Posts : 2050 Join date : 2009-11-15 Location : North Bay, Ontario Canada
Subject: Black Gesso Wed Feb 03, 2010 9:55 am
I've decided to go back to working on canvas primed with black gesso. I've been doing some research on different methods and came across some information regarding the Bob Ross black gesso. I'm just wondering if anyone has used it and if so is the color different. What do you think of doing a grisaille mixing white and black gesso thinned down with water?
judyfilarecki Moderator
Posts : 2685 Join date : 2009-11-16 Location : Northern NY and Southern Arizona
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:30 am
Hi Janet,
I just finished writing an article on gesso on my web site. The black gesso I reviewed was from Golden, the one I have used very satisfactorily. They list their black as PBk11 and their pigment as high load. You might check to see if Bob Ross brand is the same or different.
Judy
Janet Moderator
Posts : 2050 Join date : 2009-11-15 Location : North Bay, Ontario Canada
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:07 pm
Thank you Judy for your help! I didn't know that they actually listed the pigment code for gesso. Good to know.
What I was thinking of is the black used in this video would work well but it's more of a blue grey which is fairly dark but not as dark as the pure black gesso. I did notice some people say that the Bob Ross gesso isn't a dark black and it made me wonder whether it's closer to the very dark grey ground in this video. I think that color may work well as I could probably work dark to light more effectively on that type of ground. I probably could just add a little white gesso to my black gesso but if I can get it already made... bonus.
Dale
Posts : 573 Join date : 2009-11-17 Location : Near Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:55 pm
I found that video to be so inspiring - I want to try black gesso now. And paint the whole picture with a 1" brush. Now that would be a challenge for me!
Janet Moderator
Posts : 2050 Join date : 2009-11-15 Location : North Bay, Ontario Canada
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:08 pm
That one happens to be one of my favorites. Seeing how everything comes together is amazing. I never even thought of the size but that's amazing that this person could get so much detail in on such a small format.
judyfilarecki Moderator
Posts : 2685 Join date : 2009-11-16 Location : Northern NY and Southern Arizona
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:21 pm
I'm a fan of Bob Ross also, but I feel we have strayed from the black gesso theme of this forum. I am going to move it to a forum on Bob Ross under "Talk About Art and Painting"
Judy
Janet Moderator
Posts : 2050 Join date : 2009-11-15 Location : North Bay, Ontario Canada
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Fri Feb 12, 2010 9:46 pm
Thank you Judy!
kbaxterpackwood
Posts : 94 Join date : 2010-01-22 Location : Iowa
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:15 am
Has anyone tried Daniel Smith's black gesso yet? Just curious. I have the bob ross black gesso, as that's what I'm able to get locally, I'm using it for samples to show students how the various colors looks on a black ground versus a white ground. If I get out this week I'll pick up some clear gesso for additional samples.
Kimberly
Janet Moderator
Posts : 2050 Join date : 2009-11-15 Location : North Bay, Ontario Canada
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:23 am
Hi Kimberly! I haven't tried the Daniel Smith Black Gesso but I'm curious regarding the Bob Ross black gesso. I've read that it's not black but more of a really dark gray. Can you confirm that for me?
judyfilarecki Moderator
Posts : 2685 Join date : 2009-11-16 Location : Northern NY and Southern Arizona
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:39 pm
I haven't tried the others,but I have been using Liquitex black gesso and very happy with it. Judy
kbaxterpackwood
Posts : 94 Join date : 2010-01-22 Location : Iowa
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:05 pm
Janet wrote:
Hi Kimberly! I haven't tried the Daniel Smith Black Gesso but I'm curious regarding the Bob Ross black gesso. I've read that it's not black but more of a really dark gray. Can you confirm that for me?
It's more of a dark charcoal color, not black.
K-
kbaxterpackwood
Posts : 94 Join date : 2010-01-22 Location : Iowa
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:05 pm
judyfilarecki wrote:
I haven't tried the others,but I have been using Liquitex black gesso and very happy with it. Judy
I'm not able to find the black liquitex here what color is it???
Janet Moderator
Posts : 2050 Join date : 2009-11-15 Location : North Bay, Ontario Canada
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Tue Feb 23, 2010 2:05 pm
Thank you Kimberly for the information on the Bob Ross Black Gesso. I use the Liquitex Black Gesso and it's black. I think most Black gesso is Black and I've only heard of the Bob Ross one being different.
judyfilarecki Moderator
Posts : 2685 Join date : 2009-11-16 Location : Northern NY and Southern Arizona
Subject: Re: Black Gesso Tue Feb 23, 2010 2:17 pm
Kimberly, The liquitex black gesso is a matte black listed as PBk11 which represents pigment from Black 11. You can see a sample of how it looks in my recently completed painting at