Do I need to prep my canvas in any way before oil painting?

The last time I used oil paint was in high school, I need a refresher!Do I need to prep my canvas in any way before oil painting?
You don't need to gesso if you are using a prestretched canvas (bought at an art supply store.) However, I always reccommend toning the canvas before you paint- that is, preparing it with a thin wash of color first. This will take away all the glaring white, and give you something to react to when you begin painting. It also has the added benefit of not making those first marks scary, since there's already something there.Do I need to prep my canvas in any way before oil painting?
If the canvas isn't gessoed already then do that. If you like the off white color of the canvas you could just rabbit skin glue it. That takes a little more work though.


You don't HAVE to prep the canvas if you don't want the work to last longer than your lifetime. If you DO want it to last, you MUST prep it because the oil will eat away the canvas over time.
I reccomend buying a pre-gessoed canvas they put two or three coats on very smoothly and its all dried and ready to go.


As far as preparing the canvas, just break it to the canvas gently.
If the canvas you bought is white, its already primed and ready to accept paint.





But raw canvas should be primed with acrylic gesso. For the first coat, dilute the gesso slightly with water. Dampen your 4'; brush with water before painting. Add about a tablespoon of water per ounce of gesso. Work the gesso into all the weaves of the canvas. Let that dry overnight.





Lightly sand the first coat to knock down the bumps. For the second coat, slightly damp the 4'; brush in water. Not too much water. Use straight gesso this time. It might need a few drops of water to help it spread easily. Spread the gesso as evenly as possible. Let it dry, and you are ready to paint!
gesso, unless you have an already prepped canvas.