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The group for students working together through the Painting Best Practices curriculum.
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Repainting a Canvas
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Repainting a Canvas
I want to paint over a painting I previously started in oil paint. I have cleaned it & sanded it. I’m thinking of painting over it with underpainting white because I don’t want the colors showing through. It has been dry for about a year. Does this sound like the way to go or is there a better way? Thank you for any help or ideas. Pam
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5 Replies
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Pam, we typically do not recommend painting over paintings with an entirely new composition. The reason for this recommendation is that the drying rate of oil paint is very slow, which could create problems as the new painting dries. However, this recommendation is largely based on observations of paintings with thick paint applications and may not apply equally to paintings that have thin applications of oil paint. If you decide to paint over an older painting, then you may want to apply two coats of lead oil or lead alkyd ground to cover the painting. It is recommended to cover the painting with a white ground so that the older painting is entirely obscured.
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Thank you so much, George! I appreciate it. I do paint in thin layers.
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For next time: be careful sanding paintings if you use any paints with heavy metals – antimony, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, strontium and zinc. Remember these are safe unless eaten or breathed, and as soon as you turn them into powder they can be breathed in.
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Hi, I just started a new painting over an old painting (first time). The old painting was 2,5 years old. I sanded the painting (but did not take the precautions mentioned by Erna – Next time I will!). I put three layers of gesso on the old canvas, let it dry and started the new painting. It’s the first time I’m painting on gesso (Felt a little smoother than the prepared canvas I buy in the store). Not sure if I did the right things… I also believe I’m not able to buy lead-based paints in Europe (Belgium). So, is gesso not the right primer in this case? All advice and suggestions are very welcome – Thanks.
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You can buy lead white oil ground in Europe because we sell it through our website in Europe. Our products are shipped from Germany. Applying an acrylic dispersion ground over an oil painting should not produce any problems if the oil painting underneath is sufficiently cured.
As a note, we do not call acrylic dispersion grounds “gesso” because that word refers to a glue ground made of animal collagen glue and calcium carbonate (marble, limestone, or chalk) or calcium sulfate hemihydrate (gypsum or “gesso” in Italian).
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