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gesso

gesso

1 9.8
A white layer used to prepare surfaces for painting
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɛsoʊ/
  • Specialized
: gesso
  • I must add that the Masonite panel had two coats of gesso applied to the surface.
  • Tempera on gesso
  • gesso-covered wood

So on to the actual mixing of the Gesso.

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Examples

  • Take some more gesso and reapply that blending it down with that Gray color.

  • The background of this drawing was covered with light brown tissue paper, which I scraped over with gesso.

    Blog text (31)
  • Now go ahead and take some Gesso and highlight the outer corners of your storm.

  • I stirred up a jar of gesso and began painting out the whole thing, using big, fat strokes of white, obliterating the stranger I had painted.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • For a long moment, she stared at the texture of the pale ground, a mix of gesso and a light burnt ochre acrylic wash. Then she took up a stick of charcoal and began to sketch the faces of the two dark-haired girls before the memory of them left her mind.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Artists often use gesso to prepare their canvases for painting.

  • The gesso creates a smooth surface that enhances the vibrancy of the paint.

  • Before applying oil paint, it is essential to layer the canvas with gesso.

How Thick

gesso
  • Specialized
1 9.8
wash
  • Specialized
8 6.7

Surface Forms

gesso singular
gessos plural

Etymology

Gesso comes from the Italian word gesso, which means 'plaster' or the soft mineral 'gypsum'. Painters used this white plaster to make a smooth, solid base for paint, so today gesso means the white coating artists put on canvas or wood.