BRIEF BITS

so here’s what i do! for PANELS, i use a foam brush to apply a liquid gesso (i dig liquitex, or even just house primer like benjamin moore). each coat is perpendicular to the other ~ as in, horizontal then vertical strokes. on the last coat (i usually do three), i sand it down, then i WET/DRY sand it, with a special black sandpaper you can find at any hardware store. just dab a little water on one part of the canvas at a time and sand (with a block so you get an even plane) in circular motions. this picks up the top layer just ever so slightly and settles it down really smooth. it’s also called an Eggshell finish.

for CANVAS, i use a 7 or 10 ounce canvas but sometimes linen sneaks in there, and i  actually prefer it to panel (but it’s hard to work small with canvas). after i stretch it, i apply two coats of rabbit skin glue as sizing, which i absolutely love ~ it tightens the canvas perfectly. i like it taut. then a quick sand and a few layers of gesso with rough then smooth sandpaper ~ you can wet sand this as well to get a super smooth finish, but the Eggshell finish is less flexible and tends more likely to crack on the canvas. that’s kinda it. i hate buying prestretched anything, it just inherently feels so cheap.