Another Chalk Paint Recipe

There is the recipe on earthpigments.com how to make imitation gesso for furniture otherwise known as chalk paint:

1 part Whiting Chalk {is calcium carbonate}
1 part PVA White Glue
1 part water
1 part slaked Pigment (optional)

They even quote that Annie, herself, even quotes this in her book call Paint Alchemy. Basically, what they are making is gesso with pigment added. Gesso is used to prime artist canvas and is a bonding agent. Many people believe that house primer can do the same thing.

So to my experiment...

I didn't have any pigments but I had a tube of purple acrylic paint. I mixed that in with some white primer first. Then, I mixed in a little bit of water and tested it out on a piece of wood I had out back. It makes sense! Bonding Primer would be able to stick to varnish surface and do all that stuff they say. Water down it makes it smooth and you can make it transparent like. When I did this it made the wood grain show through. The only thing is that acrylic paint doesn't have a lot of pigment in it so I'm going to have to get some pigments so the color isn't compromised.

Primer already is suppose to have white chalk in it. If you wanted to add more white chalk to primer to give it a more chalkier feel that would probably be ok and then add pigment. I think pigments are essential in getting this right though and I must wait to get some myself so I can truly see the color.