, but a soft, smooth and absorbent surface. Expect the first layers to be quite thirsty – once you’ve made a few passes in paint, the ability to control paint texture & application of paint will be a totally different and wonderful experience!

Materials:

• Plywood Boards (cut to the sizes you wish - At least 3-4mm thick for small and at least 5mm for larger boards, to prevent warping when the rabbit skin glue layers dry)
• Artists grade Linen or Hemp
• Rabbit skin glue crystals: 100 g
• Calcium Carbonate 500g
• Titanium White Powder 500g
• Staple gun or brass tacks
• Stand Linseed Oil

Equipment :

• Stick Mixer or paint mixing drill
• Bucket (at least 3L)
• 1 medium / 1 small pot to make a double boiler
• Heating element
• Measuring cup (for mixing glue)
• Spoon
• Soft house paintbrush
• Tape (for protecting edges of board from gesso)
• Sandpaper (400 grade)
• Thermometer

Recipe:

Rabbit Skin Glue: 

1 parts rabbit skin glue / 10 parts water

Gesso Emulsion :

• Combine 1 part rabbit skin glue mix / 1 part powder (½ Titanium White Powder / ½ Calcium Carbonate Powder)
• 1/8 part stand linseed oil

Storage & Usage Notes:

• Gesso can be kept sealed in a container in the fridge (or a cool room) for approx. 4 days. Avoid leaving it for longer than this or the rabbit skin glue will start to disintegrate and smell terrible!
• I wait 24 hours for the first rabbit skin glue layer / 48 hours + between each gesso layer.
• Gesso will be ready to paint on in min. 1 week after the final coat. The longer you leave it to dry the better.
• If using thinner boards, mark an ‘X’ on the back of the board with rabbit skin glue when applying your first coat of glue to help prevent the panel warping.

More about Hannah:

(b. 1989, St. Arnaud, Australia)

Hannah Sutton is an Australian figurative realist painter based in Florence, Italy. She is currently a graduate in residence at The Florence Academy of Art where she has a studio and teaches in the intensive drawing program.

Born and raised on a farm in isolated rural Australia, she established herself professionally in Melbourne, Australia after completing a Bachelor of communication design at RMIT. Years later, she moved to Florence to train in more classical academic methods of painting and drawing to appreciate & assist recovering the styles of the old masters.

To view more of Hannah’s work visit:

Website: www.hannahsutton.art 

Instagram: @hannahsutton