Surface Preparation of Canvas

Canvas is available in two forms, each of which comes in many widths and textures. One is pre-sized, usually with gesso (acrylic medium combined with white pigment - very opaque, flexible and non-yellowing) and coated with a layer of white acrylic paint. The second is unsized canvas ready for surface preparation. Although many artists buy the sized and coated canvas (pre-stretched or by the roll), they often put on additional layers to further seal the fabric weave. Unsized canvas should be primed in all painting applications except acrylic staining, in which the canvas is purposefully left open and absorbent.

There are several techniques for surface preparation when dealing with canvas. If the canvas is already pre-primed with gesso and/or acrylic pigment, additional layers of gesso might be added to create a smoother and more even base upon which to paint. If you prefer an extra smooth finish, apply gesso over the pre-stretched canvas surface, making strokes in one direction. Allow it to dry thoroughly, and then apply a second coat in the opposing direction. If you use a soft brush, smoothing out obvious brush strokes as you apply the gesso, your finished product will be fairly smooth. But, if extra smoothness is desired, sand the surface lightly with light-grit sandpaper to remove any irregularities in the surface; then clean away dust with a soft cloth. If further smoothing is necessary, sand with sandpaper that is even finer.

Extra smooth finishes can be obtained by repeating the steps above. After the third or forth coat, begin to use finer and finer sandpaper, along with water, to polish the surface to a near glass-like finish. It can take up to eight coatings and sandings to achieve the extra-smooth finish loved by many fine detail artists who consider the effort well worth their time.

Raw canvas intended for use with oils should be sized with at least four coats of gesso. For use with acrylics in all techniques but staining, sizing (gesso, etc.) is also necessary. Application of the first layer could be done with a wide putty knife. The blade will smooth the gesso over the surface and work it into the weave of the fabric. Attempt to apply the gesso smoothly with the blade, avoiding ridges and oozes. After this coat dries, sand it lightly with medium sandpaper and clean with a cloth to remove the dust. Repeat the application/sanding process for two additional layers. Clean any dust from the surface and it is ready.

Although there is added effort involved in the preparation of unsized canvas, it is available in weights heavier than pre-stretched/sized canvas. This is especially helpful when the works are large. Thicker canvas stretches tighter for a smoother, more professional presentation and will not relax over time.

A further advantage to sizing your own raw canvas or resurfacing a pre-sized canvas is that you can augment the texture on the surface. If you want to create an impasto look, you can apply gesso thickly and build a surface. With thick, visible texture, less paint yields a richly applied painterly surface. You can also press textures into a thick, wet layer of gesso for unique textures. Some tools that are used for this method of surface preparation include crushed kraft paper to yield a broken, uneven, crackle-type surface; knife blades to create ridges and lines; and sponges to create a uniform but not smooth surface. Adding material such as sand, small stones or gravel, grasses, small twigs and the like to a layer of gesso can create some wildly textured surfaces that are unique.

Consider how fortunate we are to be able to pop into any art supply center and purchase acrylic gesso. The old masters were forced to create their own canvas preparation material. The ordeal began by melting animal hide glue (an organic product that turns rancid easily) and then combining it with powdered white pigment. This concoction was cooked in a double boiler until melted and well blended and then applied to the surface while still hot. It could only be used on wood or other rigid backings, as any flexible surface like canvas would allow the brittle surface to crack or break and fall away.

Hide glue surfaces cannot endure any blows or hard treatment and must be handled carefully. Despite all of these challenges, modern painters have begun a renaissance of this surface treatment method. Technique purists and oil painters that are trying to reproduce the look of old works are especially fond of the surface--purists because it hearkens back to the period of the masters and historical painters because of the "easy to age" surface. Today, paintings can be created that have the look of centuries-old pieces.

So if you paint on canvas (or canvas boards or Masonite), there is a surfacing method that could add new dimension to your work. Perhaps you are ready to add thick textures in the surface preparation. Perhaps you want to paint on an extra smooth, slick surface where every brush mark can be blended to perfection. Perhaps you want to begin to work on a new grand scale and want to know how to surface your own canvas. With today's materials, there is a preparation method exactly suited to your needs that makes it easier and faster than ever.

Dress the Table

There is no time like the holiday season to "dress" your dining table or other area with specialty items. Creating specialty household "ensembles," making the look your own, is very easy; and the same techniques can be used to create interesting items for any occasion, any season of the year.

For our project, we will create holiday designs on placemats, napkins and a table runner. Other items that might be included include pillow fronts, curtains and drapes, bed linens (sheets, coverlets, pillow shams, skirts), and even woven rugs (not to mention garments of all types).

