Acrylic Gessoes and Primers

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Acrylic Gessoes and Primers


Prepare your canvas for paint with acrylic gessoes and primers. Priming is simple — apply the acrylic paint primer to your surface with a wide, flat brush. Make sure the layer is smooth and covers the entire surface.


Gesso typically adds tooth, adhesion, and flexibility to the surface. Explore artist-grade gesso and student-grade gesso.


Gesso is traditionally white, but can also be found in black or toned with a variety of colors. You can also tint your white gesso by adding any color of acrylic paint.


Artist Grade Acrylic Gesso contains more pigment and less filler, but the filler is essential for tooth and absorbancy. Artist grade gesso will be more opaque, so that one coat may be sufficient.


Student Grade Acrylic Gesso will generally dry faster, but it may require more covering layers and more surface preparation time. Student grade gesso contains less pigment, but pigment (usually Titanium White) can easily be added, and it can easily be tinted or colored.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What media can I use on an acrylic gesso?

    Acrylic gesso is primarily intended for acrylics, oils, and alkyds. There are acrylic-based watercolor grounds and other absorbent grounds that provide the ideal surface for watercolor and ink. Pastel grounds are specially designed to provide the right tooth and texture for pastel artwork. Encaustic should not be applied on acrylic gesso except for specially formulated encaustic gesso. Acrylic gesso is not considered absorbent enough for egg tempera.