Oil paint is a very versatile medium that sticks to many different types of surfaces. However, depending on your painting style and goals as an oil painter, some surfaces are better than others. Let's dive in and take a look at some different surfaces for oil painting and give you all the information you need to get started.

Rigid Versus Flexible Surfaces

The most obvious (but not necessarily the most important) consideration is the difference between painting on a rigid surface versus a flexible surface. Let's look at each one in more detail.

Rigid Surfaces

Rigid surfaces include wood panels, masonite, gatorboard, Dibond, or most anything that will hold oil paint. The obvious benefit of painting on a rigid surface is durability. Oil paintings done on wood have lasted for centuries and are much more resistant to environmental fluctuations. Paintings done on rigid surfaces are less prone to damage. No need to worry about the canvas being torn or punctured.

That doesn't mean that there are no concerns with rigid supports. Drop a nice birchwood canvas panel on its corner and that corner is dented for life. Whereas if you drop stretched linen and damage the stretcher bar, you can just un-stretch and re-stretch the canvas onto new bars. I once ordered large sheets of Dibond from a popular art supply store, and due to poor packing and rough shipping, most of the sheets arrived with severely dented corners, making them unusable. Rigid surfaces also tend to be heavier and can make shipping more cumbersome.

Also, with a rigid surface, you may have a more difficult time getting your painting to be the size you want. You will need access to power saws to cut wood panels and even gatorboard. Thankfully there are a number of art supply stores that offer rigid supports in a wide variety of sizes so this may not be an issue.

Flexible Surfaces

Flexible surfaces consist of canvas, linen, and even paper. They have the benefit of being lightweight and can be easily cut to whatever size you desire. Flexible surfaces can also be easier to ship. You can stretch your canvas, do your painting, un-stretch it (make sure it's dry), and roll it up for easy shipping. Of course, the person on the receiving end will have to stretch or mount it. But even if you ship your painting stretched, it's usually lighter than most rigid surfaces. Flexible surfaces tend to come with a wider variety of finishes on which to paint. Canvas has a certain texture that you cannot get with rigid surfaces; rigid surfaces generally are very smooth.

Of course, the drawback is that a flexible surface is more prone to humidity, punctures, and tears. Over the long term, cracking is more likely to occur on a flexible surface than a rigid one.

The Best of Both Worlds

If you like the texture that canvas offers, but want the durability of a rigid surface, you can either buy or make canvas panels. One of the most popular concepts is canvas or linen glued into birch plywood, masonite, or Dibond. If you choose to make your own panels, just be sure that the glue you are using a non-acidic and archival, that is if you want your paintings to last a long time.

Let's take a deeper dive into both flexible and rigid surfaces.

Universal-Primed Cotton Duck Canvas

Universal-primed cotton duck canvas or cotton canvas for short is probably the most widely-used surface for oil painting these days. That's because it's low-priced and readily available at even the most casual art supply store. This canvas is made from cotton that is primed with an acrylic primer, also known as acrylic gesso. This acrylic gesso is not the true, traditional gesso made from rabbit skin glue (yes, those poor bunnies) and chalk, but rather an acrylic-based medium.

Besides being available almost anywhere, universal-primed cotton canvas is generally non-toxic, easy to use, and can accept not just oil but also acrylic paint. This great benefit is that you can quickly tone your canvas with acrylic color which will dry in minutes and allow you to start painting oils on a toned surface. Just make sure you never put acrylic paint on top of oil paint, only vice versa. The other big benefit is that universal-primed cotton canvas is cheap when compared with some of the other options we will explore below.

The biggest possible drawback with this type of surface is that it's fairly absorbent, which means that the oil paint has more of a tendency to absorb into the canvas and stain it. For most artists, this is not a problem as the whole point is to cover up the canvas. But for some, this absorbency can make it more challenging to correct mistakes, especially if you want to wipe back down to the pure canvas. It also makes it more difficult to push the paint around and manipulate it with certain blending techniques.

Another drawback of universal-primed canvas is that oil paint can dry with a very uneven finish. Certain paint strokes will have significant areas of sinking in (spots of oil paint that dry very dull and mated, click here to see my article on this topic), while other spots will dry with high amounts of gloss. This can usually be fixed by oiling out or varnishing, but it makes it more challenging when working on an oil painting in stages. While sinking in can also happen with oil-primed linen, it's usually not as dramatic.

One more possible drawback is the fact that when you paint oil on universal-primed canvas, you only get what is called a mechanical bond. This means that chemically, the oil and acrylic primer will never bond (oil and water don't mix). However, you still get a mechanical bond, which means that the oil film will cling onto all the little holes and crevices in the canvas and stick perfectly fine for centuries to come, so we're told. Concerning a lack of chemical bonding, depending on who you talk to, you will hear everything from "no big deal" to "all oil paintings done on acrylic primed canvas will completely fall apart someday."

