Has anyone ever tried TerrSkin multimedia paper for oils?

I just got a pad of this stuff (seen here) - don’t worry, I didn’t pay that much. The cover states it can be used with oil paint. Cost-wise, I liked the idea of being able to cut a sheet in half for my daily practice painting (that’s all that they are at the moment). Definitely more economical than pre-gessoed boards and less work than cutting and priming my own masonite.

Anyway, tried it for the first time yesterday. Initially, I thought it was great. The paint when on super smooth, took my base layer really evenly - I was pumped. I started painting away…and, blech! The oil seemed to absorb into the paper and dried really fast. The finished piece is matte and chalky; it looks like guache - lifeless guache.

Now, I probably just need to throw in the towel on what felt like a good idea, but am just curious if anyone has used this product effectively. The cover definitely says oil paint and the little I could find online suggests the same. Would a single coat of gesso seal the paper, do you think? Will gesso sit on the paper alright or just flake off over time?

Just curious! I love the idea of being able to practice on something that doesn’t eat in to my wallet or my time.

I know you might not want to go to extra trouble, but perhaps you could tape the terraskin down and give it a light coat of acrylic gel medium in order to deter some of the absorbancy. Just a thought but it might be OK if you aren’t planning to sell the work (not sure if there would be any buckling issues or not).

Hi there,
slightly off topic, but I noticed that one of the artworks on the cover of the pad is Brian Buckrell - the acrylic painting artist. He’s got a few Artbytes on here! - I purchased one of them! I don’t know if that means he’s endorsed the paper or they just used the image? Could you contact him through DPW?

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Look i have been painting for 30 years. Take one good canvas and practice on that and when your done wipe it off with turp. or linseed oil and practice on it again and again. The canvas gets better over time . Don’t save your practice. Your just using up canvas for nothing. You have to learn, it’s just paint, don’t get emotionally attached to it.

Yes, I have tried terra skin. I thought it was an interesting concept and I like to experiment. Used watercolor, acrylic and mixed media but it did not do much for me. The watercolor was wiped off with another layer of wc paint but the acrylic did much better. I still find it easier to use canvas or boards for my art work. Maybe I did not give it a fair shake with my attempts.
Hope you have better luck.