Materials Needed:

One set of placements in a solid color or stripes (perhaps a set of each for variety; one set of solid matching napkins (or stripes here, too); table runner to coordinate - either solid or striped (smooth fabrics work best); permanent fabric ink stamp pads; metallic paint markers in gold and silver; pencil and paper for designs; soft sticky-backed foam craft sheets; scissors or stencil knife; foam board scraps in various sizes; and a palette (or foam plates).

One design that can be used for almost any time of year is the leaf motif. It can be created in vivid fall colors or deep teals and dark greens for Christmas greenery (especially nice when white is used as a frost/snow-type of accent) or the lively tones of spring or summer.

Create three or four leaf designs that appeal to you. You could trace large leaves from your trees or use botanical prints for shape and color ideas. Draw the shapes onto paper. Your designs might be solid leaf shapes that can be detailed later or open, edge-only designs that allow the fabric to show through the open areas of the shape. Extra details can be added after printing to enhance the finished look. Transfer the designs to the top of foam sheets and cut out with scissors or a stencil knife. Peel the backing from the foam sheet and stick the three-dimensional "stamp" to a scrap of foam board. You are now ready to "ink" and print.

Press the raised design onto the inkpad and pounce gently to evenly distribute the pigment. Lift the foam board block and then press firmly onto a placemat. Repeat with another shape and perhaps another color. When dry, use the metallic pens to add details and accents. Complete the set by doing similar shapes and detail work on the napkins and table runner.

Consider the possibilities for various holidays, seasons and occasions: holly/berries for Christmas, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, hearts for Valentine's Day, graduations or birthdays. Complete room makeovers are possible by selecting a group of accessories that could be embellished with original "stamped" designs. This is a fun project for beginners to intermediate craftspeople and is a great parent and child activity.

Graphic Chemical & Ink Co. Printmaking, etching, blockprinting litho supplies. Silkscreen Trade Names: Perfection, Easy Wipe, Graphic, Sureset, Universal, Graphinx.

Ansel Adams (1902-1984)

Born to a wealthy family in San Francisco, Ansel Adams began his creative career as a musician. He studied to be a concert pianist until his interest in photography drew him into that field. This devotion to images was sparked by a trip in 1916 when he was given a camera to record a family vacation to Yosemite National Park, where the grandeur of the natural beauty captured his interest. Little did he realize that this was the beginning of a remarkable career in photography.

The trend of the period was soft-focus photographs, and Adams followed that style until he met Paul Strand in 1930. Strand and others were depicting images that were sharply focused and full of rich detail. Upon this contact, Adams formally abandoned his study of music and devoted his life to photography. He moved to Yosemite in 1937 and began his near single-handed transformation of landscape photography into an art form.

Ansel Adams was a very modest, introspective man who devoted himself to the preservation and conservation of our national parks. Through his art, Adams helped the American people see and appreciate the emotional and cultural appeal of the parklands. His passion and perseverance, along with his talent, helped educate the world as to the importance of proper park management and availability. In 1979 President Carter honored Adams with the presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Adams was known as man who thought you were either for preserving the environment or against it. There was no middle ground as far as he was concerned. This was echoed in not only his preservation work, but his photography as well. His images seem to burn into one's mind and remain.

In 1935 Adams published the first of many technical books, most illustrating methods that he developed. He helped found the photography department of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1940, the first such department in any museum. In 1946 he established the first academic department to teach photography at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (now the San Francisco Art Institute) and also taught at the Los Angeles Art Center School. From 1955 to l981 Adams conducted annual photography workshops at Yosemite. He published more than two dozen books, including large photographic collections and his technical manuals.

Adams' photographic techniques were a foundation for generations of photographers that followed. He developed what he dubbed the "zone system" of photography. This technique divided the gradations of light in a scene into ten zones, from black to white. This allowed him to visualize the different levels of gray in the final photograph before he actually took the photo. This accuracy and control enabled him to capture such subtle changes of tone and light that he could return to photograph the same location time after time. Each of the images produced would be fresh and offer new detail, rather than being repetitious. It was almost as though he had control of the light and used it to its full advantage. This system remains the cornerstone of most of the great black and white photographers of today.

Adams' support of and friendships with other photographers prompted his formation of what he called "f/64", an influential group that took straightforward photographs in clear focus. Included in this group were Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham, who were both very successful and respected photographers as well.

