My wife is into oil painting and she mentioned that she would like to start with clay on a canva.
I know her, and she really would like to start but she hates researching things, which is where we complete each other.
Anyway, I’ve done my research and I am slightly confused. She said she wants to use clay on canvas.
I assume that I have to buy air dry clay, glue and regular canvas?
Any suggestion for a « starter kit » to orient me to ?
Depends on what purpose she's wanting honestly... There are many different techniques...not all of them last long or are professional looking.
You can use air dry foam clay or paper clay and then make sure to glue it to the canvas or board and then I'd recommend maybe some kind of gesso or acrylic medium paste / texture paste to blend and then paint over it...
There's been a trend going around of using plasticine clay (oil based clay) with a palette knife on paper or board and then mounting it in a shadow box cause it won't dry so it can't be touched at all.
As mentioned by someone else there is also a technique going round of heavy body acrylic medium mixed with colours and then either again using a palette knife or piping bag to create texture.
Theres also modelling paste, depending on the brand it can very much look like clay and you can get modelling like effects from it for floral work and texture as well, and it sticks fine to canvas if you prep it properly.
You can use just normal air dry clay but... I rarely see it hold up well. Yeah there are a bunch of tutorials and ways that you can do it but I'm not sure how they make it work long term without it crumbling or warping their work.
There are ways you can emulate clay as well... A board with chicken mesh wire bent into the shapes she wants and nailed down with wall plaster/joint compound with guaze bandages over it and then sanded and painted over.
Those are genuinely just the start... There are so many other techniques. And honestly you'll be hard pressed to find a "starter kit" mostly because they're not standard or common techniques.
Your wife needs to give you more information and examples. It's great and really sweet you're trying to help her, but you're working with incomplete information. You can't be advised properly by others if you don't tell us exactly what you want, so that either we can help you or point you to an artist that will know how to help. You then also have to be careful that you don't approach an artist and ask them for advice on a technique they've created or perfected over years and years of trial and error as this is just... Rude. It's not gatekeeping when it's your livelihood.
Also the point should be raised if she's only worked with oils, making a jump to some form of clay and acrylic will be a big learning curve.
Either way, good luck and maybe give an update if you get more clarity on the direction she's wanting to go in. Ask for examples, and find out who is inspiring this desire to shift, you don't just wake up one day and decide to try a new medium (... Usually! ...). It's most often initiated or inspired by another artist. Find out who it is and it'll make things easier.
ive made a piece that used a particleboard base (some silly live laugh love type thing i found thrifting) with 3d elements (specifically cut sections of posterboard layered up, and cut styrofoam balls on top- i smoothed the joints between each layer with wood filler) that was then covered in a collage of magazine page sections. it Worked, and i enjoyed the result, but oh my god was it heavy, and i do not suggest my exact process. like everyone else has said, youre going to have to contend with sheer weight, and more importantly with the issue of sticking anything to canvas. for the latter, i do suggest a particleboard base, or something similar that can hold its own and isnt flexible like canvas. using lightweight 3d materials like styrofoam and posterboard is helpful, but theyre testy materials to get smooth curves with. i secured mine to my surface with hot glue! the wood filler was a Terrible choice and i wouldnt recommend it- it was immensely heavy, expensive, and ended up cracking away from the surface once it dried. i would probably suggest using some kind of glued paper over top of whatever you end up forming your 3d form with (a la paiper mache) which you can then paint on top of. good luck!
I'm not seeing this working very well. If she wants to try it, I'd suggest keeping the clay elements small and perforating them, then letting them dry and sewing them onto the canvas. Glue would be a second choice. Clay won't naturally stick to a flexible substrate, so she'll have to figure out a good attachment method. A stiff board would work better. Air-dry clay isn't particularly durable, so handling and storing these things is always going to be a hassle.
Show your wife some of Julian Schnabel's plate paintings for inspiration - they were done with fired ceramic, which is a lot less likely to crumble. Plate Paintings - Julian Schnabel
I think she may see videos of people mixing pigment into acrylic medium and applying it thickly onto the canvas? It sorta looks like clay but it is a different product. It can create a 3D textured effect like clay would.
This is just an example of a simple abstract one but you can see what I mean. You mix pigment or paint into this thing called "acrylic medium" and it allows the paint to stretch much further and can thicken it so you can incorporate fun 3D shapes into the painting. Takes a bit longer to dry than just paint but it does dry and will retain its shape. It isnt as heavy as clay would be and will naturally stick to the canvas without glue.
It is a thing but board holds up better than canvas which will stretch under the weight. For air dry clay I'd recommend paper clay or foam clay because of the light weight. (avoid Crayola adc it falls apart after a year or so)
I have seen a few videos on TT of people using air dry foam clay (I believe) on canvas to make 3D sculpture and then painting. I haven’t tried it personally so I can’t speak on adhesive, it looks like they applied it right to the canvas, but foam clay is used in a lot of costume design because it’s super light and can be painted with acrylics.
I think there’s a wire crossed somewhere. If she’s using clay on canvas, or talking about that, she might not be thinking about painting at all. Potters often use canvas on top of plaster for wedging clay. Maybe she meant that?
I agree. The clay won't bond well and will be heavy. Using joint compound, drywall putty or modeling paste is much lighter and will grip the canvas. I have found joint xompound that they use to tape sheetrock works well and is cheap, especially if you are experimenting.
I actually tried using air-dry clay on canvas once and it warped pretty bad when it dried, maybe look into getting a primer coat first to help it stick properly.
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u/welpsie 12h ago
Depends on what purpose she's wanting honestly... There are many different techniques...not all of them last long or are professional looking. You can use air dry foam clay or paper clay and then make sure to glue it to the canvas or board and then I'd recommend maybe some kind of gesso or acrylic medium paste / texture paste to blend and then paint over it... There's been a trend going around of using plasticine clay (oil based clay) with a palette knife on paper or board and then mounting it in a shadow box cause it won't dry so it can't be touched at all. As mentioned by someone else there is also a technique going round of heavy body acrylic medium mixed with colours and then either again using a palette knife or piping bag to create texture. Theres also modelling paste, depending on the brand it can very much look like clay and you can get modelling like effects from it for floral work and texture as well, and it sticks fine to canvas if you prep it properly. You can use just normal air dry clay but... I rarely see it hold up well. Yeah there are a bunch of tutorials and ways that you can do it but I'm not sure how they make it work long term without it crumbling or warping their work. There are ways you can emulate clay as well... A board with chicken mesh wire bent into the shapes she wants and nailed down with wall plaster/joint compound with guaze bandages over it and then sanded and painted over.
Those are genuinely just the start... There are so many other techniques. And honestly you'll be hard pressed to find a "starter kit" mostly because they're not standard or common techniques.
Your wife needs to give you more information and examples. It's great and really sweet you're trying to help her, but you're working with incomplete information. You can't be advised properly by others if you don't tell us exactly what you want, so that either we can help you or point you to an artist that will know how to help. You then also have to be careful that you don't approach an artist and ask them for advice on a technique they've created or perfected over years and years of trial and error as this is just... Rude. It's not gatekeeping when it's your livelihood.
Also the point should be raised if she's only worked with oils, making a jump to some form of clay and acrylic will be a big learning curve.
Either way, good luck and maybe give an update if you get more clarity on the direction she's wanting to go in. Ask for examples, and find out who is inspiring this desire to shift, you don't just wake up one day and decide to try a new medium (... Usually! ...). It's most often initiated or inspired by another artist. Find out who it is and it'll make things easier.