Typical paint primer VS gesso?

I found an old painting earlier, and because I'm cheap, I decided to paint over it. Whether or not I've started is aside the point, as I am entirely too curious: could I use typical paint primer (say, we're painting the walls now and there's loads of it lying around) in place of gesso?Typical paint primer VS gesso?
yes you can...





let me fill you in on something....Painting supplies are a total rip off and are almost usually unnecessary.





Gesso is nothing more than flat wall paint, you can go to wal-mart and buy a gallon of plain white wall paint, and it would be the same thing...not to mention cheaper...





your average art store charges 5 bucks for a small jar of gesso....wal-mart charges 10 bucks for a GALLON of white paint, which is the same thing.





Take it from an art graduate, Art Teachers and books try to get you to spend TONS OF MONEY on stuff you do not need...





here's some tips:





gesso = flat, wall paint from wal-mart





brushes = go to michaels arts and crafts in the discount bin





thinner/lacquer = home depot paint thinner $5





Canvas = Michaels arts and crafts, you can get a 2-pack of 16x20 canvas for 10 bucks.





shop smart, and dont listen to the textbooks.Typical paint primer VS gesso?
I disagree with CorelPai... (Sounds like someone got jaded to art in general in art school.)





You get what you pay for. Use house paint (primer) on your artwork and take your chances. Sure, Jackson Pollock used aluminum paint in his work, and primer will work if you are talking totally experimental work. But if you want your colors to stay true it might help to consider using something more archival than WalMart paint.





As for the brushes, canvas, etc. . . .until you have picked brush hairs out of a finished painting because the cheap brushes you used shed more than your pooch, or your canvas sagged because it wasn't properly stretched on the frame. . . . I suppose cheap is ok. But I know when I am going to eventually sign and hang a painting, I want to be confident my name is on something that will last.





I don't mean to say your brushes all have to be top notch Kolinsky sables or that every canvas has to be 3'; deep to be good enough. . . but just remember when you show and sell your work, your care in creating it will matter.





I say try your wall primer, but if the colors bleed or yellow . . . don't say you weren't aware that cheap materials sometimes mean poor results.





And just how confident are you that the primer you got cheap at WalMart isn't just chock-full-o-LEAD?








(Steps down off of soap box. . . )
I disagree with Corel Pai too! while intentions are good, you wont do that with your best artworks! I heard a proffesional house painter once tell me that Benjamin Moore Masters are better than Lascaux Paints....!!!???!!? And that Artist are bunch of uneducated to life snobs...!!???!!! Only to find out that he didnt know what complimentary and primary colors are used for. His answer was that they were used for priming!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


Listen, if your going to do cheap for sale art, that people just want to hang for decor, then you go to a regular paint store and bulk up on valdspar, or behr.... If your going to make a work thats a master piece then you use Old Holland, Lascaux, Golden, Or Windsor Newton Primer products.... Truth is there will be more elasticity and more color fastness of paints using a cheap brand of artist paint than the best Benjamin Moore Brand of Primer on the market! Artist Paints and Gessos are rated more by their Lightfastness and durability as opposed to temporal look! The Best lightfastness for BM paints is 60 years, as opposed to Lascaux which is rated at 120~150 years! this is fade and durability factor now....... If this has not helped i would recommend to speak with someone who can show you, and demonstrate it. I wish that i could help you better!