Gamblin Oil Painting Ground

Gamblin 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 color 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 our FastMatte Alkyd Oil Colors when creating a colored 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 our Video Demos page.

Shelf Life, Formulation Improvements.
We have heard from painters who’ve experienced Gamblin Ground skinning over in the can, and Gamblin has taken steps to mitigate this by managing formula solvent levels and drying rate. They have also improved the Ground by lowering its odor.  Ongoing tests show that formula adjustments over the past two years have resulted in reduced skinning and improved shelf life.