Is linen canvas worth the premium price compared to cotton? Yes.

Painting on fine linen, compared to the best cotton canvas, is the difference between a 3-star gourmet meal and a chain-restaurant meal. For the most demanding work, the only reason to choose cotton over linen is price. As artists know, linen costs 3- 6 times more than cotton.

However, there is a big but. If your work is large format, say 5 feet or larger on a side, fine details are unimportant, so the good qualities of linen are not required. Details become submerged at the proper viewing distance of large paintings. Indeed, overworked details can negatively impact the viewer’s enjoyment. Artists learn how to vary technique for different scales through experience.

A linen I use and am very happy with is Belle Arti.

Some canvas rolls in my studio corner: