Oil paint sinking into cheap canvas

Materials Oil Painting
1

I needed an 8x10 cotton panel fast (which I didn’t have) so I went to a local store that sells art supplies, a few, in addition to computers and office stuff. I am painting an animal for the humane society and trying to get it done fast. Now I have to let it dry since it’s blocked in and after this first pass I can see the paint is somewhat thin, which is ok since I’ll be painting over everything again anyway. Any suggestions on how I can ‘bulk up’ the second round of oil paint? Thank you!

I posted this 2 hours ago, went back to the painting with Lukas ‘Paint Butter’ and it is working beautifully.

2

Usually using less medium and more paint covers it for the second round. When you buy cheap canvas its a good idea to re-gesso it at least once, maybe twice.

1 Like
3

Thanks George. I’m thinking of round #3 tomorrow after it has dried some more with thicker paint and I’ll get out the trusty palette knife in spots for round #4. Thanks for responding.

4

Best of luck with it, Patricia. Be nice to see the finished product.

5

I agree with George. I always gesso at least one layer, even on better quality pre-gessoed canvas. I would do at least two coats on a cheap canvas. Use no medium if possible on the second layer, or at least don’t add oil to your paints.

1 Like
6

I agree with other painters, no medium would keep it together.

7

If you are a novice in painting, these canvases seem perfect for you. I have been using these boards since the time I started painting. As a beginner, I only have a limited budget and did not want to waste money on expensive canvases. But, to my surprise, these products exceeded my expectations.

8

I bought gesso and have gone over the surface with that. After that I tone the surface with acrylic paint. Works fine.

9

I had this exact problem and I sprayed the underpainting with universal acrylic varnish. Not fine art varnish, like exterior house paint varnish that can be used on ironwork.
This isn’t really a good idea for the long run, but I was playing around, It did speed up the painting, but then took forever to dry.

I second the idea of adding a layer of universal primer. You can also make your own primer without the acrylic.