Week 6 ~ Words of wisdom: Gesso quotes

One of my favourite things to do with quotes is to hand write them on pages which have been treated with gesso. Gesso is a mix of acrylic medium (the base of acrylic paints), plus calcium carbonate (chalk) and a pigment, traditionally white, and finally a binding agent. Gesso is used by most artists to prepare the surface of their canvas to receive paint. Because so much is needed to prepare a canvas, gesso is very affordable to experiment with.

There are two ways I use gesso in my journals. I use white gesso primarily as a wash, a mix of 50% water and 50% gesso. I paint this over text pages, usually taken from an old Reader's Digest, of which there are many unloved volumes in thrift shops. Because the gesso is diluted, you can still partially see the text through it, and I take advantage of being able to see these lines to keep my writing straight. My favourite thing to write with is a quite ordinary Ultrafine Sharpie, very cheap.

A few years ago I discovered the fun to be had with black gesso. I also paint it onto Reader's Digest text pages, but at full strength to completely obscure the printed text on the page. Something about the texture of the pages plus the texture of the gesso makes the surface very similar to a blackboard. The best contrast for writing on black gesso blackboard pages is a white gel pen, but I've always found the quality of them to be unpredictable, but if you can find a good one, stick with it. They can be found locally at art supply and craft stores. A far cheaper, and I think more interesting way to write on black gesso is with a white pencil crayon. Although more subtle, the roughness of the pencil adds to the blackboard effect, I think.

Here are some examples of how I use gesso to make quotes for my journal: