Gesso cracks

[sabine]

Hi,

it's my first time posting here, but I already read a lot of interresting stuff on this forum and I wanted to say THANK YOU to every one for all those priceless informations!!

so I've been trying tampera for a few months now and I still hope I will get it right!

But I did make a lot of mistakes, and my 2 first paintings did crack after the last layer was applied... From what I read here I suppose it was because my glue proportion was too strong in the gesso (I thought 1/10 was OK, but I read here it should be 1/16)

So, I hope my next panels will be OK, but I wondered if I could do something to repair the cracks in my finished paintings? THey are quite discreet, but I wonder if they can crack further and destroy completly my painting??

Many thanks for any answer!

Sabine

[PhilS]

Hi Sabine,
Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to hear about your cracking problem. There is a recipe for gesso elsewhere on this website which (as I recall) is pretty detailed and time-tested. Also there are commercially prepared gessoes by Real Gesso and Fredrix that only require mixing with water. I'm not sure if you can get them conveniently over there in Brussels... I've used both of these without any problems. From what I've read, you don't want to let the gesso mixture get too hot. This compromises the adhesion. Also, brush out the first coat thoroughly to remove any bubbles. These will cause pinholes if you leave them in.
Good luck.
Phil

[sabine]

Thanks Phil :-) - I did see the gesso recipes on this site and I do try to follow them now - the thing is that I found several recipes whith different glue/water proportions... The question is: which ones are the good ones? As I did get cracks I'm trying with less glue now...

So you don't have any tips to repair the cracks when they appear once the painting is finished???

I don't have any pinehole problem until now (probably it will come...??)

I don't think I can get any ready-made gesso here (in fact, I think there are very few people in Belgium who ever HEARD of tempera... that's why I'm so glad I fond this forum!)

[Dennis H]

Sabine,
Did the finished paintings experience any extreme changes in humidity or temperature as they were exhibited or stored? That can cause problems to occur, or exaggerate minor faults. Do the little cracks go all the way down to the gesso or is it just in overlapping layers of paint?
If there has been a drastic change in their climate, let the paintings stabilize for some time in a "normal," comfortable environment. The cracks may close up a bit, but they may also widen. See what happens, though. Perhaps over time they will not worsen. If your white gesso ground shines through in the cracks, you could very carefully tone down its brightness with watercolor and a fine brush. Do not use much water or you could make matters worse. If you are good at matching colors, it could help the painting visually. You won't get rid of the cracks, but they'll be less obvious. I advise you to try it out first on a small area away from the focus of the composition. And let the watercolor dry long enough to test your match. It may lighten a lot as it goes from wet to dry.
This next thing may not sound so good, but it is still true: over time, as the painting's surface gets a little dirty, the cracks will darken and not look as bad! Take a close look at some of the craquelure on a painting by Van Eyck. Even though it's a bit of a distraction, the paintings are still quite something. But don't give up. I'm sure you'll work out the technical problems soon enough and there will be no crackle in your new paintings for hundreds of years.
Dennis

Oh, do be careful if you attempt to touch up the cracks with watercolor, and take a very conservative, cautious approach. Only use watercolor or gouache, not more egg tempera or oils or some other permanent paint. You don't want to fill in the little crevices, just shade them a little.

[sabine]

Many thanks, again, for those tips!

the layers are very thin and the cracks do go down to the gesso... they're very tiny cracks, at first I thought they were littles hairs cought in the painting... They are quite discreet and do not look so bad, but I'm afraid that I can't really sell a painting that is "damaged" that way... What do you think?

I'm afraid the paintings HAVE been exposed to humidity, as I tend to use quite a lot of "washes" (is that the word?)... I love to paint that way and I find it difficult to keep it dry!

I do like tempera though... and I begin to get used to the technique... I keep on trying :lol:

[RobM]

Hi Sabine,
I think you misunderstood Dennis in relation to repairing the painting using a 'dry' watercolour. Using washes is not really subjecting your work to humidity. Many painters use a technique of 'petit lac' translated meaning small lake where they flood an area with paint with no problems. From reading about all the cracking problem over the many years the forum has been operating and your 1:10 glue mix it does seem like the glue was too strong. I have been using the 1:16 mix since I started painting in tempera some 18 years ago and have never had any problems (touch wood!!). All the European artists I know who use this recipe have also experienced no problems.
Rob

[sabine]

Hi Rob!

"petit lac", really? So the gesso is "under water"? I do that sometimes indeed, but I thought it was completly against the rules of tempera...

For my latests panels, I did adopt the 1/16 proportion... I wish I had known that before... and I hope the other panels I did prepare with 1/10 will be OK! (They are untill now, even though they've been submitted to quite a few petits lacs...)

Sabine

[RobM]

Sabine,
Rules are for breaking if you can get away with it. :grin:
Rob

P.S. Sorry for providing a translation of petit lac, just realised you are from Belgium!

[Alessandra Kelley]

The rules of tempera are what works, works.

There are a few basic fundamentals: the gesso proportions, the well-ground pigments, the minimum amount of egg, and the maximum thickness of a single paint layer. Beyond these, there is a lot of room for experimentation.

Plenty of painters use wet washes. You just have to remember that if the paint is not allowed to dry for a few days after, it is more likely to be picked up by the paintbrush. (Sometimes you want it to be picked up by the paintbrush; you just have to be aware of the possibility)

Me, I more often mix a thin wash of paint, then apply it with a "dry brush" (Really a soft brush which I have dipped into the very thin wet paint and then brushed almost dry on an absorbent piece of paper). The color is just as transparent, just as beautiful, but much more controllable.

[sabine]

Thank you again Alexandra for the advice, I will try that...

I never had troubles for breaking rules, but now I would like to learn following them a little at first!! I think that could save me quite a lot of time and trouble...

the thing is that it's difficult to learn only from written advice. I wish I could find a tempera teacher here...