Canvas for Artists

There are probably as many varieties of artist canvas as there are fad diets. But, don’t let the choices overwhelm you. Understanding a little bit about fine artist canvas can help you select the very best painting surface for your painting style. So, in that vain here are some basics about canvas.

When you see the words stretched canvas this means that the canvas you are purchasing is already stretched over a frame of stretcher strips to a predetermined size. Stretched canvas is almost always primed with some kind of gesso so that if you are in a big hurry they are ready to paint on from the time you remove the plastic.

If you are one of those artists who is a little more particular about the size or the finish of your canvas then you may choose to stretch your own canvases. If so, you will need to purchase stretcher strips and assemble the strips into a stretcher frame. Then you basically need to upholster the frame with the canvas, make sure to get all the wrinkles out get the tension even across the whole canvas. You will need to purchase a staple gun for sure and a pair of canvas pliers if you enjoy your sanity. You can choose to purchase rolls of canvas that are either primed or raw. Some artists like to prime their own canvas to customize the painting surface to suit their particular painting style.

There are several brands of canvas that you can purchase that are primed with some variety of gesso or primer. There are two basic kinds of primed canvas, acrylic primed or oil primed. The important thing to keep in mind is that acrylic primed canvas can be used with almost any paint media. (Except for watercolor or gouache, and now there is special artist canvas for those painters.) Oil primed canvas is only to be used with watersoluble oil paints or traditional oil paint. If you choose to prime your canvas yourself you can add as many layers of gesso to create a smooth, almost porcelain like surface if you wish. Priming your own art canvas leaves you the option to create any painting surface that you prefer.

Most often you will find when you are shopping for art supplies that there are three basic kinds of canvas available on the market, cotton duck, blends or linen. Cotton canvas is the most popular. Blended canvases are usually made from a combination of cotton and a synthetic fiber and are less costly than other canvas. Lastly, there is linen canvas, which is the most expensive artist canvas and preferred by many professional artist for the texture and durability. Belgian linen is the most sought after because of the high quality.

Maybe this little bit of information will make choosing the best art canvas for you slightly easier. Having great art supplies that work with you instead of against you makes the process of making art much more fun. So, have some fun… paint some big paintings, become famous and forget about fad diets because they aren’t good for you.