I think some common sense needs to be used with these considerations. A mechanical bond will probably be less effective if you are piling loads of thick paint on a very slick surface that is at the same time very flexible. Another thing to remember is that while oil-based primer will create a chemical bond with your oil paint, it will not create a chemical bond with the canvas or linen itself. So regardless of the primer, the longevity of your oil painting ultimately rides on a mechanical bond. In most cases, it's how well cared for the painting is than anything else that assures its longevity.

Oil-Primed Linen

Full disclosure: this is my favorite painting surface by far, so I'll try to be as objective as possible, but please forgive me if my bias becomes apparent. Linen canvas is made from flax plants. Linen is very strong and has been in use for thousands of years. It's more difficult to come by as only more-serious art supply stores will carry it. Probably the most well-known brand of oil-primed linen is made by Claessens, but there are other brands out there such as Centurion.

Oil-primed surfaces tend to have a more natural feel with oil paint. They are less absorbent, have a slightly glossier surface, and allow you to push and move the paint around more. This makes wiping off mistakes easier and blending tends to be more smooth. Linen has a less spongy feel than cotton and is a bit stronger and stiffer. In fact, when tightly stretching linen, I've actually warped heavy-duty stretcher bars, but I've never torn linen. And as indicated above, oil-primed surfaces create both a mechanical and chemical bond with the paint over time.

Oil paint tends to dry with a more even surface on oil-primed linen, rather than the random glossy and dull spots that are more prevalent with universal-primed canvas. Of course, this depends on a number of other variables, such as how thick you apply the paint, what type of medium and how much medium you may be using, the brand of paint, and even the color of the paint. But generally, oil-primed linen dries more evenly than universal.

The biggest drawback of oil-primed linen is that it can be significantly more expensive than universal cotton-duck canvas. It's also more difficult to find. You will not find it at Michaels or other chain craft stores. You can find it at places like Dick Blick or Jerry's Artarama. Stretched linen also has more of a tendency to sag, which means after your stretch it, over time the painting can lose its tautness. Once again other variables come into play, such as humidity exposure and how tightly you stretched the linen in the first place. One easy way around this is to glue your linen onto a panel rather than stretch it. I paint on stretched linen all the time and sagging is generally not an issue if you stretch it right.

Alkyd-Primed Linen

Alkyd-primed linen is similar to oil-primed linen as alkyd is just oil that's been heated up to make it dry faster. Linen primed with alkyd is more absorbent than oil-primer, yet for many, the oil-based primer is preferable to universal-primed canvas since it's less likely to have inconsistent drying results common with universal-primed canvas. Being more absorbent can be a bonus for those who want more control over the paint and who want to build up layers with a wet-on-wet approach as the absorbant character of the surface will hold the wet paint a little better than less absorbent oil-primed linen.

If you are the type of oil painter who likes to use low viscosity oil paint (oil paint with a thinner consistency), the absorbancy of alkyd can also be a bonus. Oil painters who work with low viscosity paint tend to think that oil-primed surfaces are too slick, while oil painters who prefer high-viscosity, or thick oil paint applications tend to prefer oil-primed linen.

Traditional Gesso-Primed Surfaces

Traditional gesso is very different from the modern acrylic gesso you can buy at most any art or craft store. Traditional gesso is made from animal skin glue, calcium carbonate, and/or marble dust, gypsum, and titanium dioxide. It's less absorbent than acrylic gesso and oil paint dries with a luminous vibrancy. It's also difficult to come by these days. At the time of this writing, the only place I could find that offers traditional gesso is NaturalPigments.com There may be some other outliers, but most places are trying to pass off acrylic gesso in place of traditional gesso. Subtle but false advertising!

Traditional gesso should only be used on rigid surfaces as it dries too brittle for flexible surfaces. So if you like the texture of canvas or linen, this is not your solution.

Lead-Primed Linen

Yes, it's toxic, but only if you ingest it, (Cadmium and Cobalt are toxic too by the way) but it's an absolute dream to paint on! I used to paint on it all the time, and the late master artist Richard Schmid used it almost exclusively (and he lived a long life). There is nothing like painting on lead-primed linen. The paint goes on with a velvety feel that results in very natural, organic-looking brush strokes. The surface hugs wet paint without being absorbant. This means you can layer the paint and yet wipe it off completely without any staining. It's perfect for transparent painting techniques. There truly is nothing else like it.

Lead-primed surfaces are more yellow than titanium primed surfaces, and lead white does yellow over time. Artists who work with a more traditional technique tend to like this as over time it can add a nice warmth to your work. I want to emphasize that it will not yellow the paint you apply to it, but any areas left unpainted will yellow over time.

The biggest drawback with lead-primed linen is it's very difficult to come by due to its toxicity. Most people don't like to make it (for obvious reasons), and those who do charge more for it (can't blame them since they are taking a health risk in making it). While I'm no scientist, it seems that the biggest risk is to the people who make it, not to the artists who use it (unless you decide to use it for dining room table cloth).

