Oil on wood...

[Xaya]

Well i started this sb for about 5 min

i used a green wood plate which i painted 3 or 4 times with white Gesso

The first impression i get is that it is absolute another feeling,...

the thing i posting here is the issue that the wood absorbs extremely the white colour.. which means that i have to put a lot of white on the surface to get it brighter.... i think at the moment i didn´t get even it brighter
(perhabs after the oil has dried a bit)

just fells like watercolor with pastos colours... do´no


give me your experiece

thank you

-Xaya

[Gilead]

You might have had more luck if you used a house paint primer like "Kilz" before you applied the gesso. Too late now, but try it in the future. It will seal the pores and prevent any staining from the wood.
I even make my own "gesso" by mixing flat finish white, water based, house paint with plaster. It's pretty much the same thing and lots cheaper.
The painting looks good so far though.

[B-Man]

I agree with Gilead about house paint. It blocks every bad little misshap away.
It looks as the painting is damp and sort of pastell alike. I wonder how it would turn out if you let it be and go on with the painting. could turn out strange and wonderfull
I love your faces, this could turn out damp and muddy but at least i know you will give it personality and life.
Cant wait to see more.

[Xaya]

well i worked about another 15min on it and gave it up finally.
It went to be impossible to add brighter colors on the surface.

I don´t know if i understand you wrong,
but it´s not my problem that the surface isn´t absolutely smooth
or that the ground is still noticeable, but that i am not able to
put a titanium white on the surface smear it a bit and get still a white
and NOT a middle grey...

more covers with gesso?
or another primer?

will give it a try with what you said

-xaya

[Big-Dave]

I'd say use more layers of gesso (or if you can, use house primer) The whole reason for priming a surface is to stop it absorbing the paint, so it'll make a big difference to the absorbtion.

Also, to get it smooth use sand paper. Try and use a heavy tooth sandpaper then work down to a lighter one, finer toothed tends to get worn out easily when doing this stuff. some artists sand down the primer as smooth as possible with every coat they use to make sure the end surface is smooth, but this takes a *lot* of work, so unles your doing a commissioned piece I'd probably stick with sanding it at the end (or even sometimes with commissioned pieces if you're quite happy with the surface)

Anyway, good luck with this