Canvas Painting For Beginners: How To Stretch A New Canvas

Painters can either learn how to stretch their own canvas or buy them ready made. The advantage of buying pre-stretched and mounted canvas is that it saves time. The disadvantages include higher cost, it takes up a lot more room while transporting and storing and you have to settle for the standard sizes. This article will provide simple instructions and tips for stretching your own canvas.

The Materials Needed

The most common canvas materials are cotton (called Cotton Duck) or linen. Cotton is generally less expensive than linen and has a rougher surface. Cotton is also more inclined to warp from moisture which can ruin a painting by causing the paint to chip and crack. Linen, however, has stronger threads that resist pulling apart after being stretched on a frame. This makes it more suitable for long term archiving. Both materials are commonly available at most local art supply stores. Heavy unbleached calico from a fabric store will often do the trick and for less money.

The frame is usually made out of wood and comes from the factory with the four sides separated. The ends of the frame pieces are cut into a kind of tongue and groove fashion so that they fit together solidly by friction instead of with nails or staples.

Frames come in two basic strengths. Thinner, narrower sides are the least expensive and are suitable for paintings that have their longest side no longer than 25”. For larger projects, wider and thicker wood sides are available and recommended.

The Instructions

1. Gather the following tools; staple gun, staples, scissors or exacto knife to cut the canvas, canvas pliers (optional) and a rubber hammer (optional). If you don’t wish to purchase a soft rubber hammer just make sure that while assembling the frame that you do not pound directly on the wood with a regular nail hammer without something to buffer the blows.

2. Assemble the frame. This is really straight forward in that the ends fit together with friction. Resting the pieces on a carpeted floor and using a rubber hammer to pound the corners together will prevent gouging the wood. Some artists prefer to add a few drops of white wood working glue into the corners before fitting. This provides a more solid connection for the long haul. However, if you are using the frame only temporarily while painting and intent to remove the canvas and disassemble then do not glue.

3. Cut the canvas to fit the frame. Lay the assembled frame flat and measure the length and width. Each of these dimensions should include enough extra length for the canvas to wrap around to the back of the frame for stapling. Cut the canvas to these dimensions using heavy duty scissors or an exacto knife.

4. Staple and stretch the canvas over the frame. Start by wrapping the top of the cut canvas around the top of the assembled frame. Put about three staples through the canvas in the middle of the back of the top frame piece. The staples should be about 2” apart. Always work from the center of the frame sides out when stapling. Next, stretch the canvas to the bottom of the frame and staple in the middle of that frame side. Repeat on the left and right sides. At this point the canvas should have three staples in the center of each frame side.

Next stretch one side from the middle staples to one corner and staple. Move across to the opposing frame side and stretch from the middle to the diagonally opposite corner and staple. Repeat this until all parts of all frame pieces have been stretched. Finally fold the loose material at each corner neatly and staple in place.

The final step is to prime to canvas before painting. This neutralizes the natural canvas color, creates a smoother texture and prevents the paint from soaking into the material. However, this topic is too involved to address in detail in this article.

Even if you have the resources to buy ready made canvas it is wise at first to develop an understanding of this process and how it can impact the final painting by learning how to stretch your own canvas.

A Beginner?s Guide To Buying Canvas Paintings

If you are interested in collecting art you may be unsure where to begin. The art world is so diverse with a range of styles available from contemporary wall art to classical styles such as abstract, impressionism and realism. There are also paintings that have been created on a variety of bases. You can find canvas paintings, paintings on board or paper, or even mixed media or collages that use a variety of unique items to make up a piece.

If you are deciding where to begin, consider your home’s architecture and furnishings. Most open concept homes feature very modern architecture so a piece of contemporary wall art may be more fitting. Contemporary wall art is available in a range of styles and mediums including oil, acrylic and watercolor. They are available as canvas paintings, pieces on board or paper so your choices are really limitless.

Where will you be purchasing your pieces can have a large impact on what you can choose from. If you are buying canvas paintings from a gallery, you can often request that they reframe a piece in a way that suits your décor. If you are purchasing from an online website, you may be more interested in purchasing canvas paintings as they can be less expensive to ship than a piece painted on board or which has been framed under glass.

You may wonder why paintings are done on different materials. Oil paintings need a canvas or a board background that will not move and crack the paint. Acrylic should also be done as canvas wall paintings or on board. Watercolor, ink or graphite pieces need to be painted on paper.

Contemporary wall art can evoke a range of very strong feelings in the viewer. Pieces can be painted in a variety of styles varying from completely abstract to highly representational. Abstract or non-representational pieces usually use color or pattern to fill a space as opposed to a structured piece that composed according to set rules.

There are a few very famous painters of contemporary wall art. One of the most notable is Andy Warhol who created amazing pieces of pop icons and images such as his famous Campbell’s Soup Can series. Contemporary wall art is similar to modern art and there are many crossovers. Basically, contemporary wall art has been created by artists who have been active after the 1970’s, whereas modern artists such as Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollack were active from the mid 1900’s to the 1970’s.

If you are looking for canvas paintings in any style, you may be unsure about what you can expect to pay. Artwork can range significantly in price even among pieces that are painted on the same substrate (a canvas wall painting versus a painting on board) or are the same size. The fame of the artist, the rarity of their work, the size of the piece and the style it is painted in can all affect the price of an original piece of artwork.

Acrylic Painting Techniques : How to Paint a Canvas Picture

When painting a picture on canvas using acrylics, always begin by painting in the background, such as the sky, and move forward to the foreground objects. Use acrylics to paint on canvas with art instruction from a professional artist in this free video on painting techniques. Expert: Ralph Papa Contact: www.papagallery.com Bio: Ralph Papa, a native New Yorker, began sketching and painting as a child growing up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and he exhibited regularly in Greenwich Village in the 1960s. Filmmaker: Paul Muller