WORD OF THE DAY

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gesso

Gesso is a substance similar to white paint that artists use to prepare a surface for painting. Gesso is typically made of glue, chalk, and white pigment.

Before you paint a portrait on a square of canvas or a piece of wood, you may want to coat your painting surface with gesso. After it dries, gesso creates an even base that holds paint well — similar to the primer house painters use before applying paint. Gesso means "chalk" or "plaster" in Italian, from the Latin gypsum, also "plaster," and the Greek root gypsos, "chalk."

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