Canvas Basics

Although painters originally found wood a great (and readily available) surface upon which to work, they have used canvas as a ground for their paintings for centuries.  One might use canvas without even thinking about what it is, how it is made or what qualities are available to widen the scope of art that might be created on it.  Textural variety, treatments to make canvas more weather resistant or even flame retardant/water resistant are available in cotton fabric canvas.

Canvas is identified by its weight in ounces per square yard—the higher the number, the stronger and heavier the canvas. Strength is especially important when large-scale works are created.

Cotton comes in even weaves, smooth finished medium weaves and thick, almost chunky weaves.  Many qualities of material are available.  Other than cotton, several other choices are available for the artist.  Linen has long been considered the premier material upon which to paint.  It has an ultra-smooth texture and is very long-lived.  Synthetic canvas is great for the experimental artist, as it often comes in colors and interesting textures.  Plastics are now being employed by painters and their stretchy, glass-like surfaces offer new challenges.

Canvas comes on rolls or pre-stretched over stretcher bars.  One huge advantage to buying by the roll is that you can select the exact sizes of works you want to create.  You are not limited to set, customary sizes.  Some artists also select unsized canvas material for their acrylic paintings.  This is unique in that the paint is allowed to flow and wick into the very fiber of the material.  Most artists, however, do select pre-sized canvas either in rolls or pre-stretched.  That eliminates any pre-finishing on their part and enables them to get to the enjoyable part sooner.

Stretching canvas is done with a special pair of pliers, whose wide-gripping jaws hold the fabric tightly, allowing the artist/craftsperson to attach it to wooden stretcher bars.  With the pliers in one hand, the canvas is pulled tightly and then stapled or tacked to the wooden frame.  The lengths of the bars determine the finished size of the canvas.  It is also possible to stretch canvas over irregular shapes for sculpted and shaped canvas paintings.

Canvases can be stretched in such a way that the narrow edges of the stretchers are used for stapling or tacking.  What is referred to as gallery wrap is a method where the canvas is stretched around the bars and attached to the back side.  No staples or tacks show with this method, and the edges of the canvas can be painted as part of the subject.  In contemporary works, this eliminates the need for a frame and looks great.  This is also the trend for coated or plastic fabric artwork that is meant to be displayed outside.

Choices abound so don’t feel stuck with one type of surface.  See your retailer to explore what is available and try something new to expand your horizons!