"...so they dry very quickly and you can paint on them - in about a week." That cracked me up so much! Great and informative video! Thanks!

I made a joke about Elizabeth the First using lead-based gesso for her makeup and then asked a real question - but 10 seconds further into the video you answered it! Your videos are so thorough yet straight forward - I am binge watching and learning so much - I haven't touched oils in 40 years and your videos are inspiring!

Thank you! I enjoy your channel very much. Happy painting! 🎨

Jason, thanks so much for this video. I have been using some Fredericks panels but I have put three coats of acrylic gesso before painting over it with oils. I have had great results and a smooth surface. Now, I am ready to try the oil base primer thanks to you. Great video and I am sure you are helping thousands of beginners in the right direction. Best wishes.

Thank you so much for sharing this. It was very concise and helpful information. I will definitely be trying this since I do find that I struggle to get my paints to flow off the brush.

U pack a ton a good info in your vids, thanks! All the younger/newer artists out there NEED this type of info! Only so much they can teach in a classroom

Thank you for this channel. These instructional videos are a most generous gift. Learning much. Appreciative.

I definitely want to try this to a few canvasses. Thank you for another amazing video!

I really enjoy these "behind the scenes" type videos. I love to watch people paint and learn how to improve my painting skills but these vides are very valuable. I would love to see more videos about prepping canvases, brushes/knives, oil painting chemicals (thinners etc), tips and tricks about things other than painting.

Really nice job explaining the alkyd, lead, and titanium priming options!

I am so in love with all of the materials in oil painting

I was told that with the oil in the top of the tin you carefully pour it into another container then scoop out what you need and then pour the oil back into the tin because it keeps the primer moist as it dries it out very quickly. Thank you for the videos I learn new stuff each time I watch one. Cheers!

Thanks for this video I really needed to hear this. I painted oil straight on to acrylic primed surface and kept seeing the color become dull after a while. I didn't know it was best, as an oil painter, to paint on oil primed surfaces.

Good video. I’ve used Gamblin oil grounds for a few years and love it. I find that if I apply it indoors in the winter it stays tacky for months. So, I wait for a warm summer day and do a bunch of canvases at the same time out in the sun in my backyard and the alkyd base dries in a couple of hours. Also, these grounds are not applied with a brush but with a 3 or 4 inch putty knife. You keep working the grounds over the canvas until all the excess grounds are removed. A messy job but well worth it effort. Keep up these informative videos. I enjoy them very much.

I love watching your videos !

More great information... Thank you for your time, you have saved me a ton of trial and error.

As always, a very helpful video.

This is amazing..I am really happy to know about oil priming. Will surely try out.. thank you.

I really enjoy your information. Thanks much!

I kept having a nagging doubt about painting oil over acrylic, and was thinking about going to oil primed canvas. I have been wanting to reclaim a bunch of my canvas panels I use to paint oil exercises. I just bought my first can of Gamblin Oil Ground and plan to resurface these panels using the oil ground. Since they are painted with oil, the oil ground should be just the ticket. Your video really helped me understand how to use.

Thanks, Jason. Have you considered having the cans run through the shaker at a store? If they're not busy, they will do it for you, saving the lip of the can from filling with paint and being difficult to clean. Another tip is to store the can upside-down, so the layer of oil floats to the "bottom." Like the folks who store their tubes cap-down. You have a very natural and clear teaching manner, and you have saved this old fart a lot of grief with your lessons. Thanks a gallery-full.

I purchased the Gamblin oil ground recently. I made a test panel primed half the surface with the oil ground and the other with gesso. I applied some common colors straight out of the tube in equal amounts to both primers to see if there was a noticeable difference. I also took this time to test the 3 different types of oil I typically use to do a side by side comparison of the same colors. These oils were Lukas 1862, Gamblin, and Charvin Paris. Also Permalba White just for Curiosity. The surface was an experiment as well. I obtained some Laboratory Grade Polyvinyl carbonate panels for free from my work and wanted to see if I could paint on them. I also left a portion of the panel unprimed just to see how the oil would adhere to the panel without primer. Before I explain my results I will disclose that I did this test 2 weeks ago and some of the oil still isn't completely dry since I added no mediums to my oils. So the results at this point were surprising. All the colors clearly have a gloss sheen on the gesso and unprimed area compared to the flat sheen on the oil primed area. It's very noticeable with the Cobalt Blue, Cad Red, and Cad Yellow. All the different brands were NOT hues, they are each brands top series of each of those colors. I tried 2 transparent colors, Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine. Not much of a noticeable difference with those between the different primers. It was interesting to see the difference in the Permalba White compared to Titanium and Flake. I want to say the Permalba is brighter, or it has a blue hue. Not sure exactly, but it's definitely different. Other observations were that the Charvin Paris colors seem to be more deep and pigmented than some of the Lukas colors, although they should for the price difference, but in the Cad's, Gamblin were much brighter than the others, very saturated. As far as the adhesion. I tried lifting the paint off with a palette knife. Surprisingly the paint stuck best to the unprimed Polyvinyl carbonate. I can peel the paint off the oil primed area easily. The gesso area it's stuck a little better. So what does this mean?? well nothing really at the moment because it's only been 2 weeks. But what I conclude is that the Polyvinyl carbonate should be safe to paint on. It's really not advisable for folks to runout and buy these Polyvinyl carbonate panels, these were very expensive. As I stated, these were scrap pieces I got from a laboratory project I was working on. But if the paint sticks to them, they will never decompose, as if my art is that worthy :) As for the Sheen of the colors on oil ground versus gesso, what has your experience been?? I've primed some canvases with the oil ground but they aren't ready to be used yet. I have a question for you about the oil ground. Is it wise to apply multiple coats of oil ground to a canvas? My motive would to be to completely cover or fill in all the imperfections of the canvas to create a perfectly smooth surface. Thanks for you're videos, they are very helpful!!

Fascinating! Is there a comparison video for how each surface is to paint on?

This is very informative thank you for sharing!

Great video. I still want to try the non-alkyd oil grounds. My favorite surface to paint on at the moment is one primed with Winsor and Newton oil primer, either on top of rsg or acrylic gesso. I tried gamblin ground, but even after cutting it with gamsol it still seemed to take too long to dry. The W&N ground goes on straight out of the can and dries in a few days.

Thanks for this video! I bought some Fredrix oil priming. I think It’s the rapid kind of primer, and will see how long it takes to dry.

Like so many others who've commented on this video - thank you for explaining the process AND that we can put oil primer on top of acrylic gesso priming. That is wonderful! But, I do have a question. After watching your delightful tour of your studio, where (and how) do you store these 'now-oil primed' canvases and canvas panels while they are drying for a month or two?

I like the idea that you enjoy good music as well. Cheerio.

great. I have never used oiled primed canvases thinking they needed to be used with glue sizing. its great to know it can be applied over acrylic primed canvases

Nice video! I was wondering if you can do one where you would paint a few strokes over the oil primed surface and compare it to acrylic primed surface. I was also curious to see if an underpainting wash ( like with a thinner ) would absorb differently with each one. Thanks! great job on the videos!

good tutorial Jason.

Beautiful art

Thank you, I used to paint on canvas without any prime, this is what I've been looking for

Just Fantastic!

Thanks for the video, I've never primed my canvases with oil. Do I have to sand the canvass once is dry? or is it ready to paint once it dries? Thanks for taking the time.

Thank you for the video!

I love artists.

Hi Jason, this looks great, but can I still paint on this surface with oil mixed with a solvent? Can I still tone the surface with the gray mixtue left in my Gamsol jar?

I have painted on an oil primed linen canvas. It has to date, my best painting.

Super helpful video, thank you. Would I have to use an acrylic gesso as a base if I am oil priming on a wood panel as well?

