{"id":7594,"date":"2018-04-12T12:49:19","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T16:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=7594"},"modified":"2018-04-13T20:04:57","modified_gmt":"2018-04-14T00:04:57","slug":"stretching-canvas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2018\/04\/stretching-canvas\/","title":{"rendered":"Stretching canvas"},"content":{"rendered":"

While it’s true that I didn’t learn anything about painting at art school, it isn’t true that I didn’t learn anything at all.  I learned a lot about printmaking, and I learned how to stretch canvases.<\/p>\n

That canvas-stretching skill has stood me in good stead.  I can’t think of a single instance when the technique failed.  Any problems I experienced were due to stretchers that were hopelessly warped or otherwise defective. So, with a modicum of planning, you can reliably stretch canvases of any size.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Before starting, let’s answer a simple question: why not just use commercially-prepared canvases?  Because they’re over-priced and of poor quality,  suitable for little else than sketching.  Not only is stretcher quality poor, I have yet to find one with a professional-quality surface.  Grossly overpriced for what they are.<\/p>\n

What about the premium vendors who provide custom-made canvases?  My one experience with such a vendor was one of the biggest mistakes of my professional life<\/a>.  Sure, the stretchers were well made, but the surfaces were unusable.  I suppose they were OK if you sprayed, splattered, dripped, flung, shot, or poured paint onto the surface, but they were useless for painting-on with brushes. I had to spend as much time correcting the surfaces as I would have if I’d built them myself.   <\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Smooth Move—Smooth Painting Surfaces<\/span><\/a><\/div>

The teacher who taught me canvas stretching said the stretched surface should be so taut that a quarter dropped onto it would bounce 6 inches.  That’s probably too tight, but the canvas should be taut enough that it doesn’t sag against the cross braces. Another way of stating it is that the canvas should be as taut as possible without warping the stretcher.  The problem is that the tighter you stretch the canvas, the apter it is to warp. <\/p>\n

Stretcher strips and braces<\/h3>\n

Lately, most of my paintings are in the the 3-5 feet range. For these paintings, I use ‘heavy duty’ strips which are, depending on the manufacturer,  2-3″ wide and 1.5″ thick. I use one cross-brace for paintings of this size. <\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>In the Studio—10\/28\/12<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Just now, I am preparing a batch of canvases in the 40″ x 50-56″ range.  For the 12 canvases in this batch, I am using Pro-Bar<\/em> brand stretchers, but this isn’t an endorsement. They’re serviceable stretchers that I got at a good price.  The only brand I avoid is Frederix.  I stopped using that brand some years ago after several stretchers snapped.  <\/p>\n

For paintings above 5 feet on a side, I build my stretchers from 2″ x 2″s and trim strips.  For these large-format paintings, I use two cross braces.<\/p>\n

Tools and preparation<\/h3>\n
Read more<\/span>Hurricane Sandy<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Tools you’ll need:<\/p>\n