Build your art on a strong foundation with Matisse Background Colours: an all-purpose pure acrylic that can be applied to almost any surface. Matisse Background Colours are a highly pigmented low-tooth gesso. Used directly onto wood, the Background Colour will not only cover and create a great surface to paint on, but will also seal the surface with its built-in sealer.

All Matisse Background Colours are especially designed for use on canvas (and board, etc.) however they have also been used extensively in interior domestic decoration. Download the Matisse Range Colour Card PDF  Use MM26 Transparent Gesso mixed with the Matisse Background Colours for a coloured primer with extra tooth for painting and especially as a pastel primer. (Tip: vary the ratio of MM26 to Background Color to vary the roughness, or amount of tooth, in the primed surface.) Matisse Background Colours can also be used with stencils, design painting, or simply as a flat decorative wall and ceiling paint. Apply direct from the jar and clean up with water. They spread easily with brush or roller and dry fast to a matt-velvet finish. Matisse Background Colours make an ideal coloured gesso. They come in 250ml "stack-up jars" with a selection of the most popular colours available in 1 Litre pails  Note: All Matisse Background Paints should be applied in thin coats (no more than 0.5mm thick) to reduce the risk of cracks forming. Matisse Background Colours, being a coloured gesso, will mark more easily if left unvarnished.