In 1967 Ansel Adams and other prominent photographers, artists and historians founded The Friends of Photography in Carmel, California. In 1989, five years after Adams' death, the center moved to San Francisco and opened the Ansel Adams Center for Photography in the Yerba Buena Gardens cultural district. In its 30 year history, it has sponsored more than 275 exhibitions, published more than 70 catalogues and anthologies on photography, presented more than 200 intensive workshops and classes and established two annual awards for outstanding emerging photographers. Additionally, the center has established a photography-in-the-schools program and other activities that involve the entire community in their commitment to developing new and diverse audiences for photography.

In recognition for this devotion to the national parks system, in 1984 the United States Congress established the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area, between Yosemite National Park and the John Muir Wilderness area in California. In 1985 Mount Ansel Adams, at the southeast boundary of Yosemite National Park, was named after him. Both were fitting tributes to a man who had devoted his life to tireless support and preservation of this remarkable place.

Ansel Adams Exhibitions

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ansel Adams--one of San Francisco's favorite sons--SFMOMA is presenting an exhibition featuring over 100 images by the beloved photographer and naturalist--Ansel Adams at 100. The first important critical reevaluation of his art since his death in '84, the exhibition presents an aesthetic reappraisal of Adams as an artist and working photographer, highlighting his achievement as one of the century's great modern artists. Through January 13.

Also in celebration, the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC, salutes America's most heralded landscape photographer by presenting 13 of his works in Ansel Adams: The Man Who Captured the Earth's Beauty Part II, through April 28. The photos were taken in CA, WY, NM, TX and AK between 1930 and 1960.

With the holidays just around the corner, consider the following new products as gifts or stocking stuffers for the artist or crafter on your list:

New Createx Textile Colors

FREE OFFER to ARTtalk Readers!

Createx Colors, a leader in water-based, nontoxic pigments for over 25 years, is proud to introduce its new line of Createx Textile Colors. Available in a brilliant spectrum of 63 non-fading, lightfast colors including 21 pearlescent, 5 fluorescent and 5 iridescent shades, they are available in 2oz., 4oz., 8oz., 32oz. and 128oz. sizes for your convenience.

Createx Textile Colors can be used right out of the jar for both fabric painting and screen-printing. They are soft hand and will not change the texture or feel of your fabric. Once heat-set, Createx Textile Colors are absolutely colorfast on natural and synthetic fibers and will not crack or peel.

New Iwata Revolution Airbrushes

Iwata-Medea Airbrush Products, Portland, Oregon, has announced the release of their new Iwata Revolution Airbrushes. After many months of planning and meticulous design engineering, the Iwata Revolution is now being manufactured for the new airbrush user with these traits in mind: Quality, Performance and Value. The Revolution airbrushes are made so that new airbrush users of all backgrounds can now get started with Iwata performance.

The Iwata Revolution airbrushes excel in all areas--the way they look, the way they handle, and especially the way they spray. Noticeably, there is also a new, more ergonomic chrome-handle design. All of the parts are precision fitted and can be removed easily for cleaning. And, like the Iwata Eclipse models, one tip and one needle do it all. These dual-action, internal-mix metal airbrushes are manufactured to the same precision standards as the entire Iwata Airbrush line. The Revolution airbrushes are ideally suited for beginning students, hobbyists, craftspersons and industrial use.

The Iwata Revolution airbrushes use a PTFE packing needle seal, which is impervious to solvent-based paints and is easily replaced. There are two models available: Revolution BCR (bottom feed) and the CR (gravity feed cup--15 cc). See www.iwata-medea.com.

New Flame-o-Rama and Kustom FX Templates from Artool

Artool Products Company has done it again with ten new and wildly cool Flame-O-Rama and Kustom FX Freehand Airbrush Templates, designed by Craig Fraser. They're easy to use with both water-based and solvent-based paints they're solvent proof! The four Flame-O-Rama designs are: Flame-Dango, Slash, Ol' School and Funkadelik; and the six Kustom FX designs include: Tiki-Madness, Diamond Plate, Bullet-Ridden, Cloud-9, Cheetah-Pimp and Brainiac. These new designs are totally interactive with all the other Artool templates, so the creative combinations are as endless as your own imagination.

All Artool Freehand Airbrush Templates are produced with exacting laser-cut precision and are the latest in polymer technology, so they'll probably outlast you. For a complete listing of the Artool-Iwata-Medea catalog on the Web, go to: www.ArtoolProducts.com.

New from Strathmore

Strathmore Artist Products has several products that will surely appeal to the artist/crafter this holiday season or any other time of year. The Pure Paper line now includes some brand new exciting papers for crafting, including hot new translucent papers in Bright, Marble, Pastel, and Natural. Artists and non-artists can create their own personal greetings with the new Greeting Card Bulk Packs of 50 Photo Mount Cards and Envelopes. Simply adhere your photo or artwork to the embossed front panel on these beautiful embossed-border, heavyweight cards. Or with the new 40-Pack Photo Frame Cards and Envelopes you can simply slide your photo or artwork behind the die-cut window. Look for Strathmore's Creative Greeting Card display with its colorful snowman header.