👍 Thank you, Jason.

Hi Jason thanks for introducing me to Rublev paints wonderful. My question how long do you suggest I leave the Rublev oil ground to dry. I've only used bulk standard gesso until now . Thanks for the amazing job you do.

Hi Jason, love your videos! I think you must be a fellow supply junky based on your video content. I like to try to paint the way the pros and masters do and thus would like to try lead primed linen. I have been using Centurion oil primed linen panels which are nice, but wanted to take it to the next level. Thus I purchased some of the Williamsburg Lead ground from Blick. Both cans I've received (original and the replacement) seem different than the one you demoed. The first can had virtually no oil floating on top - instead there was a big congealed blob of paint film. It was extremely hard to stir and required much more the the suggested amount of turp/OMS to get it to a spreadable condition. The second replacement can is better, but still there is some floating solids and not much oil. I haven't tried to stir this one yet. In your experience, is this normal? I was going to try to call Williamsburg customer service to see what they say also.

Thanks. This was very informative. Would you recommend Liquin as a thinner/medium for the primer?

He's too cute for words 😂

Bauman says the oil on top is put there to avoid paint getting a hard film. It's not suppose to be mixed but poured out carefully then poured back on for storage

thanks, and great art by the way. Can you prime with linseed oil or any other non toxic oil?

Can I mix liquin original in the oil primer to speed the drying process?

Great demonstration Jason. I would like to know if you have to sand the surface after it dries, like you do with gesso.

Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge. The oil painting learning curve is steep & your channel has been so essential for me in my painting journey. Few Questions: 1) what is lead oil ground made from? 2) how would you compare Gamblin & Williamsburg ground? 3) Do you have a patreon? Thanks again 🙏

Great tips thank you very much, now once the paint is finish what kind of spay do you use to protect the paint?

I'm trying Zinsser Cover Stain on plywood at present. I didn't leave it for a month before I painted on it though. It's an oil-based sealer and primer and it's not super absorbent. €15 for 2.5 litres.

Thanks for your videos! I am recently start watching your videos, and there are so many many good information for oil painting! Thank you so much : ) Can I ask you some questions? Is it same method using Williamsburg lead oil and titanium oil ground (because I ordered titanium oil ground)? ; for example, stir with oil and ground before using it, and mixing it with gamsol..

Hi Jason. Great video, thanks so much. My question is actually about an extra fine linen panel I bought (Artefex) and it had lead primer on it already. I love the surface and it's much better than my oil-priming efforts! :) What I wonder about this panel or any surface with oil primer, after it is fully dry, can solvent break it down at all, is that a danger? I practiced on a small oil-primed panel and the next day used Lavender Spike Oil solvent to remove the paint I had applied. Worked great, but made me think to ask if this solvent could damage oil priming. Thank you!

Hi again! I finally have the Williamsburg & the Gamblin odorless thinner to thin with, to mix and do the hardboards- which I had gessoed about 20 years ago. 😂. I am going to sand those a bit, (and vacuum) and then paint the mix you recommend here, but have one more question- could I ad a tiny bit of transparent oxide red to the mix, also in one step paint the canvas as a underpainting in one step? I would rather have them colored, but not sure if able to do it this way and still have fat over lean and tooth and all that. I paint slow- (as I remember, it’s been 20 years- haha)…Is that a neutral color? I am slowly collecting the colors you recommend on your tutorials. I don’t mind mixing, but love the choices! Thanks so much, loving your channel, and if I had the money I would buy all your beautiful paintings! Happy Easter!

I absolutely love your videos! If using the gamblin ground primer, is it possible to use a hair dryer of some sort to speed up the drying process or would that not work? Also, a "ready primed" canvas from a shop usually has little to none primer on there, would it be okay to go ahead with oil based or safer to do an acrylic gesso coating first, to be sure the canvas board is covered? I paint with acrylics, and want to spice it up a bit and try oils😊

I know you have enjoyed Rublev paints as well, just an FYI, they do make a lead oil ground, their 16oz can is $55 currently.

