Gamblin Oil Ground

Gamblin Oil Painting Ground makes a strong, bright, non-absorbent foundation for oil paintings. Gamblin Ground is formulated from alkyd resin, titanium dioxide, and calcium carbonate – titanium dioxide gives opacity, while calcium carbonate gives tooth for strong adhesion. 

Gamblin Ground makes a brighter and less-absorbent ground layer compared to acrylic “gesso” – meaning that oil paint layers on top will better retain their colour saturation. In addition, the lower absorbency allows for “reductive” underpainting techniques when painters need to wipe back to the white of the Ground. 

Gamblin Ground can be tinted with Gamblin FastMatte Alkyd Oil Colours when creating a coloured ground. 

Because the percentage of pigments is so much higher than in acrylic “gesso”, painters need only apply TWO coats of Gamblin Ground instead of the recommended four coats of acrylic. Fabric supports should be sized with PVA Size before applying Gamblin Ground. Also, Gamblin Ground can be applied on top of acrylic gesso for a brighter white, less-absorbent ground layer. 

Gamblin Ground is thicker than acrylic gesso, and requires different application techniques, which are demonstrated on the video section of this page. 

The Ground is the foundation of an oil painting. Artists for whom building permanent paintings is important should consider carefully the quality of all layers of their paintings. They should be as concerned about the layers they do not see (size and ground) as the layers they do see (oil layers, painting mediums, and varnish). A basement made from poor quality concrete will bring a house down and an inferior ground will cause the painting—no matter how beautiful—to fall apart.