I'm just about to start trying to paint with oils. Can you advise please?

I'm told that my canvas or whatever surface I paint on needs coating in gesso first. What is gesso? Is it something I must make or buy? Also one T.V. painter talks about gesso and liquid white. I'm not certain if he puts on gesso first then liquid white on top or whether it is one or the other. I've been given a recipe for liquid white but I'm confused about the gesso. Is its purpose as a sealant to protect the original surface?I'm just about to start trying to paint with oils. Can you advise please?
gesso is sealer/ primer meant for raw/ untreated canvas, if you have canvas that appears painted white, then it has gesso already, you can add another layer if you want, gesso is chalked animal/ glue based, but newer gesso is acrylic based,





gesso,


http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesso





liquid white is more a thinned white acrylic that painters like Bob Ross use to wet surface of canvas, to allow blending of painted colours while painting,


http://smithsart.com/bob-ross-liquid-whi…


http://www.bobross.com/supplies.cfm#Q11


..I'm just about to start trying to paint with oils. Can you advise please?
Whether or not you want to use gesso is completely up to you.


With any form of art you have to go to your studio and create, destroy and create again. It's always about trying things out, using different primers, using a different mixing agent, and different surface.


Sometimes an unprimed canvas can give a really nice quality to the work.
Gesso is a white liquid that you should paint onto your painting surface before you paint, it stops the paint from soaking into the medium and losing its colour. I suggest if you paint with oils to buy the good stuff %26amp; be heaps precise.


Goodluck :]
Most canvas you buy is already pre-treated with gesso and 'liquid white' is a superfluous product that guy on tv is trying to sell you. Buy stretched canvas (not raw) and get to work.