I'm in the planning stages of a painting now called The Apocalypse of Finance. It's a swirling earthquake of a picture and will be my first on a canvas I've stretched and prepared myself. The raw acrylic canvas I bought is amazing stuff, wonderful. Very tough, pigmented, and with the perfect surface texture. It has a visible canvas texture but a fine furry quality. When primed the 'fur' quickly incorporates itself allowing a perfect smoothness that I can't attain even on wood panels very easily.
For a first attempt at stretching and priming a canvas it came out well. A plastic scraper was ideal for spreading the early layers while the surface has some absorbency but the sharp edges of the scraper proved problematical for the top layers. I'll try a sponge for those next time and perhaps spray the surface with water first to slow down the drying rate of the acrylic gesso.
Tip: To fix lumps, smooth, or remove ridges on acrylic gesso priming, wet sand it after spraying with a mix of alcohol and water. I use lavender water. The lavender plant is an artist's best friend.