Lead is a heavy metal, just like cobalt and cadmium. The biggest risk of exposure would happen when you are cutting or stretching it and rubbing your hands on it. In this situation, I would recommend gloves. However, I make no promises as to how lead exposure may affect your health and want to emphasize that there may be risks associated with using it. Do your own research before using it. Be advised that lead-primed linen has a different odor than oil/titanium-primed linen. Some may find this odor difficult, depending on the sensitivity of your sniffer.

Also, be advised that some art supply stores will advertise that they are selling lead-primed linen when it's really just oil-primed linen (titanium white rather than lead white). At the time of this writing, Wind River Art, Natural Pigments, and Trekell Professional Art Supplies carry true lead-primed linen panels. Natural Pigments also sells lead primer in a can if you want to prime your own surfaces with lead.

Other Oil Grounds

There are other grounds available for oil painters to use and experiment with. Gamblin makes its own Oil Ground that provides a non-absorbent, brilliant white surface that works great with oil paint! You can apply it to universal-primed canvas to make it less absorbent with more consistent drying results. You can also apply it to raw fabric supports provided you apply PVA sizing (also sold by Gamlin) to the fabric first.

I've used Gamblin's Oil Grounds and overall liked it. But over time I've come to prefer oil-primed linen just as it comes from Claessens. It just makes my life easier as preparing a surface takes time. But I encourage you to try different things until you find something you like, even if you have to put more effort into the process.

Natural Pigments is another great company that offers a wide assortment of grounds for oil painters. They offer everything from Italian Gesso to Wollastonie. I have to admit I never experimented with most of this stuff but if you are the type of artist who likes to experiment with new surfaces and materials, this is the place for you!

Painting on Wood

Wood supports are one of the oldest and most time-honored supports for oil painting. As we discussed above, the rigid support of wood has many long-term, archival benefits. Your painting is less susceptible to fluctuations due to humidity or an unscrupulous collector rolling up your fabric-supported painting and causing lots of cracking in your work. Many artists like painting on a wood surface because of its smooth texture.

However, you should not just apply oil paint to an untreated wood surface as that can cause the wood to rot and it would be unbearably absorbant. The best approach is to sand the wood to a smooth surface, and then prime it with acrylic gesso or some kind of oil-primer (such as Gamlin's Oil Ground), or traditional gesso. Whatever primer you use, make sure you look at the manufacturer's recommendations for applying directly to wood. Depending on what you use, multiple layers are usually required. Acrylic gesso usually requires at least four layers, while Gamblin's Oil Ground requires only two.

As stated above, if you like the texture of canvas, but want the durability of wood, you can glue your favorite canvas onto a wood panel. Several types of glue can be used. I've used both ArchivaBond^® adhesive and Beva 371 Conservation Mounting Film (also comes in glue form). Natural Pigments also offers a mounting adhesive. I've never used it but would not hesitate in the least given the quality of their products.

ArchivaBond, sold by SourceTek, is basically an archival PVA glue that you brush onto the canvas and panel and press together (I actually use a rolling pin to really press it down and then put weights on top and let it dry overnight). I really like Beva 371 film. You iron the sheet of heat-activated glue onto your panel, then iron the canvas onto the glue-covered panel. Your panel is ready in minutes with very little touch-up gluing required.

Other Rigid Painting Surfaces

Besides wood, there is masonite (hardboard), gatorboard and Dibond, or most anything else that will hold oil primer/paint or allow you to glue canvas onto it. These materials, especially Gatorboard and Dibond, are preferable to wood because they are not prone to warping. Dibond claims to be the flattest surface you can get, and some artists actually enjoy painting directly onto its slightly-sanded aluminum surface.

You can also buy already-prepared canvas panels from places like Wind River Arts, SourceTek, and Trekell. Many offer a wide variety of supports, canvas textures, and primers/finishes.

Oil Painting on Paper

Yes, you can oil paint on paper. You can find 19th-century oil paintings done on paper. It's not the most archival, but it's been done. These days Arches makes paper prepared specifically for oil painting. It is very absorbent and it didn't work well for my technique, but other artists love it. Once again you need to experiment and find what works well for you.

I like to paint oils on Kraft Paper, the cheap brown paper that can be found at most any craft or art supply store. It surprisingly handles oil paint pretty well and in my experience, while you can see the oil on the opposite side of the paper, the paint does not soak through to the subsequent sheets of paper (that may be different if I used a ton of medium). Bear in mind I only use Kraft Paper for preliminary studies, not for finished paintings. I'm sure down the road it will root into oblivion.

More Layers, Less Absorbency

One important thing I need to mention about oil primer or any primer is that the number of layers will have a big impact on the absorbency of the surface. The more layers of primer, the less absorbant the surface, and in my experience this is regardless of what you are priming the surface with or what the substrate is made of. Also, the more layers, the more protected the substrate will be. So if you want that paper surface to last longer, put more layers of primer on it.

What Painting Surface Should You Use?

If you are new to oil painting I recommend starting with universal-primed cotton canvas since it's the most cost-friendly. If you have been using universal-primed for a while and have decided that oil painting is for your, you should branch out and try oil-primed linen and then move on from there until you find what works for you.

Happy Painting!

Jason Tako