She's Lost It; She's Posting White Blobs!

Okay, they really DO look like mere white blobs. Have you ever tried to photograph white gesso that has texture??? The whole point of this post was to give a bit of BG on how I build layers with gesso and how it can be a great tool.
Instead I have white blobs.......okay, just pretend.
The reason I get interesting texture on collage on canvas is two-fold, but the primary reason is taking time to put several heavy coats of gesso on the canvas. The tags were an afterthough; I was inspired by what Silke had been doing with them over at Metamorphosis and thought I would have a few on hand....just in case....
First, I do two regular coats of gesso with a brush, letting each dry in between. Then I take a good amount of the stuff, pour it on top, get a palette knife and start spreading it around. I do not want it even; I want to go for that fresh plaster look, as it is being troweled on. A good portion of this will happen with the knife, but if you want to manipulate it further....

.....while it is still wet and lumped up in areas, hit is with a hand held hairdryer on high. The top layer will do one of two things; bubble or crackle a bit.
Maybe.
Sometimes.
If you're darned lucky.
Then you leave these ALONE and let them dry thoroughly. And that may be a day, or two or more, depending on humidity, the gesso's pigment to water ratio.....lots of variables. Anyway, when they are totally dry, you have a wonderful textured base to begin working on with washes of color and gels and specialty products. The gesso application was what made the last piece work so wonderfully and was worth all the time it took.
Of course, as you build your collage, if you find the gesso has not built to the texture you feel you need, use one of Golden's gel mediums and a palette knife to apply some more. (make sure it dries translucent....a couple do not) I prefer the gesso texture, but needed to use the gel in the last piece on the sides, where it would have taken days to get good gesso build up due to the drying time for each side.
Also, while working on a piece, if there is texture where you do not need it, support the canvas and use a fine grade of sand paper or emery cloth to rub it down. Works like a charm!
Maybe tomorrow I can have something with some color.......I think that would be good! LOL!

Pax.