Hi can you show us how thick the lead oil primer is after you add the gamsol, unfortunately I can't see from the glass jar. Thanks for the video I never thought of Oil priming gesso canvases.

Thank you for the lovely video Jason. Could you tell me that what changes can we see in our oil based paintings when we use oil based primers as oil base coat and when we use gesso as a base coat? Because these oil based primers are not easily available every where? Do we have an alternative for that?

I purchased the centurion OP primed Linen panels and it does not seem like they put enough oil primer on it . I’m going to apply one coat of my own oil primer from gamblin. What are your thoughts? ?

Great and informative video as always! :) I have here an 200ml paint tube of titanium white from Van gogh (studentgrade), would that work as a grounding too? Since I have no other use for that tube anyway :)

mr Walcott that oil on top is added after the paint is put in the can to act ass a barrier so the paint doesn't form a crust from sitting...its ok to mix in but most pour it off...remove paint..and then pour back in to preserve remainder of paint

Hello, Mr Walcott! Do you ever paint/block-in a painting with acrylics first, then paint over with oil?

thanks for your great information , can i use linseed oil as oil priming

Nice video, by the way Is oil priming necessary? Can I just prime it with acrylic gesso and start painting on it?

Great video. I only like painting on oil primed linen. For over a year I've been buying lead primed linen panels on gatorfoam. I looooove them but they are expensive. Thinking of making my own. But safety is my biggest concern. Do you feel safe handling lead primer yourself? THank you

I’m going with Gamblin. After it has fully dried is it safe to apply a wash of burnt umber and Gamsol to stain the canvas before painting?

Very good video.But though lead oil ground contain much lead white pigment. I can use some oil paint like lead white with the oil ground?

When will you test Michael Harding's non absorbent acrylic primer?

You may want to mention that by using an oil ground, the spread of the paint is much much better, and the adherence is also good.

So my oil primer has dried and I toned the surface with a stain of burnt number and that has dried now I’m finding it hard for my pencils to get in a good sketch because of the oil primer are there pencils that will work best for the surface?

nice piece in the background, IU checked out your website I think your a pretty good painter. How long have you been painting? Ive been painting about 10 years or so but only recently really got into it hardcore and started selling my work...anyways I was just looking for some advice for getting your name out there, and maybe I can email you some paintings of mine,. and you cdould give your honest opinion...? Thanks...

if you are putting primer on and its leaving brush strokes ,once it cures do you or can you sand it down?

Can I make my own ground? (Lead white, linseed oil and calcium carbonate) But instead of using lead white using a burnt or raw umber that has lead in it (Utrecht) then add linseed and calcium? That way I’m already starting on a toned surface or will only lead white work?

Thx for vid. So you could prime cheapo acrylic primed stretched canvasses, with a new layer of oil based primer, and have a first class support to paint on. The cheap stretched canvasses I buy (acrylic primed maybe 1x or 3x) soak up all the oil in my paints; the hues get washed out until about the third or fourth pass. I would only use these expensive primers on quality stretched canvas/linen or wood, not $2 cardboard backed panels.

I am not a professional artist but a natural born artist for sure. And I love experiment things more than I create something. I have experimented on a Master's Touch Canvas to make its surface behave like Linen Canvas because I love to paint on linen canvases. And the traditional primers are too expensive, so I used regular fast drying oil and mixed that with walnut oil and used a foam brush to give a thin coat of priming. And my canvas has become like a linen canvas. It did not take very long to dry either.

Thank you for your informative videos! I would like to know, do you have an experience with Rublev Colours Lead Oil Ground? Is there a difference of the 3 products?

