Product Review of Gesso
Comparison between Dina Wakley & Pretty Gets Fritty
Upon opening the tubs, I noticed the Dina Wakley Gesso was thicker, Pretty gets Fritty was thinner.
I started with Pretty Gets Fritty Gesso and I used a thick smooth card stock and a 1.5" flat artist brush. I applied the Gesso vertically and left to dry then I went over again horizontally and left to dry. Once it was dry it felt very smooth and had a gloss sheen to it, which reminded me of gloss paint. I used some autumn colours for acrylic paints and used the same 1.5" brush to apply my paint then left to dry.
My acrylic paint glided over the dry Gesso and none of it absorbed into the paper. Look at the lovely sheen my paint has, I didn't need to use a lot of paint due the Gesso. Left this to dry and then got a stencil out and mixed some light acrylic paint to the Gesso and applied over with a spatula.
As you can see some of the paint seeped through the stencil. I placed this to one side and got the Dina Wakley Gesso out and applied 2 layers of Gesso as I did previously. Left it to dry. Once dry I noticed the Gesso left a chalky feel to the card which I quite liked. I got my acrylic paints out once again done the same as the first card and left to dry.
The Dina Wakley Gesso was just as good, I didn't need to use a lot of paint.
This Gesso was better on the stencil I felt, due to it being thicker. Still a little bit of seepage through the stencil but I wasn't able to use any adhesive spray on my stencils due to using acrylic paint, It may have stuck to my dried acrylic paint and tore off as I lifted. Overall I was happy with the results of both Gesso's.
I put them aside and thought I would start again but slightly differently this time.
I used watercolour paper this time round and the one on the left is Dina Wakley Gesso, Pretty Gets Fritty on the right. As you can see the Dina Wakley Gesso does give off some added dimension whereas the Pretty Gets Fritty is smoother. I set them both aside to dry and then got my acrylic paints out.
I used a No. 8 Round Brush for my acrylic paint. I watered it down and layered around my watercolour paper. I loved the effect that the Gesso had with my background as I created a Gesso Resist Effect. I got some wet kitchen paper and dabbed the excess acrylic paint off the Gesso Stenciled areas. The Dina Wakley Gesso was chalky and retained some of the paint but I felt this added to the dimension of my mixed media card that I was making.
Pretty Gets Fritty was very smooth so the paint came off easily over the Gesso Stenciled areas. This created a very smooth clean white effect which may appeal to certain craft makers.
Overall both products were very good, If I want a smooth finish for my project I personally would use Pretty Gets Fritty Gesso and if I am making a mixed media project I would use Dina Wakley, these are my own personal opinions and they are not endorsed by either company or CraftWorld.
Here are my finished projects. I used a digital stamp and sentiment from Polka Dot Orchard. Added some sequins and layered onto a 6"x6" card base.
Thanks so much for looking
Kirsty