How do I prime different types of canvas?

If you’re working with cotton canvas and want to use either oil or acrylic colour, an acrylic gesso primer is generally used, though you can use any of them.

If you’re priming a linen canvas, you can use an acrylic primer or an oil primer. Linen can be difficult to prime and stretch properly if it is a heavier-weight canvas because it is harder to fold neat corners around the stretcher with heavy canvas, but if you can master this process, you’ll benefit from the smoothest and stiffest painting surface.

You can learn more about the difference between cotton and linen canvas in this article.