The short answer is toning a canvas is putting a coat or two or three of colored gesso or creating your own special blend with acrylic paint and covering your canvas before you paint.
Why you ask? Several reasons and they are all explained in this weeks video on my YouTube channel. Click HERE to head over to a short video explaining the how and the why.
No time to watch a video? I get it. Here’s the scoop. A canvas (especially a cheap one) may be made of rough materials and you might want it smoother so it’s easier to paint on. Portrait artists especially want a smoother canvas. So they do what is called toning a canvas with several coats of gesso or their own special blend of acrylic paint. I have used 2 kinds of colored gesso, one is a terra-cotta and the other is a gray. I also make my own blend of black, yellow and white which makes a lovely green.
Another benefit of toning a canvas is as acrylic paint evaporates and dries, sometimes there isn’t as much paint as you thought you put down in a specific spot and little white pieces of canvas begin to show through. If you’ve toned your canvas beforehand, no one will notice that. They might have seen the white specks, in fact their eye would go straight to it. But no one will notice a tiny bit of gray or terra-cotta or green showing through. Problem solved.
Depending on the color of your tone, it could warm up or cool down your painting. If you are painting something with loads of warm colors, you may want to paint it on a canvas toned with a cool gray or green. The opposite is also true. You won’t actually see the tone, but it can warm up or cool down your painting.
So there you have it. Three great reasons to tone your canvas before you paint. I usually do a dozen or so in different sizes and shades so when I’m ready, they’re ready.