The line of Thai Dye Papers now includes Thai Dye Flowers. The pack includes 10 assorted colors of beautiful flower shapes to use individually or cut apart to make four leaves.

And Strathmore has something for the children, too. The KIDS Holiday Vacation Pack includes everything you need to keep them busy during vacation: Post Cards, Drawing Pad, 2 Pencils, 8-Pack Crayons, and 10-Pack of Fine Markers. The KIDS Holiday Gift Pack includes Greeting Cards, Doodle Pad, and a 10-Pack of Fine Markers. See www.strathmoreartist.com.

How to Paint Trees

Landscape paintings are again experiencing a surge in popularity. One of the key elements in landscapes is often trees--micro-close and rich in life-like textures or far away, softened into the distance, and every point in between. Artists have developed many interesting and inventive ways to capture the essence of a forest using different methods with a variety of media.

Watercolorists often combine painting methods to achieve the forested look they desire. If the trees are placed in a softening fog, as a distant design element, they might be painted in wet-on-wet. This allows the distant shapes to meld with the sky or landscape around them, to be less obvious. But if the artist wants each line of a tree's shape to be evident, most of his detail work is placed over a wash of background color, allowing every brush stroke, every limb and twig to show. Paint on and allow the base color to dry, and then add the detail. This detail work is best achieved with a long slender brush that can be charged with a fair amount of paint. Limbs and twigs are often painted in repetitious, quick, sketchy strokes, and a good quality brush with long bristles that hold a lot of paint will allow the artist more medium with which to work.

Abstract shapes and forms behind strong, detailed foregrounds can be created very easily in watercolor, acrylic or oil. Natural sea sponges can be used to apply the background color in soft, featureless shapes. These shapes are usually void of excessive detail and offer the basis from which an artist might create more realistic trunk, limb and leaf patterns. In watercolor, crushed paper, plastic wrap and even crushed computer paper can be pressed into a wet paint area for added texture. This is especially interesting for foreground texture, trunks of close-up trees or clumps of trees in the distance. In acrylic, crushed paper can be used to cut through a wet layer down to a lower level of under painting.

If you are painting a landscape that fades into the bluish haze of a mountain range or the mist in the distance, you might use a darker tone of that haze color to mimic the look of trees that would occupy that distant space. Sponge in the shapes of clumps of trees along the horizon line, darkening the mist tone slightly as the trees come closer to the foreground. Begin with a damp sponge, lightly charged with paint. Carefully pounce the sponge against the surface of the paper. For softer tones, apply the mist color to a dampened area. For sharper shapes, apply to dry paper. Once dry, this will represent a distant range of trees or a forested area a distance from the foreground. Random wispy trunks and limbs in this distant mass will help create the feel of reality.

When this distant layer is dry, lay in the middle ground and foreground images. For richer texture, paint on wet color, then texture the area by pressing paper of some sort into the wet paint. The resulting crackle shapes can be used to create interesting foliage and tree leaf masses, especially if a variety of tones are used in the initial color application. Leaving the crushed paper in place for part of the drying time intensifies the degree of texture.

Close-up textures of tree trunks can be done in watercolor by first painting in the trunk area in a middle tone. Allow this to dry; then dry brush the trunk areas with a darker tone to add texture and contrast. Adding strong darks on the shadow side of the trunks and rich, bright lights on the light source side of them offers realistic contour and dimension.

In oil, painting from dark to light is often the most effective way to create realistic form and tone to subjects. Begin by painting a darker than natural base color for the trunks and limbs. This establishes an element of depth that will give the trunks and limbs a supernatural appearance. Starting with the darkest tones gives the artist control of the contour and highlight that will eventually create a natural look. Add as many layers of paint as needed to create a mixture of tones, ending with the lightest, most vivid tones applied to duplicate the direct location of light on the shapes.

When using oil, palette knives can be used to replicate great texture on the trunks and limbs of trees. The same color order, dark to light, still works best. Brush on the dark under painting of the trunks or limbs, and then use the knife to add depth and dimension. Even the smallest limbs can be created using the extreme tip of the knife. Using different sizes and shapes of knives is also helpful.

Things to remember about painting trees:

The shapes of trees can be closely studied by cutting a small branch from any large specimen. Each small limb resembles a miniature tree, inasmuch as the way the major and minor limbs join the trunk, the way the limbs jut from the trunk and the way the sub-limbs are attached and are shaped is identical to the mother tree. Note that all species of trees have their own natural shape and limb configuration. When painting trees, remember to leave open areas where the sky or background shows through the foliage. Without these open areas, the tree appears to be a clump of color rather than a natural part of its surroundings.