I really love your video's! And I wonder if you know anything about using oil paints over acrylic paints? Is this possible? I find very little information about it and the effect over time. Will the oil Paint sink to much into the acrylic Paint over time ? Thanks for your video's btw I think you're a very great teacher ;)

thanks

What other canvas brands do you use if any? And what sets Masterpiece apart from other brands in your opinion?

You say we'll notice the difference. Can you explain that better? I always buy preprimed canvas and have considered priming unecessary. I guess I need to research this. Thanks for the info.

Excellent video.. If I use an alkyd type ground, how can I tone it ? Just throw a little burnt sienna in it ?

I have a can of oil primer that someone gave me years ago. I think I'll try it out. I've been saving it but at this point it's just taking up space.

any drawbacks to using an alkyd lead ground? seems faster drying is a positive but there must be some drawback?

I want to paint out a section of a completely dry oil painting. Should I just paint directly or cover the area with oil priming first? No need to sand, but would that help with adhesion of the priming?

So you HAVE TO gesso a mason board first then put on Gambling ground? Or can I just put on ground to a board straight up?

So I wonder if you used an acrylic primed canvas and the painted a coat of acrylic paint as your “toned ground like burnt umber and white” to act as a thin plastic coat so the oil paint do not sink into the acrylic gesso?

I am seriously considering trying out oil based Kilz. Any opinion?

Can ya use just an oil paint ? How about gesso the back of the canvas? For painting Alexander/Ross style? Wet on wet.

Hi Jason, I'm new to oil. I wonder is it the oil itself or the lead/chalk that gives the oil ground that smoother property compared with an acrylic ground? In other words will it do the same thing if I prime it with a titanium white formula? What's the difference? Or is it the case that it simply gets smoother after I tone the canvas with some oil paint?

Wheh! Glad to see you aren't one of those that promote crappy habits of priming with acrylic...in the last few years, I have seen lots of videos trying to do a lot of silly things stating its something good, from a professional standpoint. Until I saw your video here, I did not know there were any modern grounds for painting, and had been using an earth tone stain to cover my primer, which is an oil base primer from the paint store. (In case you are wondering, I do seal all my surfaces using PVA Primer or straight PVA glue before the oil)

Are you aware both Williamsburg and Rublev put a bit of titanium dioxide into their lead oil grounds "to improve opacity and brightness," according to Williamsburg? I find that rather superfluous, personally, and have sought a truly authentic lead oil ground without titanium white. Vasari makes a lead oil ground which appears to omit titanium white amongst its ingredients. There are also those who swear by using Old Holland Cremnitz White (PW1) with just enough artist quality turps to make it spreadable on sized linen. I have yet to make the leap to this level of materials, as I am a mere hobbyist, but one day I'd like to. Have you considered using Vasari or OH Cremnitz White as lead oil grounds?

Hi! thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! QUick question i hope you will have time to asnwerd to: what do you think if i size my canvas with rabbit skin glue, than apply acrylic gesso, and than I'll use a oil primer just in the areas ill paint with oil paintings. The reason why im asking this is becasue my painitgs have an acrylic backgroun, but the silouette of the person in my painitng I pait it with oil colors....do you think would be fine to oil prime just some area of the canvas? and Do you think It's important to use rabbit skin glue at hte very beginnig or not necesary ? thank you so much for you time !

Waiting a month or two...What if you are using a wet on wet technique? Do you do this first, let is sit and then prime again before you start to paint?

I just wonder, if I can paint a layer of oil paint on my painting and paint another layer in a few days, why do I have to wait so long to paint over the primer?

Are there any clear (transparent) oil primers? I have acrylic clear gesso

thx a lot

So, is it fine to paint oil priming over an acrylic priming or is even better to size the canvass first with rabbit skin glue. I heard that the rabbit skin glue absorbs too much moisture and expand and shrink the canvass a lot.

I have some raw linen canvas, can i go directly with oil ground? And how many coats, time between coats and do i need to sand it in between. Honestly I'm beginner and I'm highly sceptical about acrylic base.

What did you use to thin down the oil primer?