The term canvas serves as a generic term for any fabric that's used as a support for painting. The fabric can be cotton duck (the most common), linen (a more expensive choice regarded as superior), or a synthetic fiber (uncommon). Find out more about what your choices are when it comes to canvas for painting.
Cotton Duck Canvas
Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans
Cotton duck canvas has nothing do to with ducks but it is the most common and the cheapest painting canvas. It comes in various weights (thicknesses) and weaves (how tight the individual threads are woven). The cheapest cotton canvases are loosely woven and the fabric can easily distort when stretched if you're not careful. If you're stretching your own cotton canvas, you may even find it cheaper in a fabric store than an art supplies store.
You can fill in the indentations in the weave with primer or gesso to create a smoother painting surface (especially if you apply multiple layers, sanding down each time). Or you can use the weave of the canvas as part of the texture of your painting.
You can fill in the indentations in the weave with primer or gesso to create a smoother painting surface (especially if you apply multiple layers, sanding down each time). Or you can use the weave of the canvas as part of the texture of your painting.
Linen Canvas
Linen canvas is regarded as superior to cotton canvas because the threads are narrower (finer) and the weave tighter. Once stretched and primed, linen canvas is less likely to stretch or shrink, or threads move or distort. Linen canvas that has not been primed is very obvious as it's a dull brown rather than white. Portrait linen is linen canvas with a very smooth surface, ideal for painting detail.Watercolor Canvas
Watercolor canvas is specially made for watercolor paint. It is not "normal canvas" with a different label on it. And it is indeed different to painting with watercolor on paper. For starters, the paint stays wet longer and you can abuse the surface more with a coarse brush.See Also: How to Use Watercolor Canvas
Synthetic Fibers for Canvas
Many artists are prejudiced against synthetic fibers, because they're not traditional or because they believe they haven't stood the test of time. Essentially you could use any fabric for a canvas, provided its fibers were strong to support the weight of the primer and paint without distortion or tearing. If longevity is important to you, then know that a rigid support such as a wood panel is the best choice as it means the painting won't flex.Prestretched Canvas or Not?
Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans
Don't feel you're being lazy if you never stretch your own canvas. Famous painters generally have an assistant to do it for them or buy it from a canvas supplier. It does, however, have the advantage of getting canvases exactly the shape and size you desire (and isn't tricky if you've someone to help). Sticking to standard, prestretched sizes, on the other hand, make it feasible to buy ready-made frames.
See Also: How To Stretch Your Own Canvas
See Also: How To Stretch Your Own Canvas
Primed or Raw Canvas?
Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans
You can buy both stretched and unstretched canvas with or without primer already painted onto it. Most primed canvas is suitable for both oil paints and acrylic, but do check. If you want to prime canvas in a traditional style for oil painting (with rabbit skin glue for size and traditional gesso rather than acrylic gesso), you'll most probably have to do it yourself.
The reason canvas is primed is to protect the fabric from the paint. With acrylics this isn't much of an issue, but with oil paint the oils will, with time, cause the fabric to deteriorate and become brittle.
The reason canvas is primed is to protect the fabric from the paint. With acrylics this isn't much of an issue, but with oil paint the oils will, with time, cause the fabric to deteriorate and become brittle.
Canvas Panels
A canvas panel consists of primed fabric stuck onto a board. At its best, the canvas wraps around the edges of the archival or acid-free board and is stuck down with archival glue, providing a rigid, textured support for painting. At its worse, the canvas is stuck to cheap card with cheap glue and cut to size that warps as it gets damp when you paint. Best to try one first to ensure you're getting something that works well.Canvas Paper
Photo Courtesy of DickBlick.com
Canvas paper isn't a fabric but a paper with a surface texture that simulates that of fabric canvas. It's a cheap alternative for painting studies if you don't like using a painting sketchbook.
Canvas Formats
Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans
Canvas is available in an array of sizes and formats. The standard formats are called landscape or portrait (though of course you can paint any subject on them!). Canvas can be stapled (or nailed) to the stretcher either on the side or the back (a gallery wrap canvas), or wedged in place without staples (called a spline finish). You even get canvas sewn into books, for art journaling or bookmaking.
