All About Canvas

An excerpt from the "missing artist's manual" section of my forthcoming book

Canvas

DESCRIPTION

Canvas is of course, the most common surface for painting on with acrylics and oils. It comes in different weights and weaves (rough and fine), as well as in cotton and linen. There are also 4 main form factors you can purchase it in.

The cloth is just impossibly difficult to paint on, so it is primed with gesso (usually 3 coats). Gesso is a thick, waterproof, solvent-proof, adhesive, usually acrylic, white “paint” - that can also have some grit embedded in it for texture. Gesso will seal the cloth, making it great to paint on.

Canvas is usually stretched on a wooden frame made of stretcher bars or built by hand. Pre-stretched is the most convenient, because you can simply unwrap it and start painting right away.

Some canvas comes glued to a piece of dense cardboard (chipboard - it’s the same thing they use on the back of pads and for hardbound book covers). These are called canvas panels, and they come in many small and medium sizes. These begin to warp if too large.

There are also pads of canvas. It can sometimes be difficult to find canvas pads with real cloth canvas that has been coated with gesso, but it is a very convenient and inexpensive way to use canvas, especially when you are starting out.

Canvas also comes in rolls of varying width and lengths, for artists who want to stretch their own. You can purchase 2 stretchers of almost any length, and combine them with 2 more, and make a final canvas in any proportion and size you like. Rolls can be unprimed or primed with gesso. If you use unprimed, you must prime it yourself. Gesso is readily available to purchase.

You can also build your own wooden frame. I have not found this to be very economical, and it’s a lot of work.

2) QUALITY

Do not buy the cheapest canvas you can find. There are store brands and off-brands that are coated with extremely inferior gesso. Some gessos repel the first layers of paint, making adhesion to your painting’s surface weak. There are also some gessoed canvas pads that do not even have a waterproof barrier, causing the canvas to buckle if not stretched and presenting serious longevity problems for your artwork. If you purchase a store brand, test it out and determine the quality before buying more.

3) USAGE

Canvas is used by most artists. It is easy to find, and an excellent surface to paint on. Being a woven cloth, it is lightly or finely textured, which pulls the paint off the brush, and is enjoyable to paint on. The texture can also be used in a variety of techniques to enhance the painting.

You can get a deep edge frame with the canvas wrapped around to the back, so that the final work can be hung without needing a frame. The edges can be painted to match the image, or in a complimenting edge color such as black or gray.

Loose canvas can be taped to a table or board, and painted on without stretching. If you get a nice keeper painting, you can either stretch it or have it mounted (glued) to a base surface at a frame shop.

Stretching canvas yourself, on a wooden frame takes some effort, and it helps to have a canvas stretching tool. A heavy duty staple gun is also necessary, and an electric version is easier to use. You have to start by pulling the material taut around the frame, beginning with the center of each opposite side. Then you add a staple to the right and left of the first staple, one side at a time, rotating and adding staples to each side as you work out towards the corners. I recommend finding a video online to show you how.

4) CARE

Be very careful not to set something against a stretched canvas, or leave something leaning against it. I see this often and even another lightweight canvas can make a dent, stretching the material and pulling the paint and/or gesso apart. A canvas can also be ripped. You need to be careful with the surface because it is delicate.

Keep canvas rolled or flat. If you have a pad, never set the pad upside down, especially in a carrying case or bag, because the sheets will flop down and become badly creased and wrinkled. It’s difficult to smooth out wrinkles in canvas that has been primed.

5) RECOMMENDATION

I think every artist should use canvas to learn painting. We always start new artists off with a pad, because it’s the least expensive and most convenient. A simple drawing board can be used, and then you have a handle to carry it. Painter’s tape is excellent for securing a canvas to a board.

Stretched canvas is the best next step.