What’s the Difference? Acrylic Gesso vs Oil Ground for Oil Painting

A short discussion on the differences between acrylic gesso and oil ground primed panels for oil painting, which I use and why... all while painting on an acrylic gesso panel that did not work for my process at all! The painting demo is of a late season cafe au lait dahlia flower. This is the third painting demo in my four-part How to Paint White Flowers series. Watch the full playlist here, especially the first mini-bootcamp video: 🌸 https://link.mercer-vernon.com/PaintingWhi... 🌸 White Iris Full Demo / Available March 15, 2025 ▪️ MY ART Website ➤ https://www.mercer-vernon.com/original-flo... My Newsletter! ➤ https://www.mercer-vernon.com/mailing-list... Original Art, Prints, Cards ➤ https://www.mercer-vernon.com/shop Notebooks, Journals & Goal/Project Planners ➤ https://amzn.to/4gj4MCP ▪️ CONNECT WITH ME Instagram https://www.instagram.com/christinemercerv... BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/christinemv.bsky.... LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-merc... ⏰ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction - Acrylic Gesso vs Oil Ground 00:07 Keying my values 00:32 Let’s talk about painting surfaces 01:20 Why I don’t like this surface 01:32 About Acrylic Gesso 01:56 About Oil Ground 02:40 Choosing one over the other 02:49 What I work on and why and how I work 03:53 If you are struggling with a surface 04:00 Other Surfaces and Substrates 04:26 My frustrations and struggles 04:58 Blocking in - mini-bootcamp about my process 06:00 I encourage you to… 07:00 Not every painting needs to be great 07:40 Recap DISCLOSURE: Some of these link are affiliate links, which means if you click on one of the links and complete a purchase, I earn a small commission at ZERO cost to you, allowing me to invest in creating more free content for you. Thank you for the support!