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Why and Why Not to Use Egg Tempera
Panel Prep, Part 1:Rabbitskin Glue
How to Make Chalk Gesso
Panel Prep, Part 2: Gesso Priming
How to Make Egg Medium
Preparing Pigments and Making Paint
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TO PREPARE THE PANEL FOR EGG TEMPERA
PART 2: PRIMING WITH CHALK GESSO
You will need:
This process takes a few days, although you do less than an hour's work each time. I recommend priming several panels at a time for efficiency.
1. Place the jar of gesso in a pan of COLD water and slowly warm them together.
2. When the gesso is warm and soft, stir it gently. You don't want bubbles.
3. Dip the priming brush into the warm gesso, brush excess back into the jar, and lay a smooth coat on the panel, the brushstrokes all going one way. Prime the edges of the panel too. You may need to add a little water to the gesso jar now and then, as it evaporates; you want a thin texture. But don't overdo it.
4. Allow the gesso to dry. For the first coat this may take less than a hour, but subsequent coats will take longer and longer.
5. Alternate priming one side and the other of the panel and direction of the brushstrokes -- lengthwise, widthwise, diagonally this way and that.
6.At some point you must sand the gesso. Some like to sand it mirror-smooth after every layer, others don't sand until all the gesso is on. I like to sand after the first two or three coats, then after every other coat until the panel is done. The considerations are these:
- The panel must be utterly dry before you sand -- at least an entire day's drying.
- All the brushstroke ridges must be sanded down (This is why you don't want a very thick gesso.). Use the medium sandpaper first, then polish with the fine.
- You will end up doing the same amount of sanding no matter what. Do you prefer to do it spread out over days or in one big marathon at the end?
Your gessoed panel is now ready for painting.
NOTES: Remember to wear a dust mask or respirator when sanding!
Do not handle the gessoed panel with your bare hands. Skin oils will mar the painting surface.
If your masonite has a rough back, or you are sure you will not paint on the back of the panel, you need only put two or three rough coats of gesso on, and you don't have to sand it smooth.
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