How the Airbrush Works

All airbrushes, whether they are simplistic or professional, operate on the same basic principle. Inside the body of the airbrush are two channels--one for air and the other for paint--that meet at the tip. When air that has been compressed rushes through the thin, tapered air channel, it speeds up and draws paint up through the paint channel and out into the air stream where it becomes spray. The spray of paint is controlled by a device in the paint channel to stop the flow. In this case, it is a tapered needle that is drawn back to release the paint, and the amount of paint is determined by how far back the needle is drawn.

Paint enters the airbrush in one of two methods--gravity or siphon--and the spray of both is of the same quality. In siphon-feed airbrushes, the paint is contained in a cup or bottle that is attached to either the side or the bottom of the brush. Air rushing through the brush draws the paint up and into the tip, where it is atomized. In gravity-feed models, paint is contained in a cup or slot on the top of the airbrush and drips into a reservoir at the tip of the brush where it is drawn into the air.

Both internal and external mix airbrushes, no matter if they are single or dual action, work in this same simple manner to aid in the creation of incredible artwork.

Exclusive to AirbrushTalk

Go to the new quarterly issue of AirbrushTalk at www.airbrushtalk.com to see an article by Glenn Hetrick with accompanying photos exclusive to AirbrushTalk. "Painting a Better Demon" explains the painting techniques for the very cool demon from the season premiere of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." In the same issue, see "Your All-Important Portfolio" by Michael Cacy, "Characters & Colors" by Lynne Bouchard, and "Greeting Cards, Gift-Wrap and Stationery" by Janean S. Thompson. While at the site, sign up for your FREE quarterly subscription.

Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Art Museum -- Ornaments & Adornments Art Sale -- Nov. 18 from 12 to 5 p.m. Items created by local artists will include trees, wreaths, ornaments, painted glass, jewelry, handmade dolls and bears, beaded purses, ceramics and food items. 414.224-3855.

Fort Lauderdale, FL - Museum of Art -- Festival of Trees: An Artful Celebration -- Nov. 28 through Dec. 2. Regional artists and decorators utilize Christmas trees and wreaths as their canvases. Holiday art is for sale with proceeds benefiting MOA. 954.525.5500.

New York City -- Holiday Crafts Park Avenue -- Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 -- This is the holiday edition of New York City's premiere display and sale of contemporary American crafts by 175 of the nation's finest craft artists. It is held annually at the historic Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Ave., between 65th and 66th Streets, in Manhattan. Adult admission.

The Art World Responds:

AMACO Aids World Trade Center/Pentagon Disaster Relief -- The American Art Clay Co., Inc., the exclusive importer of FIMO polymer clay in the U.S. and manufacturer of the popular modeling material, Friendly Plastic, has made a pledge of assistance to help those affected by the World Trade Center/Pentagon tragedies.

In addition to annual contributions to national organizations including the United Way, AMACO will make a special corporate donation to the American Red Cross equal to 50% of the company's profits from the sales of Red, White, and Blue FIMO and Friendly Plastic through Dec. 31, 2001. Customers gave the company the idea by calling and telling about all the ways consumers were using these products to make patriotic pieces to sell in fundraisers. AMACO hopes this flurry of sales will result in a sizable donation on their part.

Museums Reached Out -- Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, eleven New York museums and several galleries offered themselves as "sanctuaries of respite and contemplation " to the public, free of charge. In addition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan organized a series of noontime concerts in the Medieval Sculpture Hall that continued through Oct. 7. The "Sounds of Solace: Music for Reflection, Inspiration and Hope" were free with Museum admission and open to the public. They also organized a special poetry reading series through Oct. 7 entitled "Poetry for the Human Spirit," where works by Dylan Thomas, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman and others were read.

 

ARTtalk.com Gallery at the Square 18 East Main St. Beacon, NY 12508 845.838.3557 "CYCLE/AUTO ART" Sponsored by Iwata-Medea-Artool Through November 4 Featuring prints and paintings, fenders, tanks, helmets, and more. Robert Anderson • Celia Buchanan Joe Calabrese • A. D. Cook Leo Gonzales • Gerald Mendez Robert Paschal • Pamela Shanteau Craig Tracy • Peter West Special Feature: Sculpture by Jerry Only of The Misfits HOURS Friday/Saturday 1-5 p.m. Sunday 1-4 p.m. Or By Appointment GOD BLESS AMERICA!

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 12 No. 1 -- November 2001